ISLAMABAD, 19 May 2007 — Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf ruled out the return of former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to take part in a general election due around the end of the year.
“Nobody is returning before the election,” Musharraf said in an interview with private Aaj Television aired yesterday.
Speculation has been rife that he might strike a deal with Benazir, who served two terms as prime minister in the 1980s and 1990s, but now lives in self-imposed exile to avoid a raft of corruption cases against her. Musharraf ousted Sharif in 1999.
Benazir has confirmed holding dialogues with Musharraf’s emissaries, raising talk that the two might overcome mutual distrust to forge a common front against religious conservative forces before the general election.
But Benazir has insisted Musharraf should keep a commitment to step down as army chief by the end of 2007 before any deal could be reached.
Musharraf hasn’t revealed his intentions but most people think he is reluctant to give up a position that he has regarded as crucial to his authority. Musharraf has said he wants to be re-elected for another five years by the current assemblies in either September or October, after which the assemblies would be dissolved ahead of elections around November.
Govt Slammed Over Karachi Killings
Opposition deputies in the Senate, the upper house of parliament, yesterday attacked the government for mishandling the situation in Karachi on May 12 and demanded removal of the Sindh government and Gov. Ishratul Ibad. The house was later adjourned until June 9.
Sen. Safdar Abbasi alleged that the provincial government was hiding the number of casualties. “More than 60 people were gunned down during the violence on May 12 and their bodies have started arriving in Punjab and the North West Frontier Province,” he said.
Pearl Murder Suspect Dies
A Pakistani man, Saud Memon, suspected of involvement in the beheading of journalist Daniel Pearl died yesterday just weeks after he was returned to his home after allegedly being held at Guantanamo Bay.
