Bhutto urges world to abandon Musharraf

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Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto waves to the journalists upon her arrival at the journalists protest in Lahore. Pakistani authorities Tuesday placed Bhutto under house arrest for the second time in less than a week to stop her leading a mar

LAHORE, Nov 13 (REUTERS): Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto called on the international community to stop backing Pervez Musharraf, telling AFP Tuesday it was time for him to quit as president and army chief.
"General Musharraf must quit. He must quit as president and as chief of army staff," she said in a telephone interview from house arrest in the eastern city of Lahore.
"I call on the international community to stop backing him, to stop backing the man whose dictatorship threatens to engulf this nuclear-armed state in chaos," Bhutto added.
Bhutto said she would never serve under Musharraf if she wins a third term as prime minister in elections that the military ruler has promised by January 9.
"I would not serve as prime minister under a man who has repeatedly broken his promises, who is a dictator," said Bhutto, who had earlier this year been in power-sharing talks with Musharraf.
"Look what he is giving to the nation-imposing an emergency, suspending the constitution and cracking down on democratic forces. We gave him a roadmap for a peaceful transition but he has flouted that," she said.
She lamented the fact they could have forged a liberal alliance together.
"My fight is for democracy and Musharraf wants to consolidate his dictatorial regime. We were trying to hold together political forces, moderate forces that could stand up to the real danger of extremism, militancy and terrorism," Bhutto said.
"These militants are advancing and look what Musharraf is doing-there are 4,000 policemen around my house, they are crushing a democratic movement, when they should be hunting down Osama bin Laden."
Meanwhile: Pakistan said Monday its nuclear weapons were secure and that there was no risk they would be seized by Taliban or al-Qaida-linked militants who have expanded their control beyond northwestern border regions Responding to comments by former US Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton and others in Washington, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq said "there are multiple layers of command and control and the weapons are not in danger of falling into any hands.
"Pakistan's nuclear programme is very well guarded," he said, adding that he "would be very dismissive" of anyone who claims otherwise. Washington has long-standing fears about Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
In 2004, Abdul Qadeer Khan, considered to be the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, confessed he had transferred sensitive technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea. Since then, Khan has been restricted to his home in the capital, Islamabad.
Last week Bolton encouraged the United States to support President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who has come under international pressure for imposing a Nov. 3 state of emergency, to protect the nuclear stockpile from Islamic fundamentalists.
Meanwhile: The Commonwealth on Monday gave Pakistan a 10-day deadline to restore its constitution and lift other emergency measures or face suspension from the 53- nation grouping.
The ultimatum came after emergency talks among the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) in London to decide how to respond to President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency on November 3.
Following an extraordinary meeting of CMAG, which deals with serious breaches of the grouping's guiding principles, Secretary-General Don McKinnon said that, if Musharraf fails to meet its demands by a ministers' meeting on the eve of a November 23-25 Commonwealth summit in Uganda, Pakistan will be suspended as a member.