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."
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
UNITED: The other candidates congratulated Cheng on her win, saying they hoped the new chair could bring the party to victory in the elections next year and in 2028 Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday won the party’s chair election with 65,122 votes, or 50.15 percent of the votes. It was the first time Cheng, 55, ran for the top KMT post, and she is the second woman to hold the post of chair, following Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who served from 2016 to 2017. Cheng is to succeed incumbent Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Nov. 1 for a four-year term. Cheng said she has spoken with the other five candidates and pledged to maintain party unity, adding that the party would aim to win the elections next year and
RSS