Fair polls and BB may work with Musharraf

* Ex-PM says PPP will redress Baloch grievances

LAHORE: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto says she remains open to working with President Pervez Musharraf, but only if next month’s parliamentary elections are free and fair. President Musharraf has lifted the emergency rule he imposed in November, but as Voice of America (VOA) reports, that is not enough to dispel Benazir’s concerns about electoral rigging in January’s vote.

She told VOA in a telephonic interview that she may still find it possible to cooperate with President Musharraf. But, she adds, that will depend on what happens in the January 8 elections.

Benazir says Musharraf could still surprise people by conducting an honest vote, although she believes that is a remote possibility, VOA reported. “Musharraf has taken some steps that surprised many people, including me. And that included retiring as army chief. So if he surprises us all by having a fair election, that will be very welcome,” she said.

She says that preparations for electoral fraud are already well under way, including falsifying voter registration rolls with what she calls “ghost voters” and intimidation of voters by local government-appointed officials, VOA reported.

The opposition parties had considered boycotting the polls, but Benazir said her party decided in the end not to concede the field. She will run for a parliamentary seat in the election as head of her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and hopes to once again become prime minister.

Redressing grievances: Separately, she told reporters at Quetta Airport that if voted into power, the PPP would end the military operation in Balochistan, release all political prisoners, and trace all missing people to redress grievances of the Baloch people, Daily Times staff reporter Malik Siraj Akbar adds.

She also regretted the conflicts between Baloch nationalist leaders and her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on the issue of the military operation in the province. Later, she denounced the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti. daily times monitor/staff report

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Aarwaa

Pakistan is ruled by three As - Army, America and Allah.