Contra Costa Times : Musharraf sets election deadline

Musharraf sets election deadline

News fails to deter Pakistan's former prime minister from going ahead with banned rally

By Griff Witte and Pamela Constable | WASHINGTON POST | November 9, 2007

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan -- As a possible clash loomed between security forces and supporters of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday set a deadline of Feb. 15 for holding elections. But he did not give any indication of when he plans to end emergency rule, and a government spokesman said it might not happen before the vote.

The announcement drew praise from the United States, which has been pressuring Musharraf to set a date for the parliamentary elections. Bhutto, however, was not dissuaded from pushing ahead with plans for a major rally in this garrison city today in defiance of a ban on protests. Police have vowed to block the demonstration, and there were fears Thursday that the showdown could turn violent.

In advance of the rally, authorities rounded up nearly 500 activists from Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party in overnight raids, the first time that her supporters have been targeted since the emergency was declared.

At a news conference in Islamabad, the capital, Bhutto said Musharraf had not satisfied her demands to restore the constitution, hold elections on time and retire as army chief. She called on all Pakistanis, regardless of their party, to attend today's rally.

"If you support democracy, please join us," she said.

Elections were originally due in January, but when emergency rule was imposed, government officials raised the possibility of postponing them by as much as a year. The Bush administration had called for the vote to move ahead and on Thursday applauded Musharraf's announcement.

"We would like to see him return to those elections as he said today he would do," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "The uniform is still an issue. The president called on him to take it off. He said, 'You can't be both the president and the head of the army.'"

The United States has also tried to persuade Musharraf to restore the constitution, and on that front, there was no visible progress. Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan said there was no schedule for lifting the emergency rules imposed over the weekend when Musharraf suspended many civil rights and fired Supreme Court justices who had refused to agree to a new, provisional constitution.

Khan noted that Pakistan has held elections during previous periods of emergency rule and that "this could happen again."

He also said no date had been set for Musharraf to step down as army chief. The president reiterated Thursday that he planned to do so before he is sworn in for a new term. But Khan said the president cannot take a new oath until the Supreme Court rules he is eligible. The recent purge of justices included several members reviewing challenges to Musharraf's reelection as president while he remained in his military post. The government had expected to lose that case, but with all of the remaining judges sympathetic to Musharraf, there is now no question the outcome will be in his favor.

Musharraf's current term as president expires Nov. 15.

Bhutto, speaking to reporters and party members Thursday at a private compound outside the capital, dismissed Musharraf's announcement as "a little vague."

"In 2004, he said, 'I'll take the uniform off,' and he never did. Then he told the Supreme Court he would take the uniform off, and he never did. We want the uniform off by Nov. 15 or before," she said. "We want a specific date" for elections.

Bhutto called the army "rudderless" and "leaderless" and said there was "no way to save Pakistan" except by restoring democracy.

Musharraf ostensibly imposed emergency rule to combat extremism. But critics say he has spent most of his time since then trying to consolidate power and neutralize the mainstream political opposition.

"State force is being used against civilians and not terrorists," Bhutto said. "Women are being dragged from their homes. We are returning to the dark days of martial law."

A Western diplomat said the West is encouraging Bhutto to work carefully in a volatile situation. "We don't want to totally disrupt the entire apple cart. Bhutto must slowly ratchet up the tensions so that elections can take place. She has made a carefully calibrated strategy, and she's a very astute politician," said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Bhutto's aides said that they expected serious clashes with police and other security forces today and that Bhutto might be prevented from reaching the rally, but they said they would continue with plans for the event. They said that the government had cracked down hard on the party in the previous 24 hours and that police had obstructed efforts to prepare the park where the rally is to be held.

Khan, the deputy information minister, said he hoped Bhutto would cancel today's protest, given the ban on demonstrations.

"She's a responsible politician, so I don't think she'll create a law-and-order situation," he said.