Musharraf wants SC, army to hold next elections

LONDON: Former President Pervez Musharraf has demanded that the next general elections should be held under the supervision of Pakistan Army, as the politicians cannot be trusted with the job of holding fair and impartial elections.
Pervez Musharraf was speaking to a large number of his All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) followers at the first anniversary gathering at a North London venue. Musharraf’s supporters from Pakistan, America, Middle East and the UK attended the event.
Musharraf said the interim government should be formed to prepare for the free elections but this set up should be supervised by the combination of the army and the Supreme Court. He said the current electoral system discouraged women, youth and minorities from taking part in votes.
“They don’t have stakes in this system and it only benefits the status quo,” Mushararf said.
He said the need for a new democratic alliance, involving small parties offering third alternative, to add and engage the disfranchised in the electoral process was more important than even before.
“Or else, the present set-up will go on to win the next election and there will be no way of ridding the current of the unprecedented level of corruption.”
He accused that his nemesis Nawaz Sharif was involved in disinformation campaign against him but challenged the former premier over his own “track record of fighting with the army, the judiciary and introducing the briefcase politics”.
Musharraf repeated that he would land in Lahore on March 23 and would not be deterred by the threat of prison or any other kind of repercussion.
“I am a commando and I have fought wars. I have played with fire and have seen death from very close. I am not the one to be made scare. I have a faith in destiny and I don’t care what happens to me when I reach Pakistan. I will go back at any cost”, he said to loud cheers from his supporters, who announced they would book planes to be with their leader upon his return.
He said the government was proving incompetent in Pakistan’s internal war against extremism.
“The extremist sectarian and terror groups I banned are free to operate again, they have re-emerged. No one is coming forward against them,” said the former president, adding that the overall governance system has collapsed in Pakistan and the concept of nationhood was under threat in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said Pakistan needed to rediscover its national pride and identity and live and act like a respectable nation, not allowing to be pushed around as its happening today. He said a concerted effort was underway to undermine Pakistan’s armed forces and the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).
“We are not defending ourselves. Our biggest strength is Pakistan Army but the problem is we have lost confidence and there is a state of despondency all over. We must come out of this frame of mind”, Musharraf said, boasting that he defended Pakistan with confidence during his own tenure.