Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf held talks with top aides yesterday to weigh up his shrinking options after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to return from exile to block his re-election plans.
Musharraf, who is fighting for his political life, and close advisers were to discuss proposals by another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, for a power-sharing deal that would see him quit as army chief.
The US also reminded its key ally in the "war on terror" of his previous commitments to shed his uniform before seeking re-election by parliament this month or next month.
"The president is holding further discussions with his top political aides later Friday," one the aides said on condition of anonymity.
A minister also confirmed the discussions were taking place.
He said Musharraf was trying to "thrash out differences with ruling party leadership, which opposes an amendment which will pave the way for Bhutto or Sharif to hold the prime minister's office for the third term."
Officials said Musharraf had not yet decided whether to step down from the army to secure any power-sharing deal with Bhutto.
Sharif said on Thursday that he would fly home on Sept. 10 after seven years in exile to lead a "decisive battle" against Musharraf, who ousted him in a coup in 1999, and contest general elections due by early next year.
Bhutto, considered a natural ally for Musharraf because of her more liberal stance, has also pledged to come back from her exile over corruption charges, although she is still pushing the president for a pact.
Her Pakistan People's Party, the country's largest, said that it was still waiting for a response from the president's camp but dismissed reports it had delivered a deadline of yesterday.
Bhutto wants Musharraf to quit the army before the presidential election; concede the power to dissolve parliament; and overturn a ban on anyone serving a third term as prime minister, which would have ruled her out.
"If Musharraf does not agree to our proposals, we will have to go our separate ways. Our struggle for democracy will continue," party spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.
Sharif, who served as premier between 1990 and 1993 and again from 1997 to 1999, condemned the proposed Bhutto deal as "bad for the country."
Pakistan's Supreme Court has ruled that Sharif can return from exile, but the government said it was deciding on what action to take if he does -- amid speculation it could expel him immediately or arrest him on criminal charges which it says are still outstanding.
In Washington, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Pakistanis would have to decide themselves whether Musharraf should keep his army position.
"Musharraf has made commitments in the past," he said, adding that, first and foremost, the US seeks "free and fair elections."
A senior US official said that Musharraf had "given us assurance that he is going to resolve the issue of the dual leadership, and he is going to do that in the near term."
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS