ISLAMABAD, 21 December 2007 — President Pervez Musharraf said intelligence agencies would have no role in the forthcoming elections and it would be ensured that the polls are fair and transparent.
Speaking at a Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee meeting here yesterday, Musharraf said he felt stronger as a civilian president than earlier.
Ruling out the possibility of poll rigging the president said it was for the first time in the country’s history that an effective system had been put in place to ensure fair and transparent elections.
Vowing to continue his war against terrorism and maintain the pace of economic growth, Musharraf said if the president, the prime minister and the army chief worked in harmony, the country would make significant progress.
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto yesterday accused the military intelligence of pressuring candidates from her party to drop out of next month’s parliamentary elections and urged officials to crack down on such harassment. Benazir told reporters her party had evidence of interference.
“We demand that the Election Commission should take notice of such things to ensure free and fair elections,” she said, also accusing local mayors of gearing up to cheat.
She urged intelligence agencies to concentrate their efforts on capturing terrorists, adding, “This is not your job to indulge in politics.” Benazir also asked the government of President Musharraf to act against those involved in rigging the vote, reminding him that he has promised the Jan. 8 balloting will be free and fair.
Benazir, traveling in a bulletproof vehicle and accompanied by tight security, was making her first tour to remote areas of Balochistan province, where tribal elders have waged insurgency to pressure the central government to return more of the wealth from natural resources extracted from their areas.
She urged flag-waving supporters to reject candidates from the ruling pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, saying it had done nothing for the welfare of the masses.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also has been vehemently opposing the pro-Musharraf party, and the two opposition leaders have indicated they may be willing to share power if, as expected, no party wins a majority. Sharif initially called for a boycott of the vote but later changed his mind after Benazir refused to join him.
Sharif wants Musharraf to restore Supreme Court judges he sacked after imposing emergency rule on Nov. 3.
Although Musharraf lifted the emergency last Saturday, he has refused to reinstate the deposed judges.
President of Pakistan Muslim League (N) Mian Shahbaz Sharif accused Punjab Governor Khalid Maqool yesterday of creating an “election cell” in the governor’s house which he said would not only monitor and supervise elections but ensure victory for some of the PML (Q) candidates in the Jan. 8 elections.
Rauf May Have Fled to Afghanistan
A high-level probe into the escape of a British suspect in an alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic jetliners has concluded that his police guards helped him get away, a newspaper reported yesterday.
Police officials claim that on Rashid Rauf’s way back to Adiala Jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, he was allowed to go to a mosque for prayers but slipped out through the back door. Rauf’s police guards have been arrested, along with one of his uncles. The Dawn newspaper reported that a committee set up to probe Rauf’s escape concluded that the guards’ account of the escape was “totally concocted” and that they colluded in helping him flee. Other report said Rauf could have sneaked into Afghanistan with the help of some of his tribal collaborators who have links with Al-Qaeda.
Aitzaz Ahsan Freed For Eid
A Pakistani lawyer who spearheaded opposition to President Musharraf was temporarily released from detention for Eid-Al-Adha yesterday and vowed to press ahead with his campaign.
Ahsan said he and other lawyers were unwavering in their demand to see the dismissed judges reinstated. “The aims are the same, there’s no change in those. We seek the restoration of the judges as on Nov. 2,” he said.
“We are a totally peaceful non-violent movement which seeks a liberal, tolerant democratic and plural polity and society in Pakistan in which the constitution is fully applicable, the judiciary is independent and Parliament is sovereign.”
