PAKISTAN: Opposition split on Musharraf olive branch
Updated
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has offered another olive branch to his political opponents by declaring he will end his state of emergency next month. But while international leaders have welcomed the announcement, there has been a mixed response from Pakistan's opposition politicians.
Presenter: Paula Kruger
Speakers: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf; Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto; White House spokeswoman Dana Perino
Rick Barton from the Centre of Strategic and International Studies in Washington
PAULA KRUGER: It was a long-awaited gesture of reconciliation.
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF: Do solemnly swear that I am a Muslim and believe in the unity and oneness of Almighty Allah.
PAULA KRUGER: Soon after shedding his military uniform and being sworn in as a civilian leader, Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, addressed the nation on state television.
In the address he said he would lift the state of emergency on December the 16th, remove some communication restrictions and restore the Constitution fully so the general election, due on January the 8th, would be held under Pakistan's Constitution.
Musharraf won re-election in a vote by legislators last month, soon after he suspended the Constitution, declared emergency rule and purged the Supreme Court to block legal challenges to his victory.
But after international and domestic pressure, he has lifted some of those restrictions and called on his political opponents to take part in next year's poll.
Former president Nawaz Sharif has turned down the invitation and says he will boycott the election.
NAWAZ SHARIF: Well, you see, we still insist that a judiciary of 2nd November must be restored. That judiciary was thrown out by Mr Musharraf, just for personal reasons, because his own interest was involved. That judiciary must come back.
PAULA KRUGER: Another former president, Benazir Bhutto, has, for now at least, indicated she will take part.
BENAZIR BHUTTO: We're taking part under protest. The dice is decked against the opposition, but we feel that if we boycott then the regime won't need to rig, and the world will turn around and say the election was fair. So it's important for us to mobilise the support we have and fight in the field, and I think if we do that they will be forced to rig to stop the PPP (Pakistan People's Party), or they will be forced to take the measures necessary to make the elections more credible.
PAULA KRUGER: The United States and Britain, which view Pakistan, and therefore Musharraf, as a vital ally in the fight against Islamic militancy, have welcomed the President's announcement.
The pressure they placed on President Musharraf to create a level playing field for the January poll is considered a big factor in his decision to lift the state of emergency.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino fielded questions on whether the US threatened Pakistan.
REPORTER: It'll take the White House to put that kind of pressure on them in this new triumph.
DANA PERINO: I think we have to give President Musharraf some credit here, because while he made the decision to
establish the emergency order, which we believed was a mistake and we counselled against, he did take the step to take.
REPORTER: (inaudible)
DANA PERINO: Yeah, certainly we are in communication with him, but I think that he made this decision on his own.
REPORTER: Did we threaten him in any way?
DANA PERINO: No.
PAULA KRUGER: Despite President Musharraf's step towards democracy, there was still unrest on the streets, as police and lawyers clashed in the eastern city of Lahore.
The protesting lawyers say they won't except his leadership, even though he now rules as a civilian and not a general.
Analysts are also sceptical.
Rick Barton is from the Centre of Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
RICK BARTON: He has not really still crossed a couple of the red lines that he's left out there - the restoration of the courts, the restoration of the most popular media in the country. It'll be interesting to see if their public demonstration's allowed. So there's still plenty of issues, but he's putting a happier face on his decrees.
