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ISLAMABAD-Pakistani opposition parties began mapping out on Tuesday a list of demands that they say President Pervez Musharraf will have to meet to prevent their boycott of a January general election.Former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif met in Islamabad on Monday and decided to set a deadline for the government to meet their demands, or else they would "move towards" a boycott of the January 8 vote.A full opposition boycott would rob the vote of credibility and prolong instability in the nuclear-armed country that is crucial to U.S. efforts to fight al Qaeda and bring peace to neighboring Afghanistan.Bhutto has said her party would reluctantly take part in the vote, while reserving the right to withdraw or to protest against an unfair result. She has already issued a manifesto and effectively began her campaign last weekend.Sharif has called for a boycott unless judges Musharraf purged when he declared emergency rule on November 3 were reinstated. Representatives of Bhutto, Sharif and other opposition parties met to forge a united stand and draw up a "charter of demands" to be implemented before the vote."There was unanimity that the present regime is not going to hold free and fair elections and it's pushing the country towards a rigged election," said Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for Sharif's party, who attended the talks.He said the list of demands would be finished by Wednesday or Thursday but he declined to give details. "There was no major difference on main issues," he added.Despite Sharif's reservations about the election, he registered to run but his nomination was rejected on Monday because of criminal convictions after his 1999 ouster by Musharraf that Sharif says were politically motivated.Sharif's brother Shahbaz, meanwhile, who was also disqualified from running, faces possible arrest over an accusation he ordered the killing of five suspected militants in 1998 while he was chief minister of Punjab province.An anti-terrorism court in September ordered his arrest in connection with the killings."It appears that there is a shift in policy. Rather than being neutral in the issue, the court is now inclined to pursue the matter," said Mujtaba Jamal, a lawyer for Shahbaz Sharif.Shahbaz Sharif along with old rivals Nawaz Sharif and Bhutto have recently been allowed back after years in exile.HEDGING BETS
Despite the disqualifications, Nawaz Sharif has not ruled out his party's participation in the election.Musharraf stepped down as army chief last week and was sworn in as a civilian president. He also promised that emergency rule would be lifted on December 16, fulfilling two main demands of his rivals and his Western backers.But the opposition says Musharraf must do more.Iqbal said earlier the opposition had objections over the neutrality of a caretaker government installed last month to oversee the election.Caretaker prime minister Mohammadmian Soomro and many members of his cabinet belong to Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam), a grouping that was cobbled together from the remnants of Sharif's party as a political powerbase for Musharraf after his 1999 coup.Bhutto said one of her main demands was an independent Election Commission to prevent vote rigging.However, the main sticking point between Bhutto and Sharif is the question of the judges Musharraf dismissed after the imposition of emergency rule.Sharif and some smaller parties want the judges reinstated while Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party says the matter should be left to a new parliament. Musharraf has ruled out letting the judges back, some of whom remain under house arrest.Analysts expect both of the main opposition parties will eventually take part after extracting maximum concessions.
As in the days of Noah...
