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Musharraf relents, sets Jan 9 as poll date

Islamabad: Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that Pakistan would not deviate from its January schedule for parliamentary elections but set no time limit on emergency rule, raising grave doubts about whether the crucial vote can be free or fair. Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, speaking two days after she was briefly put under house arrest, said the schedule for elections was “a first positive step”, but with emergency rule in place, it would be “difficult” to campaign.

Other opposition parties were more strident, saying Musharraf’s sweeping powers, which have already led to thousands of arrests and a ban on rallies, would make a mockery of the democratic process.

The attorney-general also announced on Sunday that military courts could now try civilians on charges ranging from treason to inciting public unrest. A leading Pakistani rights activist, currently under house arrest, said it showed the US-backed general had imposed martial law.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice welcomed Musharraf’s pledge to hold elections by January 9 but expressed concern that he had not set a time limit for restoring citizens’ rights. “It’s not a perfect situation,” Rice said.

Meanwhile, pro-Taliban militants took a major, a captain and five soldiers of the Pakistani army hostage in Swat in the North West Frontier Province. Officials in Swat said some militants attacked a military camp and abducted the seven soldiers.

14 November, 2007
 

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