For all her flaws, I hope that the prediction she makes here after the horrors that accompanied her return to Pakistan come to pass.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto warned Sunday that Taliban and al-Qaida militants have gained ground in Pakistan, making her first public appearance since narrowly escaping a suicide assassination attempt that killed 136 people.

But she said the bombing could unite her and other forces opposed to extremism, including military ruler President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

''He's been the victim of assassination attacks and so have we,'' Bhutto told a small group of journalists inside her heavily guarded Karachi residence. ''I think certainly it will unite all those who are against extremism.''

If she is right, these attacks will provide the necessary ingredients for a new Pakistan, one that embraces democratic values and rejects extremism and terrorism. If that is the case, perhaps the scores killed during her return will not have died in vain.