Thaindian News

Hong Kong, Sep 15 (IANS) Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf said here Wednesday that no action will be taken against him on his return to the country but some “political elements” are opposing him and making false cases.
Dismissing the threat of charges against him in Pakistan, Musharraf said: “There is no case pending against me in the courts of Pakistan.”

“There are elements opposed to me, political elements, and they are the ones who engineer these cases,” he told reporters after speaking at an investment forum, the Online news agency reported.

“I’m very confident nothing can happen legally against me.”

The timing of his return to Pakistan depends on the environment there, but he will be there for the next election, he said.

Musharraf said he will launch a political party Oct 1 in London.

“There is a good chance at creating another political alternative which will be viable, which will be a better alternative for Pakistan,” he said.

The forum was organised by the CLSA brokerage, which last year hired former US vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a speaker for its Hong Kong forum.

Musharraf sees political hope in the 60 percent of the Pakistani electorate that doesn’t vote, who need “awakening”, he said.

“I feel the majority is the middle class, educated, youth, women, minorities. So it is this 60 percent that needs to be awakened to vote,” he said.

“I launched a Facebook (page) about six or seven months back, and to my surprise I have a fan base now of 295,000 people,” he added, referring to one way of reaching out to potential voters.

The former president accused Afghan president Hamid Karzai of having no constitutional status in his country though he stressed upon the west to continue their operation against the Taliban and not leave the region.

He warned that if Afghanistan is left alone then the country would fall into the hands of Taliban and Al Qaeda. He said that withdrawing from Afghanistan is no option.

Musharraf resigned in 2008, as Pakistan’s ruling coalition began taking steps to impeach him. He was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of assassinated former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto.