Kuwait Times

Published Date: December 02, 2007

LAHORE: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto is betraying Pakistan by not joining an election boycott that cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan said yesterday was key to ousting President Pervez Musharraf. Bhutto says she is still open to the possibility of joining an array of opposition parties shunning January's general election to protest Musharraf's emergency rule and purging of the Supreme Court to safeguard his presidency. But she has also kicked into campaign mode, unveiling a manifesto on Friday
that woos the poor with promises of jobs, housing and healthcare, and analysts expect her to run.

It is a complete case of betrayal," Khan told Reuters in an interview after addressing chanting lawyers in the eastern city of Lahore furious at the removal of the Supreme Court bench. "Every day she says there is pre-poll rigging, every day she says there can't be free and fair elections. She says she doesn't trust the caretakers, she says the emergency is illegal...And yet she is participating and legitimizing the whole process.

Meanwhile, Bhutto took her election campaign to the power base of Islamist groups yesterday, urging Pashtuns living on the Afghan border to vote for her. Bhutto, who survived an assassination attempt blamed on Islamist militants last month, said she was confident her Pakistan People's Party would sweep the Jan 8 general election. "I have come here to seek your help and cooperation to turn this land of Pashtuns into a cradle of peace," she said while addressing around 2,000 party activists in Peshawar, the
capital of North West Frontier Province that borders Afghanistan.

I appeal to you not to fall into the trap of those who believe in violence ... Reject those who want to form the government at gunpoint." Bhutto returned to Pakistan last month from an eight year self-imposed exile to challenge President Pervez Musharraf's grip on power. Musharraf's political allies are likely to fare badly in the election, putting a question mark over his long-term rule.

Pakistani tribal areas along the border are known as safe havens for Al-Qaeda and ethnic Pashtun Taleban militants who fled US-led forces hunting them in Afghanistan following the Sept 11 attacks in 2001. But in recent years, militants have spread their activities towards urban centers of NWFP, including Peshawar, launching suicide bomb attacks and fighting police and army forces. Since government forces stormed the Red Mosque in the capital Islamabad in July to crush a Taleban-style movement, attacks have
spread across the country and grown in intensity. Official sources say around 800 people have died in violence since July.

Boycott possible

Oxford and Harvard educated Bhutto had been regarded in the West as a potential partner for Musharraf, a crucial US ally in its fight against Al-Qaeda, but prospects for a power-sharing deal dimmed after Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Nov 3. Musharraf retired from the army this week and promised to lift emergency rule on Dec 16, fulfilling two of Bhutto's demands. But there are no signs they are resuming dialogue. She also wants the Election Commission reconstituted and local government leaders suspen
ded to ensure a fair vote. "We are taking part in the election under protest because enemies of the people are trying to rig the polls," she said.

Bhutto has left open the option of joining another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who returned from exile on Sunday, in a boycott. Sharif, who might be barred from running because of criminal convictions he says were politically motivated, will meet Bhutto tomorrow to convince her to boycott, a party spokesman said. Sharif's brother Shahbaz was barred from running by election officials yesterday, citing financial irregularities. Party officials complained of victimization and said they would appeal.
A united opposition boycott would rob the vote of credibility and prolong instability. A boycott involving only Sharif and his allies, including the second biggest religious party and the small party of former cricket hero Imran Khan, would merely tarnish the election. - Agencies