Bhutto, Sharif agree anti-Musharraf alliance
Friday, 16 November 2007
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (AFP): Pakistan's former premiers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have agreed to join forces against President Pervez Musharraf, a top official in Sharif's party said Thursday.
He said the two opposition leaders, who have been rivals in the past, spoke by telephone on Wednesday and were ready to bury their differences for a "joint struggle" to oust Musharraf, who is president as well as head of the army.
"She has assured she will continue the struggle against General Musharraf until he resigns from both offices," said Raja Zafar-ul Haq, chairman of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N.
"He is not acceptable, neither as president nor as army chief."
Bhutto is currently under house arrest in the eastern city of Lahore, while Sharif leads his party from exile in Saudi Arabia.
Zafar said the two, who have each served two terms as premier, spoke late Wednesday. "They will launch a joint struggle," he told AFP, adding Sharif was "ready to bury the past."
Bhutto's party confirmed that the pair spoke but said she would give details of their conversation later in the day.
Such an alliance would bring together two of the largest opposition parties in Pakistan, and Bhutto has also been in touch with other groups-including some of her former bitter enemies about forging a united front.
The Pakistan People's Party leader had been in power-sharing negotiations with Musharraf before he declared emergency rule on November 3.
On Tuesday, however, she ruled out further talks and vowed never to serve under him in government, a shift in position that has moved her closer to the rest of the fractured opposition.
Meanwhile: Pakistan cricket legend Imran Khan was moved to Lahore's biggest prison early Thursday after being charged under anti-terror laws for protesting against emergency rule, officials said.
Khan, who founded a small but vocal opposition party, was charged under a section of the Anti-Terrorism Act which stipulates a punishment of at least seven years and up to life in prison.
Lahore police chief Malik Mohammad Iqbal told AFP Wednesday after Khan was arrested that he would be charged for inciting people to pick up arms, calling for civil disobedience and "spreading hatred."
Khan, who led Pakistan to cricket World Cup glory in 1992, had called for President Pervez Musharraf to face the death penalty after the military ruler imposed emergency rule on November 3.
He was put under house arrest but slipped the net and had been in hiding-communicating via email and video-until Wednesday, when he reappeared at a university campus in the eastern city of Lahore.
Khan told AFP he wanted to start a student movement but was quickly seized by a group of radical students and later handed over to police custody.
He said the two opposition leaders, who have been rivals in the past, spoke by telephone on Wednesday and were ready to bury their differences for a "joint struggle" to oust Musharraf, who is president as well as head of the army.
"She has assured she will continue the struggle against General Musharraf until he resigns from both offices," said Raja Zafar-ul Haq, chairman of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N.
"He is not acceptable, neither as president nor as army chief."
Bhutto is currently under house arrest in the eastern city of Lahore, while Sharif leads his party from exile in Saudi Arabia.
Zafar said the two, who have each served two terms as premier, spoke late Wednesday. "They will launch a joint struggle," he told AFP, adding Sharif was "ready to bury the past."
Bhutto's party confirmed that the pair spoke but said she would give details of their conversation later in the day.
Such an alliance would bring together two of the largest opposition parties in Pakistan, and Bhutto has also been in touch with other groups-including some of her former bitter enemies about forging a united front.
The Pakistan People's Party leader had been in power-sharing negotiations with Musharraf before he declared emergency rule on November 3.
On Tuesday, however, she ruled out further talks and vowed never to serve under him in government, a shift in position that has moved her closer to the rest of the fractured opposition.
Meanwhile: Pakistan cricket legend Imran Khan was moved to Lahore's biggest prison early Thursday after being charged under anti-terror laws for protesting against emergency rule, officials said.
Khan, who founded a small but vocal opposition party, was charged under a section of the Anti-Terrorism Act which stipulates a punishment of at least seven years and up to life in prison.
Lahore police chief Malik Mohammad Iqbal told AFP Wednesday after Khan was arrested that he would be charged for inciting people to pick up arms, calling for civil disobedience and "spreading hatred."
Khan, who led Pakistan to cricket World Cup glory in 1992, had called for President Pervez Musharraf to face the death penalty after the military ruler imposed emergency rule on November 3.
He was put under house arrest but slipped the net and had been in hiding-communicating via email and video-until Wednesday, when he reappeared at a university campus in the eastern city of Lahore.
Khan told AFP he wanted to start a student movement but was quickly seized by a group of radical students and later handed over to police custody.