ISLAMABAD, 5 December 2007 — Pakistan’s major opposition parties started making a list of demands yesterday, and plan to present them to the government as a condition for taking part in coming parliamentary elections while keeping the boycott option open.
The development came a day after two former prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, held their first talks since recently returning from exile.
In a show of unity, Sharif and Benazir agreed the elections would not be free and fair under the state of emergency that President Pervez Musharraf proclaimed a month ago.
The two opposition leaders agreed to set up a joint committee to formulate demands for the government and set a deadline for compliance.
The committee began its deliberations yesterday, then broke for the night.
Ahsan Iqbal, one of Sharif’s nominees on the committee, said it would firm up its demands today. He declined to give details of the initial discussions.
“We all were in agreement that under the prevailing, fraudulent system, the forthcoming elections would be massively rigged unless the opposition takes concrete steps,” he said. Sharif said one important issue is how much time to give the government to accept the demands. “Our main demand is all the actions in declaring emergency rule should be withdrawn,” Sharif told supporters.
The demands also will include the restitution of the constitution and the release of former Supreme Court judges from house arrest, he said.
Also yesterday, Sharif’s brother faced possible arrest over murder charges dating back to 1998.
An anti-terrorism court in Lahore issued contempt notices to two police officers for not arresting Shahbaz Sharif for allegedly ordering security forces to kill suspected criminals in a shootout when he was chief minister of Punjab province, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
Since coming home last week after eight years in exile, Sharif has emerged as Musharraf’s most vociferous opponent. He has called Musharraf’s presidency illegal, and refuses to deal with the president, who has just retired as army general.
Sharif has also demanded the reinstatement of Supreme Court judges, whom Musharraf fired after it appeared likely they would rule against his attempt to secure a new presidential term.
The candidacies of both Sharif and Shahbaz have now been rejected due to their past legal problems. “Whatever Musharraf wants to do, let him do it,” Sharif said. “We can face imprisonment, but our struggle will continue.”
The head of Pakistan’s largest Islamic party Qazi Hussain Ahmad said his party would not take part in “fraudulent” elections. “Jamaat-e-Islami has decided that it will not take part in the fraudulent elections unless constitution and independent judiciary are restored,” Ahmad told a party meeting in northwestern Peshawar city. “If all opposition parties boycott then there will be doubts about the credibility of (the) electoral process,” former ruling Pakistan Muslim League Secretary-General Mushahid Hussain said, adding, “but I don’t expect that.” Islamist opposition leaders remained divided over whether to boycott the polls.
Protesters Beaten Up by Police
Thousands of protesters demanding release of detained judges and lawyers were beaten up by police in Islamabad yesterday.
Over 2,000 demonstrators held a rally at the Aabpara Market. They shouted anti-Musharraf slogans and carried placards demanding the release of Aitzaz Ahsan and deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
