Nawaz says elections now would destroy country

[EagleEyes]

Nawaz says elections now would destroy country

* Former PM says PML-N not participating in polls in protest

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif said on Friday that if the government goes ahead with parliamentary elections next month, it will “destroy the country”.

“If the government is adamant about holding elections on January 8, it is going on a self-destructive path which will not only destroy the government itself, but will also destroy the country,” AFP cited Nawaz as telling reporters at a press conference at the residence of PML-N leader Raja Ashfaq Sarwar. “They are not going to be credible,” he said. “Most of the mainstream political parties have announced their boycott.”

In protest: Online quoted him as saying in unequivocal terms that his party would not participate in the upcoming elections in protest against the assassination of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto at a rally outside Liaquat Bagh. He said the PML-N shared the PPP’s grief, and this was why the party was boycotting the polls. He said the only reason the government could hold elections in January would be to allow the PML-Q an opponent-free win.

Nawaz demanded the establishment of a new caretaker setup, claiming the country could only be saved if President Pervez Musharraf had no involvement in the caretaker government. The former premier accused the regime of security lapses and attempts to kill two popular leaders in one day, citing the unsuccessful attack on his rally. He said one attack had unfortunately been successful.

He declared President Musharraf the root cause of all problems being faced by the country, adding that Pakistan was passing through a critical time in its history. He said free, fair and transparent elections were not possible while Musharraf was still in power. He said the PML-N would soon consult with other political parties and try its level best to gather them on one platform. agencies

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[EagleEyes]

The government actually prefers no election. However, the sooner the elections are done, the better.

The current government stance is that they will let all the political parties decide what they want to do with the elections. The reason Nawaz wants to delay is obviously he isn't going to get "****" right now. So he will need some time to gather support from the PPP supporters and PPP itself. Perhaps, there will be a deal between PPP and PML-N?

 

[mujahideen]

I personally think that the elections should be postponed by two months. The assassination of Benazir has given Nawaz and other opposition parties a time to shine. It is such a shame that they are using such a sad event to their political benefit. When will our politicians learn to do things in the interest of the country?

 

[ahussains]

The elections will be delayed because there is so much tension that no one participate in the elections properly and he public is also not in such a mood

 

[IceCold]

NS knows that his *** will be kicked in the elections coming up next month and he's just using delaying tactics. He just wants to cash the PP vote bank by allining himself with the sentiments of PP voters. I just hope that PP realizes this and come up with a new leadership ASAP and then participate in the upcoming elections.

 

[hoodhood1]

According to CNN the US may go for plan "C". As BB is gone, the back up, Atizaz is under hose arrest NS is not wanted. The only option is that President Pervaiz Musharraf to Rule the country for next FIVE years.

 

[EagleEyes]

Benazirs son Bilal will lead the PPP.

 

[Neo]

How old is that kid...??

Asif Zardar With his son Bilawal sitting on his side

 

[Neo]

‘Decision on polls after consulting politicians’​

* Army ready to help civil admin: COAS

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday that he wanted to hold timely elections but a final decision would be taken after consulting political parties.

Chairing a meeting, the president said he was ready to meet with political leaders personally to discuss the polls issue. Government sources told Daily Times that Musharraf called for military deployment if and where required. “No compromise should be made on the issue of law and order,” he said.

The meeting discussed the situation in the country following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Musharraf was informed about the details of deployment of forces in districts of Sindh, Punjab and other trouble-prone areas. He ordered security chiefs to take firm action against all rioters, according to AFP.

Sources told Daily Times that army chief General Ashfaq Kayani told the meeting that the army was ready to help the administration restore normalcy to the country.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

‘Benazir’s desire to contest polls should be respected’​

* Zardari says Benazir’s note on party’s future will be read out today
* Fahim says decision on polls won’t be emotional

NAUDERO: Benazir Bhutto’s husband Asif Zardari said on Saturday that Benazir’s desire to contest the election to rid the country of dictatorship should be honoured.

He was talking to leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and other component parties of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) here at Bhutto house, Online reported.

However, he said the final decision to take part in the elections would be taken in the PPP meeting on Sunday (today). The informal meeting was attended by Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Yousaf Raza Gillani, the PML-N’s Nawaz Sharif, Raja Zafarul Haq, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and Khawaja Asif, the APDM’s Mehmood Khan Achakzai and the ANP’s Ghulam Ahmad Bilur. Addressing Nawaz Sharif, Zardari said the decision to participate in the elections should be unanimous. Nawaz agreed.

Benazir’s note: In an interview to BBC radio on Saturday, Zardari said Benazir had left instructions about the future of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to be read in the event of her death, which would be made public on Sunday, AFP reported.

Zardari said that their son would read out the message from Benazir. He also revealed that his wife had made detailed plans for her burial, including changing the location of the plot from his family’s ancestral tomb to her family’s mausoleum following another recent suicide bomb attack. “She has left a message for the party and she has left a will, so we shall be doing that tomorrow (Sunday) in a meeting,” he said. Asked if he would succeed her as party leader, Zardari said: “It depends on the party and depends on the (Benazir’s) will.”

No emotional decision: Meanwhile, PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim told BBC Urdu that the central executive committee of the party would not take a decision about participation in the January 8 elections emotionally or in haste, Online reported.

“We will take a decision after a sincere and lengthy deliberation,” he said.

He said the PPP’s senior leadership would review the government’s offer that the investigation into Benazir Bhutto’s assassination could be carried out with any nominated judge of the party.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

Country looks for leadership ​

ISLAMABAD (December 30 2007): Benazir Bhutto's son will deliver a posthumous message for the slain Pakistani opposition leader and read her will on Sunday, but the 19-year-old is too young to be the leader the crisis-ridden country craves.



Bereft of Bhutto's charismatic leadership, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is grief-stricken and in disarray. Bilawal represents the next generation in a dynasty whose history is entwined with Pakistan, but he is still studying law at Oxford. For now, power within the party is likely to rest with Benazir's spouse, Asif Ali Zardari. "For the time being, there is no Bhutto who could succeed her," Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore-based analyst said.

"It's a very uncertain phase for the dynasty."

THE PPP LEADERSHIP IS DUE TO MEET IN NAUDERO TODAY TO DECIDE THE SUCCESSION ISSUE:

The PPP leadership is due to meet in Naudero on Sunday to decide the succession issue and whether to contest the looming election. In an interview with the BBC on Saturday, Zardari was asked if he wanted to lead the party. "It depends on the party and it depends on the will. My son will read his mother's will to the party," Zardari replied.

The choice lies between Zardari or her top aide, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, another land-owning politician. Even if the nomination went to Bilawal, tall and handsome like his mother, Zardari would be the de facto leader. Zardari can ooze charm, and gained respect for enduring eight years in jail before being released without being convicted. However, political foes accuse him of corruption and many PPP loyalists blame him for tainting the Bhutto name.

Benazir's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan's first popularly elected prime minister, was hanged in 1979 by a military dictator whose policies pandered to religious conservatives, who remain a force today.

Founded in the 1960s during another period of military rule, the PPP advocated the establishment of an egalitarian democracy.

Standing for economic and social justice, the PPP quickly became the single largest party in the country, but its appeal rested with the gifted but flawed personalities of the Bhutto family.

"Everybody in the party knows that they have to stick to the legacy of Bhutto and without that legacy, they are nobody," said Najam Sethi, editor of the Daily Times and a leading political analyst.

Many PPP leaders are from the land-owning feudal class Bhutto belonged to, yet the party still represents the best hope for both progressive-minded Pakistanis and the uneducated poor yearning for democracy.

Benazir held onto a following among the masses even though she had been out of power for a decade and out of Pakistan for eight years, and despite the dismissal of her two governments in the late 1980s and 1990s amid charges of corruption and misrule.

"Benazir Bhutto was the bridge between the propertied classes in Pakistan and the poor of this country," said Karachi-based independent economist Asad Saeed.

"She was the one and only person who wanted to heal the wounds of the poor while not disturbing the privileges of the rich."

Saeed saw no one who could fill the gap left by Benazir and felt that her survivors faced a daunting task to emulate her. "If they want to live peacefully and if they want to make something of this country, basically and paradoxically the rich and powerful of Pakistan will have to become Benazir Bhutto's themselves, or at least attempt to."

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

[Samudra]

Heck, not a teenager! Nobody else from the ZAB family ?

 

[Neo]

Heck, not a teenager! Nobody else from the ZAB family ?

I think we're done with the Bhutto's.

 

[Neo]

There's another candidate...Zulfiqar Junior...Benazir's nephew...

 

[MastanKhan]

Hi,

I wish that for one time, that this guy, Nawaz Sharif would say something intelligent and nice that brings the different political parties and people together. But time after time, this man opens his mouth and lets everybody know---that stupidity and incompetence has reached a newer pleateau. To some people, time does not teach them anything, they are who they areand will pass away as such.