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Benazir, Nawaz join forces

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party and the Nawaz Sharif-led All Parties Democratic Movement have joined hands to work out a common list of demands for a free and fair general election on January 8, threatening the possibility of a boycott if the government does not fulfil these demands.

The decision came after a nearly four-hour meeting between PPP leader Benazir Bhutto and Mr. Sharif, who head Pakistan’s two biggest democratic parties, on Monday night here, their first since they returned to Pakistan after several years in political exile.

It was also their first since they met in London to sign a “charter of democracy” in May 2006 to cement an alliance that fell apart over Ms. Bhutto’s subsequent negotiations with the Musharraf regime.

At a midnight press conference, Ms. Bhutto called their meeting a “major confidence-building step,” while Mr. Sharif expressed confidence that it would lead to a “positive outcome.”

Mr. Sharif said both leaders were in agreement that elections in the current atmosphere could not be free and fair, and would be “massively rigged, because Mr. Musharraf’s survival depends on this.”

Both sides have nominated four of their senior leaders to an eight-person committee that is to finalise a “charter of demands” and a deadline for the government to meet these demands.

“If these demands are not met, it will become clear that elections will not be free and fair, and we will then move towards a boycott,” Mr. Sharif said. In their pronouncements, both leaders appeared to have moved from their stated positions on boycotting the election to find common ground. Mr. Sharif was not as definite about boycotting as he sounded three days ago, while Ms. Bhutto signalled willingness to consider a boycott if the two sides could find a joint platform.

The PPP leader condemned the rejection of Mr. Sharif’s nomination papers and said this amounted to denying a level playing field to all participants.

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