Pakistani election boycott begins to crumble
Opposition parties in Pakistan were wavering today on a boycott of crucial elections.
In the wake of a series of concessions from the government they toned down their previously fierce campaign claiming that the ballot was invalid unless President Pervez Musharraf ends his state of emergency.
Several hundred more opponents across the country were released from jail as the president returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia to discuss the future of exiled rival, Nawaz Sharif.
At home former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto deferred a decision on whether to ignore the election, which she has said cannot be legitimate if the emergency continues.
Since bringing in emergency rule on November 3, Gen. Musharraf has neutered the Supreme Court, silenced media opposition by taking several private news channels off the air, and thrown thousands in jail.
But he has also vowed to step down as military chief, possibly in the next few days, and remain on as a civilian president, a crucial step that became easier after a newly constituted Supreme Court stacked with loyalists dismissed legal challenges to his re-election as head of state.
Ms Bhutto said it would be a “good sign” if Gen. Musharraf quits his army post, and avoided criticising him directly. She said her party needed a few more days to decide whether to boycott the parliamentary elections set for January 8.
Gen. Musharraf flew back early today after meeting Saudi King Abdullah.
A Pakistani official said Gen. Musharraf wanted to prevent Mr Sharif from returning before the parliamentary elections.
“If there is a decision to participate in the elections, all parties should participate. Otherwise all parties should boycott,” he said.
Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said today that more than 3,700 people had been released from jail
But many high-ranking party activists and leaders, such as cricket-star-turned-politician Imran Khan and Aitzaz Ahsan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, remained inside.
There were also fresh arrests today , including that of a former Supreme Court judge who was the only candidate against Gen. Musharraf in the October presidential election.
Wajihuddin Ahmed was taken into custody in Islamabad along with Athar Minallah, an opposition lawyer.
