In an interview with the Wall Street Journal which was recently acquired by Rupert Murdoch who also owns Fox News, President Musharraf said that the country of Pakistan needed a democratic government. For the past weeks, Musharraf has been under fire for the death of former PPP leader Benazir Bhutto. While the CIA and Pakistani intelligence point the finger to the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan, Muhsud, many have blamed Musharraf for not doing enough to protect Bhutto.
Musharraf has been considered an important United States ally in the war on terror. It is rumored and speculated that Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is hiding out in the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In the elections, Musharraf’s supporting party suffered a hurting defeat. At the same time the PPP which is under the leadership of Bhutto’s widower Asif Ali Zardari said that it is willing and ready to create a coalition with former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N. Sharif was overthrown years ago by Musharraf in a bloodless coup.
If the two groups form a coalition, they will have over half the seats in parliament.
Musharraf’s position looks very grim according to BBC in Islamabad. If they get a majority via the coalition, there is a high chance that they will call for Musharraf to be impeached. In recent interviews, Musharraf given indication that it could very well happen.
Regardless, Musharraf said that he would try to work with the new parliament.
“I would like to function with any party and any coalition because that is in the interest of Pakistan,” Musharraf explained.
“The clash would be if the prime minister and president would be trying to get rid of each other. I only hope we would avoid these clashes,” he would add in his interview. Recently, Musharraf was reelected as Pakistan’s president back in October.
The opposition parties had boycotted the vote and declared it unconstitutional. In October, both Bhutto and Sharif had returned from exile since Musharraf had seized power.
Zardari of the PPP has ruled out joining with the PML-Q which supports Musharraf. Sharif said that he was prepared for talks of forming a coalition to get rid of dictatorship in Pakistan. If both sides do form a coalition, things will not look good for Musharraf.
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