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Pakistan sets deadline for vote as clash looms

While authorities crack down, the opposition vows to push ahead with a protest rally today.

By GRIFF WITTE and PAMELA CONST, Washington Post
Published November 9, 2007

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - As a possible clash loomed between security forces and supporters of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday set a deadline of Feb. 15 for holding elections. But he showed no sign of ending a political crackdown, placing Bhutto under house arrest and detaining thousands ahead of a major protest.

He did not give any indication of when he plans to end emergency rule, and a government spokesman said it might not happen before the vote.

The announcement of the election drew praise from the United States, which has been pressuring Gen. Musharraf to set a date for the parliamentary elections. Bhutto, however, had pushed ahead with plans for a major rally in this garrison city today in defiance of a ban on protests. Police have vowed to block the demonstration, and there were fears Thursday that the showdown could turn violent.

A security official said today that Bhutto had been placed under house arrest in Islamabad, where police have surrounded her home. In advance of the rally, the opposition claimed, authorities rounded up 5,000 activists from Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, the first time that her supporters have been targeted since the emergency was declared.

At a news conference in Islamabad, the capital, Bhutto said earlier Thursday that Musharraf had not satisfied her demands to restore the constitution, hold elections on time and retire as army chief. She called on all Pakistanis, regardless of their party, to attend today's rally.

"If you support democracy, please join us," she said.

Elections were originally due in January, but when emergency rule was imposed, government officials raised the possibility of postponing them by as much as a year. The Bush administration had called for the vote to move ahead and on Thursday applauded Musharraf's announcement.

"We would like to see him return to those elections as he said today he would do," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "The uniform is still an issue. The president called on him to take it off. He said, 'You can't be both the president and the head of the army.'"

The United States has also tried to persuade Musharraf to restore the constitution, and on that front there was no visible progress. Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan said there was no schedule for lifting the emergency rules imposed over the weekend when Musharraf suspended many civil rights and fired Supreme Court justices who had refused to agree to a new, provisional constitution.

Khan said no date had been set for Musharraf to step down as army chief. The president reiterated Thursday that he planned to do so before he is sworn in for a new term. But Khan said the president cannot take a new oath until the Supreme Court rules he is eligible. The recent purge of justices included several members reviewing challenges to Musharraf's re-election as president while he remained in his military post.

The government had expected to lose that case, but with all of the remaining judges sympathetic to Musharraf, there is now no question the outcome will be in his favor.

Musharraf's current term as president expires Nov. 15.

Bhutto, speaking to reporters and party members Thursday at a private compound outside the capital, dismissed Musharraf's announcement as a little vague.

"In 2004, he said, 'I'll take the uniform off,' and he never did. Then he told the Supreme Court he would take the uniform off, and he never did. We want the uniform off by Nov. 15 or before," she said. "We want a specific date" for elections.

Musharraf ostensibly imposed emergency rule to combat extremism. But critics say he is trying to consolidate power and neutralize the mainstream political opposition.

"State force is being used against civilians and not terrorists," Bhutto said. "Women are being dragged from their homes. We are returning to the dark days of martial law."

Bhutto's aides said they expected serious clashes with police and other security forces today and that Bhutto might be prevented from reaching the rally, but they said they would continue with plans for the event. They said the government had cracked down hard on the party in the previous 24 hours and that police had obstructed efforts to prepare the park where the rally is to be held.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

FAST FACTS

One out of three

The United States has leaned on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf with three key requests since his declaration of a state of emergency last weekend:

-Set a date for elections.

-Restore the constitution.

-Resign his post as head of the army.

[Last modified November 9, 2007, 01:37:55]