Benazir 'wants to end her exile'

Ms Bhutto spends her exile in the UAE and London

Former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto says she wants to end her exile, a day after her husband was freed on bail after eight years in jail.

Ms Bhutto went into self-imposed exile in 1999 to avoid corruption charges, which are still outstanding.

She says it will be "good for Pakistan" if she returns to the country.

Her husband, Asif Zardari, who had faced corruption and conspiracy to murder charges, said after being bailed he hoped to "galvanise democracy".

Sharif call

The BBC's Paul Anderson in Islamabad says the charges against Mr Zardari and his wife have not gone away but from the government's side, and Mr Zardari's, the talk now is of reconciliation.

I don't have to leave Pakistan. [My wife] will, Inshallah [God willing], come here and I will wait till she comes Asif Zardari What now for Pakistan? Press hails Zardari release Benazir's amazing career

In another conciliatory act a day after Mr Zardari's release, President Pervez Musharraf called a second exiled former premier, Nawaz Sharif, in Saudi Arabia, to convey his condolences on the death of his father.

Mr Sharif was toppled by the military in 1999.

A leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) party, Syed Mushahid Hussein, said of the phone call: "Political differences should not be converted into personal enmity and this is what President Musharraf demonstrated."

Ms Bhutto denied any deal had been done with the government to free Mr Zardari but said there had been talks between the administration and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which she still leads.

"No government official met with me, but there have been meetings with Asif Zardari and my party leaders for political reconciliation," she said.

'Life and blood'

Ms Bhutto was twice prime minister of Pakistan. Her governments were dissolved in 1990 and 1996 for alleged corruption.

Zardari (in white) hopes to unite opponents of the government

She lives in exile in the United Arab Emirates and London with the couple's three children.

Ms Bhutto said on Tuesday: "I want to go back... My children want to see their father. I think all exiled leaders must have the right to go back to their country, and I say it will be good for Pakistan."

Mr Zardari told the BBC's World Today programme after his release he hoped his wife would return.

"I don't have to leave Pakistan. [My wife] will, Inshallah [God willing], come here and I will wait till she comes."

Mr Zardari called his release a victory for democracy and for PPP.

He was released from detention in hospital on Monday in the southern city of Karachi, where he was being treated for various ailments.

Opposition supporters in Lahore celebrate the release

He said he now hoped "to bring some life and blood into the workers" of the PPP.

"I intend to galvanise the democratic forces and hopefully lead them to victory... in the salvation of democracy lies the future of Pakistan."

Our correspondent, Paul Anderson, says the release could revitalise the PPP, which is still the biggest opposition but has suffered defections to the PML-Q.

However, he says it may not be the time for exiled leaders to return. The last recorded stance of the government on Ms Bhutto's position was that she would be arrested the moment she set foot in the country.

Mr Zardari had previously been granted bail in all but one of the cases outstanding against him - including conspiring to murder Ms Bhutto's brother, Mir Murtaza, in 1996.

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Monday granted bail of 1m rupees ($16,700) in the final corruption case against him - the alleged evasion of import duties on a car.

However, charges of corruption and involvement in murder still stand.