ISLAMABAD, 12 August 2007 — President Pervez Musharraf yesterday said he wants the exiled former prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, to stay away from the parliamentary elections in the country, sources said.
Elections are due later this year or in early 2008.
Speaking at All Pakistan Newspapers Society function, Musharraf took a milder stance on the issue of the exiled premiers return to the country. He surprised everybody by saying, “Benazir Bhutto and Sharif brothers should not come to Pakistan.” Previously he would say, “I will not allow Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to return to Pakistan.’ His somersault came at a time when two former prime ministers are engaged in legal battle for their return to Pakistan.
Musharraf, who this week considered but rejected a proposal to impose emergency rule, told newspaper editors the return of the leaders of two mainstream political parties could stir political instability.
“Elections must be free and fair and all political parties should play their part in creating an environment conducive to such polls,” Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani, who attended the meeting, said.
“The president said the political status quo should be maintained to avoid political instability,” he said, referring to the exiled politicians’ plans to return home.
Musharraf reportedly said if Benazir and Sharif return to Pakistan they will spoil the atmosphere for smooth general election.
Musharraf said, “My government will present a copy of the agreement before the Supreme Court under which Sharif was given permission to go abroad. His unexpired sentence was remitted by the former President Rafique Tarrar.”
Meanwhile, Benazir said in New York yesterday she hoped to return to Pakistan by mid-October for elections in which she may ally with Musharraf.
But Benazir said any deal with the president depended on him taking upfront confidence building steps by the end of August, such as lifting a ban on politicians serving a third term as prime minister, which excludes her from the post.
“I would like to go back to Pakistan sooner rather than later but Gen. Musharraf still is opposed to my return to Pakistan,” Benazir told Reuters in an interview in New York. “He’s prepared for my return to Pakistan but the timing of it is under dispute between the two of us.”
