Opposition press govt over vote security

Opposition parties demanded tighter security from the government on Thursday after President Pervez Musharraf delayed elections by six weeks following the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto.

President Musharraf announced the postponement of the general elections until February 18 in his first major speech to the nation since Benazir’s martyrdom a week ago plunged the nation into turmoil.

Sherry Rehman, spokeswoman for Benazir’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), said her widowed husband and the party’s de facto new leader, Asif Ali Zardari, would lead the campaign after its mourning period ended early next month.

“The PPP’s co-chairperson Asif Zardari will address some major public meetings after February 7 all over the country,” she said.

A spokesman for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said the government had to ensure the security of all candidates taking part in the polls.

“We will, of course have our own security around the party chief,” spokesman Ahsan Iqbal said.

“But at the same time, we would like the government to provide foolproof security to Sharif including a bullet-proof vehicle,” he said.

The postponement of the vote, originally set for January 8, has been criticised as a ploy by President Musharraf loyalists in the government to rob the PPP of any sympathy vote it may have won in the aftermath of Benazir’s martyrdom.

The PPP, the country’s largest party, has alleged the delay is an attempt to give Musharraf’s allies time to fix the result.

“We condemn the delay but we are taking part,” Zardari said Wednesday.

The PML-N spokesman said the party was not deterred by the delay and was determined to wage a lengthy nationwide campaign despite the security concerns.

“Although the elections are now more than a month away the delay will not cause any harm to the campaign of our party, which is determined to restore genuine democracy in Pakistan,” Iqbal said.

“However, we are revising party chief’s programme of public engagements in view of the current security situation.”