Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto [Images] has said she is planning to return to her country from self-imposed exile prior to the 2007 elections, with a view to restoring democracy.

Bhutto also slammed President Pervez Musharraf [Images] for trying to undermine her cause by putting out Interpol red notices, with a view to embarrass her on her visit to Washington.

"If General Musharraf spent as much time and energy on getting Osama bin Laden as he does on getting me, we might actually catch the man," Bhutto told CNN's Late Edition. She added that she 'must go back to help Pakistan's democratisation process' before the next general elevtion.

"I don't want the moderates squeezed out," Bhutto said, and added that she is the only alternative in the country between the Musharraf dictatorship and the religious fundamentalists.

Pakistan and the Bush administration have gone through a rough patch in the recent past as a result of the American air strike in Damadola on January 13, which left several civilians dead. Bhutto sees that problem as one of Islamabad's failing to have government rule in those tribal regions.

If re-elected, she said she would restore government rule there. "I think it's absolutely wrong that pro-Taliban elements should use our soil to step into Afghanistan, kill American forces, kill Afghan government officials and then run back across the border," Bhutto remarked.

The former prime minister has said that General Musharraf 'may be doing the best he can' but that he is a military ruler, relying solely on the military.

"A political government that has support among the people, and, therefore, the efforts of a political government can combine both popular participation as well as state force," she said.

Bhutto also said that she was not concerned about being arrested and extradited to Pakistan during her visit to the United States. Interpol authorities have said that it is left to member countries to decide on the notices, in this case to Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari. The US Justice Department does not comment on these matters.