The Pakistani army must stay out of politics, the party of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said, as it worked to build a government that can strip its former military president of much of his power.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, meanwhile, urged the victors of the Feb. 18 elections to "stop politicking and move toward forming a government." He said parliament would be convened within a week and a half.
"I promise that if peace is maintained, I will support whichever coalition is formed," he said on Friday.
Bhutto's party won most seats in the elections, that were supposed to return Pakistan to democracy after eight years of military rule. Musharraf's allies fared badly.
Negotiations are still under way on forming a coalition government but the winning parties appear on a collision course with the former army strongman, which could herald fresh turmoil in a country under attack from Islamic militants.
During his tenure, Musharraf entrenched the military's say in policymaking.
He imposed de facto martial law last year in order to secure a new five-year presidential term for himself -- with the public backing of his fellow generals.
A spokesman for Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party welcomed a pledge on Thursday from Musharraf's successor as army chief to "stay out of the political process."
But he said the value of that commitment "lies in how sincerely and effectively it is implemented."
"While hoping that the army would stay out of politics, the party [will] watch keenly whether it really stays out," spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a statement.
Generals have governed Pakistan for more than half of its turbulent 60-year history.
Coup leaders like Musharraf insist that they stepped in to save the country from incompetent civilian governments. But they have proved reluctant to relinquish control.
Musharraf said after his tearful retirement as army chief in November that his hand-picked successor, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, would still owe him loyalty.
But Kayani has moved to distance the army from politics and opposition warnings that the military's intelligence agencies would rig last month's parliamentary vote to ensure victory for the unpopular president's allies proved hollow.
In a sign of Musharraf's diminished political authority and the growing clout of the mainstream opposition parties, seven lawmakers who contested the election as independents have since joined Bhutto's party, lifting its strength to 120, the election commission said.
Four more independents have lined up with Nawaz Sharif, an arch enemy of Musharraf since the former general ousted his government in a 1999 coup, giving him 90 seats.
Voters returned just 51 lawmakers from the former ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q to the 342-seat National Assembly, or lower house of parliament.
Eleven seats are yet to be filled, mainly because of litigation and the deaths of candidates, including Bhutto, who was assassinated in a suicide attack in December.
The two largest parties are expected to form a loose coalition government.
They lack the two-thirds majority needed in both the upper and lower houses of parliament to impeach Musharraf.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS