Incident

Home page

Incident

Musharraf likely to delay Pakistan return

20 January 2012 03:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Pakistan’s former dictator Pervez Musharraf came under mounting pressure Thursday to delay his return from exile as he admitted he would be in danger if he goes back to the crisis-ridden country, APA reports quoting APA reports quoting AFP.

Friends and supporters advised Musharraf to put off a homecoming scheduled for January 27-30 after Islamabad said he would be arrested if he returned from more than three years of self-imposed exile in London and Dubai.

"I have to return, no doubt whatsoever. My decision stands between the 27th and the 30th of January," Musharraf said at a press conference in Ilford, east of London.

But he added: "My party leaders in Pakistan are looking at the implications of my return and will give me the recommendation whether to return or whether to postpone. I have not had any recommendations yet.

"My message to the Pakistani government is that I should not be arrested."

Aides fear Pakistan’s civilian government, under massive pressure from the military and the judiciary, may exploit Musharraf’s return to divert attention from a series of crises likely to force early elections within months.

"Party leaders are convinced it is not a suitable time for Musharraf to come to Pakistan," said Mohammad Ali Saif, central secretary in the retired general’s All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).

"A meeting of the party central executive committee has been summoned on January 25-26 in Dubai to make a final decision. Musharraf will chair the meeting."

Mohammad Amjad, senior vice president in the APML, confirmed that Musharraf had been advised to postpone but that a final decision was pending.

Musharraf had promised to fly home to contest general elections as Pakistan’s government sinks deeper into a major crisis, squeezed by the military and the judiciary.

But he faces two Pakistani court warrants for his arrest in connection with the 2006 death of Akbar Bugti, a rebel leader in the southwest, and the 2007 assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto on her own homecoming.

In an interview broadcast on BBC radio, Musharraf admitted he would be in danger in Pakistan.

"I do feel endangered. There is a danger certainly, but you take your own protection and then leave things to destiny. Nobody can ensure you 100 percent protection," he said.

He admitted that his arrest in Pakistan was possible but said he would "like to remain out" of the crisis engulfing the government, army and judiciary.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the upper house of parliament that Musharraf would be arrested if he returns.

Despite widespread disillusionment with the current government over power cuts, inflation, unemployment and the unpopular US alliance, few believe that the ex-dictator is the answer to Pakistan’s troubles.

The crisis saw Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani hauled before the Supreme Court on contempt proceedings at a time of enormous pressure with the army over alleged efforts to clip the military’s wings with American help.

"I personally feel he should not come. The current situation is not in his favour and the atmosphere is hostile," Hamid Nawaz, a former general and Musharraf’s former interior minister, told AFP.

He said Musharraf’s fledgling APML party was ill-prepared to contest elections and that the former ruler would not be safe in Pakistan.

The military has not publicly announced that it would guarantee his safety and retired lieutenant general Talat Masood also warned against his return.

"It will be difficult for the government to provide security," Masood said, dismissing his aims as "unrealistic" and his party as "politically bankrupt".

"He is taking a political step and the military cannot do much because there are cases against him and he may be arrested," he added.

Musharraf was forced to step down in August 2008 after the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) formed a government following elections.