Benazir ups pressure on Musharraf over emergency rule
Thursday, 8 November 2007
ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (AFP): Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto was to hold crisis talks with other opposition leaders Wednesday over the nation's state of emergency, turning the screw on President Pervez Musharraf.
She flew to the capital Islamabad from her Karachi base to discuss whether to join a protest movement against the military ruler, led by lawyers and the country's ousted chief justice.
Musharraf's government planned its own talks on whether to delay elections originally scheduled for January, amid fierce international pressure to repeal emergency rule and restore democracy.
His declaration Saturday of emergency rule, described by the opposition as closer to martial law, has triggered two days of angry protests by lawyers that have been crushed by security forces.
The government has given mixed signals about the date of the parliamentary polls and nearly 200 pro-Musharraf MPs were set to meet at the office of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to discuss the matter, officials said.
Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani admitted there were differences within the ruling coalition, telling AFP: "It is a democratic party and there are always arguments for and against."
A decision on a date was possible at the meeting, government sources said.
The sources said many in the government favoured the option of parliament allowing itself to sit for up to another year, the maximum time possible under emergency rule, while others thought that would be damaging for Musharraf.
Pakistan's national assembly, the lower house of parliament, was scheduled to reconvene later Wednesday when it could, theoretically, vote to extend its own tenure by 12 months.
Durrani meanwhile refused to rule out the possibility of a meeting between Musharraf and Bhutto, amid speculation she may still be angling for some form of power-sharing arrangement.
Reuters adds: Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf will likely end emergency rule that has drawn widespread international condemnation in two to three weeks, the president of the country's ruling party told a newspaper.
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain-President of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, a former prime minister and member of General Musharraf's inner circle-said the president understood the ramifications of failing to lift the widely criticised measure.
"I'm sure it will end in two to three weeks as President Pervez Musharraf is aware of the consequences of long emergency rule," Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, President of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, said in the Dawn's Wednesday edition.
Officials have said national elections will still take place in January, but Musharraf has not yet said when the vote will be held or when the emergency will end.
Pakistani opposition parties will discuss Wednesday how to overturn emergency rule, hoping to capitalise on international disapproval over the detention of growing numbers of lawyers and political opponents.
She flew to the capital Islamabad from her Karachi base to discuss whether to join a protest movement against the military ruler, led by lawyers and the country's ousted chief justice.
Musharraf's government planned its own talks on whether to delay elections originally scheduled for January, amid fierce international pressure to repeal emergency rule and restore democracy.
His declaration Saturday of emergency rule, described by the opposition as closer to martial law, has triggered two days of angry protests by lawyers that have been crushed by security forces.
The government has given mixed signals about the date of the parliamentary polls and nearly 200 pro-Musharraf MPs were set to meet at the office of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to discuss the matter, officials said.
Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani admitted there were differences within the ruling coalition, telling AFP: "It is a democratic party and there are always arguments for and against."
A decision on a date was possible at the meeting, government sources said.
The sources said many in the government favoured the option of parliament allowing itself to sit for up to another year, the maximum time possible under emergency rule, while others thought that would be damaging for Musharraf.
Pakistan's national assembly, the lower house of parliament, was scheduled to reconvene later Wednesday when it could, theoretically, vote to extend its own tenure by 12 months.
Durrani meanwhile refused to rule out the possibility of a meeting between Musharraf and Bhutto, amid speculation she may still be angling for some form of power-sharing arrangement.
Reuters adds: Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf will likely end emergency rule that has drawn widespread international condemnation in two to three weeks, the president of the country's ruling party told a newspaper.
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain-President of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, a former prime minister and member of General Musharraf's inner circle-said the president understood the ramifications of failing to lift the widely criticised measure.
"I'm sure it will end in two to three weeks as President Pervez Musharraf is aware of the consequences of long emergency rule," Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, President of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, said in the Dawn's Wednesday edition.
Officials have said national elections will still take place in January, but Musharraf has not yet said when the vote will be held or when the emergency will end.
Pakistani opposition parties will discuss Wednesday how to overturn emergency rule, hoping to capitalise on international disapproval over the detention of growing numbers of lawyers and political opponents.