Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Friday challenged anyone to prove how Feb. 18 parliamentary elections could be rigged, and vowed they would be held on time.
Arriving in Britain toward the end of a European tour, Musharraf renewed a pledge that the elections would be free and fair but warned there had to be limits on civil liberties to prevent "violence and anarchy."
Protesters in London, some waving placards of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, demonstrated against him and further rallies are planned in the coming days.
"The election will be free, fair, transparent and peaceful. The system inherently is fair," the former army general insisted at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in central London.
"Whatever bugs remained in the system ... have been removed by me and my government. I challenge any man to find out ... how they can be rigged. And if any one gives me any suggestion, I will be [only] too glad to pass it on to the chief election commissioner," he said.
He said details of the polling stations and the electoral rolls were publicly available on the Internet for scrutiny.
Asked to guarantee the polls would be held on Feb. 18, he replied: "You give me a certificate, I'll sign it."
Musharraf, who arrived in London after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is scheduled to meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown tomorrow. Unconfirmed reports say he would travel to Paris over the weekend.
Protesters have targeted his visit. Demonstrators outside RUSI could be heard during his speech and human rights group Amnesty International had planned a lawyer-led protest outside Brown's Downing Street office yesterday.
Amnesty warned that Pakistan was facing a "human rights crisis" which "represents a serious threat to the political process."
RSS