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| Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto |
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King Of Muslim World The Great Leader Of
Pakistan.Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.Walk Out From
Security Council.
Tags : Bhutto Zulfiqar |
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Affichage : 205996
Durée : 119 s |
| Interview with Benazir Bhutto |
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Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf stepped down
as military chief on Wednesday, a move that had
been a key demand of his political rivals and
Western backers.
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Musharraf will be sworn in as a civilian president
on Thursday.
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But it is unclear if or when Musharraf will end
Pakistan's current state of emergency rule, in
which hundreds of opposition figures and their
supporters have been detained and independent
media has been silenced.
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During a change of command Wednesday, Musharraf
relinquished his post by handing over his
ceremonial baton to his successor, Gen. Ashfaq
Kayani, a former intelligence chief.
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"[You] are the saviors of Pakistan," Musharraf
said in an emotional final speech to the troops.
He appeared to be blinking back tears as the guard
of honour performed a final march-by.
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Since seizing power in a coup in 1999, Musharraf
has served as president while retaining his post
as head of the armed forces. Opposition parties
had threatened to boycott the January
parliamentary election had Musharraf remained in
his military post.
Bhutto reserves right to boycott
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Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said
Musharraf showed "courage" by stepping down, but
called for emergency rule to be ended immediately.
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"Our media has been gagged," Bhutto told CBC News
in a telephone interview Wednesday from Islamabad.
"We need those gags to go and the prisoners to be
freed."
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She said her party would participate in the
January elections, but under protest and while
still "reserving the right to boycott at a later
date."
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She called for an independent election commission
to stop electoral abuses by government officials.
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"There's still as lot to be done as far as fair
elections are concerned," she said.
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Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister Musharraf ousted
in a 1999 coup, said Musharraf's conversion to a
civilian president would make "a lot of
difference," and he would only refuse to
participate in the vote if all opposition parties
agreed to do so as well.
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Musharraf's Oct. 6 election for a second five-year
term as president was validated last week by the
Supreme Court, which has been recently stacked
with government-friendly judges after Musharraf
purged the panel as part of his emergency
measures.
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Musharraf enacted a state of emergency on Nov. 3
for the stated purpose of reining in militancy in
the country's northwest. He also accused the
Supreme Court of paralyzing the government by
overstepping its authority.
Strong opposition
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Analysts say, however, that the emergency rule was
an act to hold on to power by clearing the Supreme
Court of judges who were expected to rule that his
presidency was illegal.
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The general's popularity has been plummeting since
March when he tried unsuccessfully to fire the
Supreme Court's top judge.
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Political unrest was aggravated when Musharraf
imposed emergency rule in November, followed by a
crackdown on dissidents and a blackout of
independent media.
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Musharraf now faces strong opposition from two
former prime ministers who have returned from
exile ahead of crucial parliamentary elections -
Sharif and Benazir Bhutto.
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Both politicians have registered to run in the
election slated for Jan. 8, though they have
indicated their parties might boycott the vote to
undermine its legitimacy.
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The United States government has called for
Musharraf, a close U.S. ally, to lift the
suspension of the constitution to ensure a fair
election.
Brought to you by Mediascrape
Tags : Pakistan Musharraf bhutto elections benazir politics news mediascrape commentary analysis |
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Affichage : 16885
Durée : 463 s |
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