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Opposition sets list of demands for Musharraf

Former Pakistani prime ministers Benazir Bhutto, left, and Nawaz Sharif address a news conference after their meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday. PHOTO: AP

Pakistani opposition leaders Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto set their parties to work yesterday on a list of demands for the government, a day after joining forces to threaten a boycott of elections.

After meeting on Monday for the first time since both returned from exile, the former prime ministers said they would consider boycotting the vote on Jan. 8 if President Pervez Musharraf does not meet their requirements.

Musharraf last week pledged to lift a month-old state of emergency by Dec. 16, ahead of the key polls on Jan. 8, but the opposition says the vote will still be unfair.

A commission set up by the parties of the two former prime ministers held its maiden session yesterday, said Raja Zafarul Haq, chairman of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party.

"They start the work today," Haq said. "It has been left to the committee members to formulate the demands on the basis of discussions held between the leaders last night."

But he said that "we are talking about free and fair elections."

"The committee is expected to finalize its work soon, I think in two or three days," he said.

Senator Raza Rabbani, a senior official from Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, stressed the need for an independent election commission and said that local authorities were giving "undue favor" to pro-Musharraf candidates.

"Obviously the core issue is ensuring free and fair elections," Rabbani said.

Meanwhile, Sharif's brother faced possible arrest yesterday over murder charges dating back to 1998 after both brothers were excluded from upcoming parliamentary elections.

An anti-terrorism court in Lahore issued contempt notices to two police officers for not arresting Shahbaz Sharif for having allegedly ordered security forces to kill suspected criminals in a shootout eight years ago, when he was chief minister of Punjab Province, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported yesterday.

The move against Shahbaz Sharif came after election officials on Monday rejected Nawaz Sharif's own candidacy for Jan. 8 parliamentary elections on the ground that he had been convicted in two cases stemming from a 1999 military coup in which Musharraf overthrew his government.

Since returning last week to Pakistan after eight years in exile, Sharif has emerged as Musharraf's most vociferous opponent. He has called Musharraf's presidency illegal and refuses to deal with the newly retired army general.

He has also demanded the reinstatement of Supreme Court judges fired by Musharraf after it appeared likely they would rule against his attempt to secure a new presidential term.
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