Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said that she is ready
to meet Nawaz Sharif, also a former Prime Minister of Pakistan, to discuss a
possible boycott of the parliamentary election, due to be held on January 8.
She also said on Sunday that unless the government
re-establishes control in tribal border areas, “foreign forces” could enter the
country, Guardian Unlimited reports.
Sharif said that he will only take part in the election if
the judges that were fired from the Supreme Court are reinstated.
Bhutto said that although she will take part in the election
she could still boycott them, but added that a boycott could legitimize President
Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule decision.
On November 3 Musharraf imposed the emergency rule blaming
the militancy in the country.
Later on he said that the decision was taken “in the
national interest” because Pakistan
was facing a crisis triggered by militant violence and a judiciary that had
paralyzed the country.
The security forces suffered in the recent months a series
of attacks from pro-Taliban militants that oppose Musharraf’s support for the U.S.
The meeting between Bhutto and Sharif will be the first
since the two returned from the exile, BBC News informs.
On Saturday Bhutto launched her campaign in Peshawar
urging the people to support her secular Pakistan People's Party.
Tahmina Daultana, the vice-president of Sharif's Pakistan
Muslim League (PML-N) party, said that Bhutto shouldn’t participate in these elections.
He said: "If she goes in and comes in through the back
door, getting the support of President Musharraf, then that will not be a
democratic way.”
Musharraf said last week that he would end the emergency
rule on December 16 and he also stepped down as the head of the army. On Thursday
he was sworn in as a civilian president.
Sharif led a rally of about 2,000 supporters in Lahore,
on Sunday. He said that Musaharraf follows the directions of Washington.
He said: “He is obeying America
with his eyes shut. Let us join together to save Pakistan,
because the nation is in a grave crisis.”
Six religious parties delayed the decision to boycott the
election in order to consult with both Bhutto and Sharif regarding this matter.
