Musharraf hits out a Bhutto
2007-11-17 10:18
Washington - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, in an interview published on Saturday, reaffirmed his commitment to democracy, but declined to give a timeframe for lifting emergency rule.
"If I am a dictator, I don't know what kind of dictator I am," Musharraf told The Washington Post. "I am the strongest believer in democracy. I brought democracy to Pakistan and I still believe in it."
He said was "thinking about" a timeframe for lifting a state of emergency it, but when asked when that could happen, he answered: "I don't know."
Musharraf also accused opposition leader Benazir Bhutto of wanting to avoid elections, saying her party unlikely to win, in a BBC interview on Friday.
After Bhutto earlier on Friday described the country's new caretaker government as "unacceptable" and "biased" Musharraf told the broadcaster that "It is she actually who may not be wanting elections in Pakistan.
"And it is she who may want to go on to the agitational war because she would not want to go into elections because her party is not in a state to win at all."
US official to meet with Musharraf
Musharraf was to meet on Saturday with visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who spoke with opposition leader Benazir Bhutto by telephone on Friday.
Negroponte is the most high-ranking US official to visit Pakistan since the crisis broke out two weeks ago when Musharraf declared a state of emergency.
The caretaker cabinet, led by a premier who is a close Musharraf ally, was sworn in Friday with the task of leading the crisis-hit Islamic republic to general elections by early January.
While facing pressure to end a crackdown on the opposition and the media, the Pakistani president insisted that anyone who breaks the law "will be back in jail or restricted."
"We don't want anyone in agitation mode, and I will tell Negroponte and the US that Pakistan comes first, and there are certain realities on the ground - extremism and terrorism - that made me decide to go with emergency law."
Musharraf has scheduled parliamentary elections for January 9, but it remains unclear whether emergency rule would be lifted by that time.
- SAPA