Pakistan goes to poll by mid-Feb
Friday, 9 November 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP): Pakistan's parliamentary elections will he held by mid-February, a month later than planned, the country's military ruler said Thursday, a day after President Bush had urged him to hold the vote on time.
Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto denounced President Gen Pervez Musharraf's pledge as insufficient and said he should step down as army chief within a week.
With anger over military rule spreading, the United States (US) and domestic opponents are stepping up pressure on Musharraf to end the emergency rule imposed Saturday, shed his uniform and hold elections as planned in January.
Bush, who counts Musharraf as a key ally in the war on terror, telephoned him Wednesday to say he should step down as the military chief and hold the vote on schedule.
And Bhutto, who had been in talks with Musharraf on forming a post-election alliance, added to the pressure by deciding to join protests against the emergency. Authorities reportedly arrested hundreds of her supporters overnight to head off a major rally she is planning near Islamabad on Friday.
Meanwhile the Bush White House Thursday applauded Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's decision to proceed with elections in Pakistan, which has been convulsing from his imposition of emergency rule last week.
"We think it is a good thing that President Musharraf has clarified the election date for the Pakistani people,'' press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement given to reporters who were accompanying the president on a trip to Texas later Thursday.
The administration issued the statement welcoming the election the day after President Bush exhorted the embattled Musharraf in a telephone call to hold elections and to step down as head of the military in the Southwest Asian nation that has been riddled by unrest for the past several days.
``You can't be the president and the head of the military at the same time,'' Bush said Wednesday, telling reporters about the 20-minute telephone call he had with Musharraf. Said the president: ``I had a very frank discussion with him.''
The conversation was the first communication the U.S. president had with Musharraf since the Pakistani declared emergency rule last Saturday and granted sweeping powers to authorities to crush political dissent.
News that elections would be held by mid-February was flashed on state-run television, which quoted Musharraf as saying the vote would be delayed by not more than one month. The government said earlier this week that the vote could be delayed by as long as a year.
Musharraf's decision was announced after a meeting of his National Security Council.
The announcement was seen as an indication that the emergency would be short-lived because authorities would likely have to ease up on security restrictions to allow campaigning.
Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum forecast that the state of emergency would be lifted in ``one or two'' months.
``It depends on how the law and order situation improves,'' Qayyum told The Associated Press.
Musharraf maintains that restoring democracy is his ultimate aim and the emergency was needed to prevent political instability, protect economic growth, and maintain the campaign against extremism and terrorism.
Pakistan, a country of 160 million, has been wracked by Taliban and al-Qaida-linked violence, including suicide bombings and clashes in its troubled northwest, where the insurgents have in recent weeks scored a series of victories against government forces.
Critics, however, say Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, imposed the emergency measures - suspending the constitution, blacking out independent TV news networks - to maintain his own grip on power. The moves came ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on the legality of his recent re-election as president.
Days of protests, most of them by lawyers angered by the attacks on the judiciary, have been quickly and sometimes brutally put down.
Thursday was no different. In Islamabad, police chased about 20 high-school students into the city's bar association headquarters after they showed up in solidarity with dozens of protesting lawyers, who were observing the fourth day of a nationwide strike.
In Lahore, in eastern Pakistan, more than 100 professors boycotted classes and marched on the campus of the state-run University of the Punjab.
Perhaps more troubling for Musharraf, however, has been Bhutto's move to join the protests, adding a new dimension to the worsening political instability.
Bhutto pulled back on the talks over a political alliance after the emergency was imposed, saying the president's authoritarian ways have fueled extremism and destabilized the country.
She was planning a large protest Friday in Rawalpindi, a garrison city on the outskirts of Islamabad.
Authorities appeared determined to keep it from going ahead and about 20 policemen were posted Thursday to keep people out of the park where rally was to be held, Liaquat Bagh - named for Pakistan's first prime minister, who was assassinated there in 1951.
The city's police chief, meanwhile, warned that suicide bombers were preparing to attack the rally.
``We have intelligence reports that suicide bombers have entered Rawalpindi,'' said police chief Saud Aziz. He added that the warning was based on specific information and ``the situation is very serious.''
Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto denounced President Gen Pervez Musharraf's pledge as insufficient and said he should step down as army chief within a week.
With anger over military rule spreading, the United States (US) and domestic opponents are stepping up pressure on Musharraf to end the emergency rule imposed Saturday, shed his uniform and hold elections as planned in January.
Bush, who counts Musharraf as a key ally in the war on terror, telephoned him Wednesday to say he should step down as the military chief and hold the vote on schedule.
And Bhutto, who had been in talks with Musharraf on forming a post-election alliance, added to the pressure by deciding to join protests against the emergency. Authorities reportedly arrested hundreds of her supporters overnight to head off a major rally she is planning near Islamabad on Friday.
Meanwhile the Bush White House Thursday applauded Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's decision to proceed with elections in Pakistan, which has been convulsing from his imposition of emergency rule last week.
"We think it is a good thing that President Musharraf has clarified the election date for the Pakistani people,'' press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement given to reporters who were accompanying the president on a trip to Texas later Thursday.
The administration issued the statement welcoming the election the day after President Bush exhorted the embattled Musharraf in a telephone call to hold elections and to step down as head of the military in the Southwest Asian nation that has been riddled by unrest for the past several days.
``You can't be the president and the head of the military at the same time,'' Bush said Wednesday, telling reporters about the 20-minute telephone call he had with Musharraf. Said the president: ``I had a very frank discussion with him.''
The conversation was the first communication the U.S. president had with Musharraf since the Pakistani declared emergency rule last Saturday and granted sweeping powers to authorities to crush political dissent.
News that elections would be held by mid-February was flashed on state-run television, which quoted Musharraf as saying the vote would be delayed by not more than one month. The government said earlier this week that the vote could be delayed by as long as a year.
Musharraf's decision was announced after a meeting of his National Security Council.
The announcement was seen as an indication that the emergency would be short-lived because authorities would likely have to ease up on security restrictions to allow campaigning.
Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum forecast that the state of emergency would be lifted in ``one or two'' months.
``It depends on how the law and order situation improves,'' Qayyum told The Associated Press.
Musharraf maintains that restoring democracy is his ultimate aim and the emergency was needed to prevent political instability, protect economic growth, and maintain the campaign against extremism and terrorism.
Pakistan, a country of 160 million, has been wracked by Taliban and al-Qaida-linked violence, including suicide bombings and clashes in its troubled northwest, where the insurgents have in recent weeks scored a series of victories against government forces.
Critics, however, say Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, imposed the emergency measures - suspending the constitution, blacking out independent TV news networks - to maintain his own grip on power. The moves came ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on the legality of his recent re-election as president.
Days of protests, most of them by lawyers angered by the attacks on the judiciary, have been quickly and sometimes brutally put down.
Thursday was no different. In Islamabad, police chased about 20 high-school students into the city's bar association headquarters after they showed up in solidarity with dozens of protesting lawyers, who were observing the fourth day of a nationwide strike.
In Lahore, in eastern Pakistan, more than 100 professors boycotted classes and marched on the campus of the state-run University of the Punjab.
Perhaps more troubling for Musharraf, however, has been Bhutto's move to join the protests, adding a new dimension to the worsening political instability.
Bhutto pulled back on the talks over a political alliance after the emergency was imposed, saying the president's authoritarian ways have fueled extremism and destabilized the country.
She was planning a large protest Friday in Rawalpindi, a garrison city on the outskirts of Islamabad.
Authorities appeared determined to keep it from going ahead and about 20 policemen were posted Thursday to keep people out of the park where rally was to be held, Liaquat Bagh - named for Pakistan's first prime minister, who was assassinated there in 1951.
The city's police chief, meanwhile, warned that suicide bombers were preparing to attack the rally.
``We have intelligence reports that suicide bombers have entered Rawalpindi,'' said police chief Saud Aziz. He added that the warning was based on specific information and ``the situation is very serious.''