Islamabad: Asserting that any attempt to rig the January 8 parliamentary polls would lead to chaos and increased militancy, former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto today predicted that President Pervez Musharraf's supporters would be defeated in the elections.

Bhutto, campaigning for her Pakistan People's Party in Hyderabad in the southern Sindh province, said, "if the militancy spreads and if the country disintegrates, it would become another Afghanistan where people are living like refugees in camps."

Addressing a gathering of about 15,000 people, she said there is "no place left" for the PML-Q, the party that backs Musharraf. Bhutto slammed the eight-year rule of Musharraf, saying: "It was a dark era of dictatorship, fundamentalism and forces against the public will".

She also claimed the PPP would win the upcoming polls, with her rival Nawaz Sharif s PML-N finishing second. "God willing, the power of the people will triumph on January 8," she said.

The pressure of the people had already forced Musharraf to set a date for the election, end the six-week-long emergency and step down as the army chief.

"However, we have yet to see whether the promise that elections will be free and fair will be kept. We expect the promise of fair polls to be honoured," she said.

Source : PTI