Pak president wants exiled opponents to stay away

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 12 (AFP): President Pervez Musharraf wants exiled former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to stay away from Pakistan until after forthcoming general elections, press reports said Sunday.
Elections are due late this year or early 2008, but Musharraf reportedly told a gathering of newspaper editors Saturday that the return of the prominent party leaders would cause political turmoil.
"It would not be proper if disturbance prevails, but stability should reign till the holding... of the elections," the News Sunday quoted the president as telling the meeting.
Musharraf also said that no extreme steps-including the imposition of a state of emergency, which he reportedly considered last week-would be taken by the government, Dawn newspaper reported.
"Everything will be done in accordance with the law and the constitution," the paper quoted him as saying.
Bhutto, who ruled Pakistan twice between 1988 and 1996, met Musharraf secretly in Abu Dhabi last month with the aim of reaching a power-sharing agreement.
The president is trying to win the support of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in order to get through the worst crisis since he seized power in a coup in 1999.
Bhutto wants the military ruler to lift a ban on her returning to Pakistan and a restriction on her serving a third term as prime minister, as well as to drop corruption charges against her.