Political sources say exiled former PM expected to face slew of corruption charges
SONYA FATAH
THE TORONTO STAR, Sep 15, 2007
ISLAMABAD–With one former prime minister put on a plane and whisked off to Saudi Arabia, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has one popular opponent out of the way.
But Benazir Bhutto is a tougher candidate, and the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party plans to return to Karachi on Oct. 18, ending her self-imposed exile.
Bhutto’s announcement yesterday comes at the end of a sobering week for the country’s president.
Bhutto, 56, said Pakistan needs to return to civilian rule as it prepares for parliamentary elections that must be held by January.
“This will strengthen our efforts for democracy,” Bhutto, who lives in exile in Dubai and London, told Pakistan’s Geo television. “Democracy should be restored completely and the army removed from the scene.”
Nawaz Sharif, leader of one of the largest opposition parties, was exiled for a second time on Monday.
Protests followed and a series of petitions charging the government with contempt of court were filed in the country’s top court.
An alleged suicide attack this week left 26 dead at one of the military’s best-guarded bases, home to an elite commando unit, stirring speculation of disgruntlement within the barracks or in the intelligence agencies.
Meanwhile, the nine-member bench of the Supreme Court is scheduled to decide Monday whether Gen. Musharraf, also head of Pakistan’s military, has the constitutional right to keep his uniform. The ruling party PML-Q has also announced that Sehba Musharraf, the president’s wife who has no political experience, is being considered a favourite “covering candidate” for the position of president, a practice that is not uncommon in South Asia.
The move to push Sehba Musharraf into the presidency could allow Musharraf to keep his uniform for a fresh 5-year term and is being widely seen as an attempt by ruling party members to keep Bhutto out of contention.
“It’s a sham but it’s completely legal,” says Tariq Rahim, a lawyer in the former government of Lahore and a staunch supporter of the PPP.
The government has said Bhutto is free to return to Pakistan but that charges of corruption that have been levied against her and her husband will not be dropped. Bhutto, who left Pakistan eight years ago amid the corruption allegations, has been negotiating with Musharraf on the possibility of combining their political forces to share power after elections.
In the battle of political rivals, however, Bhutto has emerged the winner. Unlike Sharif, she has long experience with political oppression. She watched her father hanged, has spent years in jail and has seen many members of her party tried and tested for their anti-establishment views.
But she has many serious hurdles to overcome including a dubious political track record, the corruption charges and a constitutional amendment preventing a twice-before prime minister from returning to the top job.
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