After a year of biting her tongue, Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has begun redrawing the battle lines with the Islamic conservatives who followed her to power.
However, with little control in Parliament, money woes, and charges of mismanagement hanging over her, Bhutto's effectiveness is uncertain.Her 20-month-old government was dissolved on Aug. 6, 1990, because of widespread corruption and political ineptitude. Three months later, her Pakistan People's Party badly lost in national and provincial elections. Later she was charged with abuse of power and mismanagement and still faces trial.
Until recently she kept silent about the governing Islamic Democratic Alliance's policies - including its alleged persecution of her party workers - fearing protests could open the door for the military to seize power again.
"For a year, I have said nothing," Bhutto, 38, told thousands of supporters at a recent rally in Lahore, the heart of her opponents' stronghold. "But I can no longer remain silent. The jihad (holy war) is on."
Still, her party controls less than one-fourth of the 217 seats in the National Assembly and is financially strapped. Once was considered the most progressive force in Pakistan, her party now lacks organization and direction.
Its battle cry of "Roti, Kapra, Makan" - Bread, Clothes, House - has been replaced by "Long Live Bhuttoism." Giant posters of Bhutto's 3-year-old son, Bilawal, appear at her rallies and serve to reinforce the belief that the party has become a cult rather than the champion of the poor and disenfranchised.
Despite what critics say, Bhutto insists she's learned one valuable lesson since her unceremonious ouster: the importance of power-sharing. "You can't close the doors and go it alone," she said.