Musharraf reiterates he’ll return to Pakistan before elections
April 16th, 2011 - 1:44 pm ICT by ANI
London, April 16(ANI): Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who is currently in self-exile from Pakistan, has said that he will give a surprise to his nation by staging a come back before the next general elections.
Musharraf, who launched his own political party All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) in October 2010, has claimed several times that he would return to lead the party and contest the next elections.
But a recent report said that Musharraf had abandoned his plans of returning to Pakistan from self-exile in Britain after the Pakistani military leadership refused to provide him extra security to counter multiple threats to his life.
Musharraf’s associates told The Express Tribune that the former president had been seeking guarantees of security from the current military leadership beyond that to which he is entitled to as a former president, in order “to be dead sure that enemies couldn’t get him if he comes back.”
But Musharraf’s hopes faded when the current hierarchy of the Pakistan military cold-shouldered his demands for extra security to spearhead his politics in Pakistan.
“It looks they (military generals) are not interested in him and his political designs anymore … it is not their tradition to support a former chief’s political gamble … because they are of no use,” commented an associate on possible reasons for which the APML leader might have been denied the extra security.
However, Musharraf said in an interview on Friday that he had not postponed his programme of returning to Pakistan, The Nation reports.
He also said that he would travel to the United States and Canada to deliver lecturers in June, adding that he shed light on international issues in his lectures.
To a question about the US image in Pakistan, Musharraf said that the American people often ask him why Pakistanis dislike the US, and “I always reply that the fault is yours, not ours.”
On Af-Pak relations, Musharraf said that Pakistan had offered Afghanistan to provide free training to its military, intelligence personnel and diplomats, but they refused.
“They prefer India over Pakistan for training,” he added. (ANI)
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- Pakistan court declares Musharraf 'proclaimed offender' - May 30, 2011
- Musharraf won't come to Pakistan this year: Report - Aug 16, 2010
- Political rivals in Pakistan close ranks to counter Musharraf's comeback efforts - Sep 14, 2010
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