Times of India : Pakistan urges Benazir Bhutto to delay return

Pakistan urges Benazir Bhutto to delay return

October 13, 2007

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday urged former premier Benazir Bhutto to delay her return until the Supreme Court rules on a government amnesty on corruption charges against her.

Bhutto, is set to arrive in Pakistan next Thursday after spending eight years in self-imposed exile to campaign for key general elections in January.

But a government minister said she should delay until the court ruled on the legality of the amnesty President Pervez Musharraf signed a week ago clearing all politicians charged with graft between 1985 and 1999.

The controversial "reconciliation ordinance" was supposed to pave the way for a Musharraf-Bhutto power-sharing deal ahead of the elections.

"After yesterday's development in the Supreme Court it is a different scenario. Benazir Bhutto should delay her return 'til the challenges are cleared," said Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim.

Bhutto's highly-anticipated homecoming next Thursday to her powerbase of Karachi comes after she fled into exile in Dubai and London to avoid corruption charges arising from her two terms in power.

The Supreme Court ruled Friday it would hear five appeals against the amnesty in three weeks' time. Azim said Bhutto could still face corruption charges if the court overturns the amnesty, adding that the government would abide by any court decision.

"If the court declares the national reconciliation ordinance null and void, then all cases and charges against her will be reinstated."

"Such a situation could create political turmoil," he said. "But she is free to come back, this is just friendly advice," he added.

A Bhutto aide said Friday her return would go ahead as planned. Musharraf also called on Bhutto earlier this week to stay away until the Supreme Court ruled on another matter - the legality of his landslide re-election in last Saturday's controversial presidential poll.

"President Musharraf has conveyed (to) Benazir Bhutto a message that she should delay her return to Pakistan, but there was no direct contact between the two," the president's spokesman Rashid Qureshi said Saturday.

Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, has been at odds with the court since trying to sack its chief justice in March, a move that sparked mass protests.

The court will next week hear the challenges against the military ruler's win in the presidential vote.