Opposition parties wavers on whether to boycott crucial Pakistan elections

ISLAMABAD – Opposition parties wavered yesterday on whether to boycott crucial Pakistani elections, backing off their most strident calls to shun the vote unless President General Pervez Musharraf ends his state of emergency.

The government continued to roll back a wave of repression, freeing several hundred more opponents across the country, as the president returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia to discuss the future of an exiled rival, Nawaz Sharif. At home, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto deferred a decision on whether to spurn the election, which she has said cannot be legitimate if the emergency continues.Since seizing extraordinary powers on November 3, Musharraf has neutered the Supreme Court, muzzled the media by taking several private news channels off the air, and thrown thousands in jail.But he has also vowed to step down as military chief – possibly in the next few days – and remain on as a civilian president, a crucial step that became easier after a newly constituted Supreme Court stacked with Musharraf loyalists on Monday dismissed legal challenges to his re-election as head of state.The court met again on Wednesday to consider whether emergency rule was legal, but adjourned without making a decision.Bhutto said late Tuesday that it would be a ‘good sign’ if Musharraf quits his army post, and avoided criticising him directly.She said her party needed a few more days to decide whether to boycott the Jan.8 parliamentary elections.Meanwhile, a leader of one of Pakistan’s biggest religious parties said it was inclined to participate in ballot, though he also called on Musharraf to lift the emergency.The comments by Maulana Fazlur Rehman were reported in the English-language Daily Times newspaper and the Urdu-language Jang newspaper.Musharraf flew back early yesterday after meeting with Saudi King Abdullah.Saudi officials said efforts had been made to arrange a meeting between Musharraf and Sharif, who was ousted as prime minister by the general’s 1999 coup.A Pakistani official said Musharraf’s goal was to prevent Sharif from returning before the parliamentary elections.Sharif’s party suggested he had snubbed the general.”He followed his commitment in letter and spirit of not holding negotiations with a military dictator,” said party chairman Raja Zafarul Haq.Haq declined to say whether his party would boycott the vote, saying the opposition ought to make a collective decision.Nampa-APAt home, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto deferred a decision on whether to spurn the election, which she has said cannot be legitimate if the emergency continues.Since seizing extraordinary powers on November 3, Musharraf has neutered the Supreme Court, muzzled the media by taking several private news channels off the air, and thrown thousands in jail.But he has also vowed to step down as military chief – possibly in the next few days – and remain on as a civilian president, a crucial step that became easier after a newly constituted Supreme Court stacked with Musharraf loyalists on Monday dismissed legal challenges to his re-election as head of state.The court met again on Wednesday to consider whether emergency rule was legal, but adjourned without making a decision.Bhutto said late Tuesday that it would be a ‘good sign’ if Musharraf quits his army post, and avoided criticising him directly.She said her party needed a few more days to decide whether to boycott the Jan.8 parliamentary elections.Meanwhile, a leader of one of Pakistan’s biggest religious parties said it was inclined to participate in ballot, though he also called on Musharraf to lift the emergency.The comments by Maulana Fazlur Rehman were reported in the English-language Daily Times newspaper and the Urdu-language Jang newspaper.Musharraf flew back early yesterday after meeting with Saudi King Abdullah.Saudi officials said efforts had been made to arrange a meeting between Musharraf and Sharif, who was ousted as prime minister by the general’s 1999 coup.A Pakistani official said Musharraf’s goal was to prevent Sharif from returning before the parliamentary elections.Sharif’s party suggested he had snubbed the general.”He followed his commitment in letter and spirit of not holding negotiations with a military dictator,” said party chairman Raja Zafarul Haq.Haq declined to say whether his party would boycott the vote, saying the opposition ought to make a collective decision.Nampa-AP