FEATURE
FEATURES & ARTICLES
"Illegal for man in
uniform to seek election
"Benazir Bhutto
uniform to seek election
"Benazir Bhutto
“We are not interested in a deal, we are interested in democracy. We are negotiating to facilitate the transition to democracy,”
Courtsey Dawn: Shamim-ur-Rahman
KARACHI, Aug 24: The former prime minister and self-exiled chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party, Benazir Bhutto, reiterated on Friday that her party would not accept a president in uniform and would continue to work for transition towards a democratic dispensation in the country.
She also spoke of her intention to return to Pakistan to campaign for her party and join other moderate political parties “to try and bring about a transition”.
In an interview with DawnNews TV channel, Ms Bhutto said a president in uniform blurred the distinction between democracy and dictatorship, adding that “the PPP would find it very hard to reconcile with that and we will not do so.”
Having recently commented that time was running out for “crystallising” the so-called power-sharing package with President Pervez Musharraf, Ms Bhutto told the anchorperson that “we have not reached an agreement yet.”In an earlier interview with a foreign television channel, the former prime minister had said that her “party is getting very upset because elections are round the corner and by end of the month we really need to know where we stand. We either have a package or we don’t have a package.”
In reply to a question, Ms Bhutto told DawnNews: “We are not interested in a deal, we are interested in democracy. We are negotiating to facilitate the transition to democracy,” adding that in her view, democracy was important for defeating extremism and terrorism.
Asked to spell out the PPP’s position on Gen Musharraf’s bid to have himself re-elected by the existing assemblies, and without giving up his military post, Ms Bhutto said: “We believe that his election will be illegal and the electoral college would also be illegal. The PPP believes that it is illegal for a man in uniform to seek election.”
In response to another question, the PPP chairperson said that later this month in London the top leadership of her party will deliberate upon the election issue and a host of other matters. She did not categorically reject the possibility that her party would put up a candidate for the post of president.
Ms Bhutto also touched upon the possibility of internal reconciliation, in which context she cited PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif’s recent statement in which he spelled out the terms for attending any conference held on the government’s initiative.
Commenting on the Supreme Court’s verdict regarding the Sharif brothers’ return to Pakistan, Ms Bhutto said that though they had negotiated a deal earlier, she welcomed the verdict which, she said, vindicated the PPP’s point that every Pakistani should be free to return home and play his or her role in every sphere of life.
Talking about the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), the former prime minister said that it was still operative and “we have left the door open for the PML-N.” However, she refused to comment on criticism regarding her recent initiative and said merely name calling serves no purpose.
In reply to a question, Ms Bhutto said that the PPP sees the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal as a partner in government and maintained that they should prove their credentials by resigning from the government of Balochistan.
Referring to any role played by the United States in the ongoing dialogue between herself and General Musharraf, Ms Bhutto termed such perceptions “wild reports” while conceding that Washington has great interest in Pakistan’s transition to democracy.
Press Trust Of India
Islamabad, August 25, 2007
First Published: 17:00 IST(25/8/2007)
Last Updated: 17:08 IST(25/8/2007)
An accountability court in Pakistan on Saturday refused a government plea to issue an arrest warrant against exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in corruption cases.
The National Accountability Bureau had asked the court to issue arrest warrants against Sharif and his family members.
But judge Chaudhry Khalid Mehmood rejected the anti-graft panel's plea and said that the Supreme Court had ruled that Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif can return to Pakistan and no warrant will be issued unless they are back.
The Supreme Court had on August 23 ruled that the Sharif brothers had an "inalienable right" to return and stay in the country as citizens of Pakistan.
The court had asked the government not to create any hindrance in the return of Sharifs, who were sent into exile in 2000 after General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup.
The accountability court had adjourned the hearing of the corruption cases in April 2001 for an indefinite period at the request of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
But the NAB recently filed an application in the court for re-opening of three corruption cases against Nawaz Sharif and members of his family after he asserted his wish to return to the country.
Nine members of Sharif family including Nawaz Sharif, his brother Shahbaz, son and daughter are named in the cases.
The court set September seven for the next hearing.
Islamabad, August 25, 2007
First Published: 17:00 IST(25/8/2007)
Last Updated: 17:08 IST(25/8/2007)
An accountability court in Pakistan on Saturday refused a government plea to issue an arrest warrant against exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in corruption cases.
The National Accountability Bureau had asked the court to issue arrest warrants against Sharif and his family members.
But judge Chaudhry Khalid Mehmood rejected the anti-graft panel's plea and said that the Supreme Court had ruled that Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif can return to Pakistan and no warrant will be issued unless they are back.
The Supreme Court had on August 23 ruled that the Sharif brothers had an "inalienable right" to return and stay in the country as citizens of Pakistan.
The court had asked the government not to create any hindrance in the return of Sharifs, who were sent into exile in 2000 after General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup.
The accountability court had adjourned the hearing of the corruption cases in April 2001 for an indefinite period at the request of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
But the NAB recently filed an application in the court for re-opening of three corruption cases against Nawaz Sharif and members of his family after he asserted his wish to return to the country.
Nine members of Sharif family including Nawaz Sharif, his brother Shahbaz, son and daughter are named in the cases.
The court set September seven for the next hearing.
Pak court refuses to issue arrest warrant against Sharif
Pak court refuses to issue arrest warrant against Sharif
Pakistan's Supreme Court has urged the government to release dozens of people rounded up by the intelligence agencies in the US-led war against terror.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said there was "overwhelming evidence" that many missing people were being held in government custody.
President Musharraf suspended Mr Chaudhry earlier this year.
But he was reinstated in July and has become a key figure of opposition to the president.
Before his suspension, Mr Chaudhry had taken up the cases of missing people believed to be in government custody.
It was one of a number of issues that saw him and the government being drawn into conflict.
'Respectable way'
Mr Chaudhry made his comments on Tuesday while hearing petitions from some 40 families seeking the whereabouts of their missing relatives.
He said the government had to charge them or release them.
"It has been established that these people are in the custody of (spy) agencies," Mr Chaudhry said, the Associated Press news agency reports.
"Choose a respectable way and release all the missing persons... we have overwhelming evidence that people are in your custody," he told the deputy attorney general.
Hundreds of people have gone missing in Pakistan since 2001 after Pakistan decided to support the US war on terror in the wake of the 11 September attacks.
Rights groups say they are illegally detained by security agencies for alleged links with radical groups.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said there was "overwhelming evidence" that many missing people were being held in government custody.
President Musharraf suspended Mr Chaudhry earlier this year.
But he was reinstated in July and has become a key figure of opposition to the president.
Before his suspension, Mr Chaudhry had taken up the cases of missing people believed to be in government custody.
It was one of a number of issues that saw him and the government being drawn into conflict.
'Respectable way'
Mr Chaudhry made his comments on Tuesday while hearing petitions from some 40 families seeking the whereabouts of their missing relatives.
He said the government had to charge them or release them.
"It has been established that these people are in the custody of (spy) agencies," Mr Chaudhry said, the Associated Press news agency reports.
"Choose a respectable way and release all the missing persons... we have overwhelming evidence that people are in your custody," he told the deputy attorney general.
Hundreds of people have gone missing in Pakistan since 2001 after Pakistan decided to support the US war on terror in the wake of the 11 September attacks.
Rights groups say they are illegally detained by security agencies for alleged links with radical groups.
Pakistan missing 'should be free'
Chief Justice Chaudhry was reinstated after suspension
Saudi Arabia has asked Pakistan's exiled ex-PM Nawaz Sharif not to return to the country, citing a commitment he made in 2001, local media say.
Mr Sharif's government was overthrown in a military coup in 1999, and he was exiled to Saudi Arabia in 2001.
He has announced his plans to return home on 10 September to challenge President Pervez Musharraf.
His return poses the most serious threat to an increasingly fragile government, led by Gen Musharraf.
Last month, Mr Sharif filed a petition in the supreme court pleading his right to return to Pakistan.
The court upheld the petition, overruling documents produced by the government that showed Mr Sharif had undertaken to stay away from the country for 10 years.
'No change of plan'
Recent media reports claim that Gen Musharraf has made several presentations to the Saudi government seeking their help in preventing Mr Sharif's return.
The Pakistani authorities have been indicating that the exile deal with Mr Sharif was struck with the mediation of some Saudi dignitaries.
MUSHARRAF UNDER PRESSURE 9 March: Musharraf suspends chief justice for "abuse of power". Lawyers protest April: Protests grow, amid clashes with police 12 May: 34 people die as rival political groups clash in Karachi 11 July: 102 people die when army storms radical Red Mosque in Islamabad July-Aug: Sharp rise in suicide attacks by pro-Taleban militants 20 July: Supreme Court reinstates chief justice 9 Aug: Musharraf rejects emergency rule 23 Aug: Supreme Court says exiled ex-PM Nawaz Sharif can return
The official Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday quoted an unnamed government spokesman as saying that Mr Sharif should fulfil his promises.
"Wisdom demands that Mr Nawaz Sharif commit himself to the promises he made - namely, not to return to Pakistan and to political activity," he said.
He denied Pakistani media reports that Saudi Arabia had expressed "satisfaction and support" for the return of Mr Sharif and his family to Pakistan.
The spokesman said the Saudi government agreed to receive Mr Sharif in 2001 "as a humanitarian gesture".
A spokesman for Mr Sharif's PMLN party in London said the former prime minister's travel plans to Pakistan were not subject to any change.
Mr Sharif served two terms as prime minister in 1990-93 and 1997-99.
He was sentenced to life in prison for offences including tax evasion and treason after the 1999 coup.
Pakistani authorities say Mr Sharif promised to stay out of the country and away from politics for 10 years in exchange for his freedom.
But last week the country's Supreme Court ruled that he and his family had "an inalienable right to return and remain in the country as citizens of Pakistan".
He has announced his plans to return home on 10 September to challenge President Pervez Musharraf.
His return poses the most serious threat to an increasingly fragile government, led by Gen Musharraf.
Last month, Mr Sharif filed a petition in the supreme court pleading his right to return to Pakistan.
The court upheld the petition, overruling documents produced by the government that showed Mr Sharif had undertaken to stay away from the country for 10 years.
'No change of plan'
Recent media reports claim that Gen Musharraf has made several presentations to the Saudi government seeking their help in preventing Mr Sharif's return.
The Pakistani authorities have been indicating that the exile deal with Mr Sharif was struck with the mediation of some Saudi dignitaries.
MUSHARRAF UNDER PRESSURE 9 March: Musharraf suspends chief justice for "abuse of power". Lawyers protest April: Protests grow, amid clashes with police 12 May: 34 people die as rival political groups clash in Karachi 11 July: 102 people die when army storms radical Red Mosque in Islamabad July-Aug: Sharp rise in suicide attacks by pro-Taleban militants 20 July: Supreme Court reinstates chief justice 9 Aug: Musharraf rejects emergency rule 23 Aug: Supreme Court says exiled ex-PM Nawaz Sharif can return
The official Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday quoted an unnamed government spokesman as saying that Mr Sharif should fulfil his promises.
"Wisdom demands that Mr Nawaz Sharif commit himself to the promises he made - namely, not to return to Pakistan and to political activity," he said.
He denied Pakistani media reports that Saudi Arabia had expressed "satisfaction and support" for the return of Mr Sharif and his family to Pakistan.
The spokesman said the Saudi government agreed to receive Mr Sharif in 2001 "as a humanitarian gesture".
A spokesman for Mr Sharif's PMLN party in London said the former prime minister's travel plans to Pakistan were not subject to any change.
Mr Sharif served two terms as prime minister in 1990-93 and 1997-99.
He was sentenced to life in prison for offences including tax evasion and treason after the 1999 coup.
Pakistani authorities say Mr Sharif promised to stay out of the country and away from politics for 10 years in exchange for his freedom.
But last week the country's Supreme Court ruled that he and his family had "an inalienable right to return and remain in the country as citizens of Pakistan".
