People must rise to end status quo: Musharraf

DUBAI — The next general election in Pakistan in 2013 will be of “make or break, do or die” nature in which people have to rise to bring in the right leadership to run the country, former president Gen. (retd) Pervez Musharraf said here on Saturday night.

“If we fail to do so and stay in the same groove, the conditions in the country will deteriorate further and our identity will be lost,” said Musharraf, Quaid (leader) of his newly registered political party, All Pakistan Muslim League.

“We have to break the political status quo of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) under whose rule the people and the state have suffered. There was a need for a third political force to emerge. So, I have formed APML to bring a new political party into play that is made of likeminded and honestly working people,” Musharraf said.

He was speaking at an iftar dinner, hosted by the APML-UAE for the members of the Pakistan Journalists Forum (a wing of Pakistan Association Dubai). Maj-Gen. (retd) Rashid Qureshi, Vice-President, and Barrister Mohammed Ali Saif, Secretary General of the party were also present.

He said that the media has to play an important role in breaking the status quo through correct and honest projection. He appreciated that the APML celebration of Pakistan Independence Day in Dubai was well covered in the UAE by Khaleej Times and some other newspapers, but regretted that the event was not covered by media in Pakistan.

Musharraf said that he expected an interim government to be formed in Pakistan in the next eight to nine months. The international community will want it to be a fair and a neutral government. The judiciary will also play its role. “Then fair elections will be held which, I am sure, will bring change,” he said.

He said that Pakistan’s government administration has broken down, even among coalition partners, leading to political and economic turmoil.

Musharraf said that the law and order situation in Karachi is of ethnic nature which can be controlled in 15 to 20 days if the government has the will to do so and arrests all those behind it.

“Today, we have a democratically elected government in Pakistan, but its leadership is not able to deliver to the people and develop Pakistan. We have to change it in the coming elections,” he said.

Musharraf said that he would not indulge in politics of vendetta on his return to Pakistan on March 23, 2012.

“The plan for my return will be ready by November. There are many electable people in Pakistan and I can’t claim that my party will win. Our efforts will catch momentum after my return. This is a try and one should not be scared of trying because a thousand miles journey starts with one step. If we do not succeed we will try again,” Musharraf said.

Source: Khaleej Times