ISLAMABAD: A populist Pakistani preacher who has generated mass protests to demand sweeping political reform will boycott the forthcoming general elections, he said.
The polls, expected by mid-May but for which no date has yet been set, will mark the first democratic transition between two civilian governments in Pakistan, where the military remains powerful after staging three coups.
“This is just an election of money, might and manipulation. That is why I decided my party should not take part,” said Tahir-ul Qadri, a religious moderate who has written a fatwa against terrorism and suicide bombings, on Monday.
He founded a small political party in the 1980s, but took until 2002 to get elected to Parliament under military dictator Pervez Musharraf, only to resign two years later allegedly fed up with the system. He then left for Canada.
In January, he led the largest political rally in the capital Islamabad in years after returning suddenly from seven years in Canada, sparking panic about a rumored judiciary-military plot to derail elections.
He accuses parties in power of using millions of dollars of state funds to bankroll their campaigns and says that candidates who refuse to pay tax and bills should not contest parliamentary seats.
According to a report from the Center for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan, more than 60 percent of the outgoing Cabinet and two thirds of its outgoing federal lawmakers paid no tax in 2011.
Under the constitution, lawmakers should have “a good character,” be “sagacious, righteous and non-profligate, honest.” They should also be disqualified if they, their spouse or any dependents default on the payment of government dues or utilities.
Murder suspect of US journalist held
Pakistan has arrested a former militant leader in connection with the 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, security officials said. Qari Abdul Hai, once a leader of the outlawed Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), was arrested on Sunday during a security crackdown in Pakistan’s biggest city, Karachi, said the officials.
Pearl, an American, was kidnapped in Karachi while researching a story on militants in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the Al-Qaeda militant who claimed responsibility for the Sept. 11 attacks, said he beheaded Pearl after his abduction.
It was not clear what role Hai was suspected of playing in the abduction and murder.
The LeJ has emerged as a major security threat in Pakistan. It has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings that killed hundreds of Shiites this year.
Security officials said Hai was linked to several attacks on Western targets since Pearl’s death.
A Pakistani court sentenced British-born militant Omar Sheikh to death for killing Pearl.
