Nawaz going to polls with rigging fears
Bureau Report

LAHORE—Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif said Monday that Pakistan’s parliamentary elections should be held Jan. 8 as scheduled despite the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. He also said Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf should resign and be replaced by a national unity government.
“He is a one-man calamity. He is responsible for all the troubles in Pakistan. The country is burning,’’ he said. Sharif spoke as it began to appear that the government would delay the parliamentary election, which had been touted as a crucial landmark in restoring democracy to this nuclear-armed country. “No one among us wants elections to go beyond Jan. 8,’’ Sharif told a news conference in Lahore.
The former prime minister accused Musharraf of trying to escape from participating in the election and using the Election Commission as a tool for delaying the poll. Sharif said that if he is elected as prime minister he would not work with Musharraf, and he called on the international community to withdraw its support for the former army chief who seized power in a1999 coup that overthrew Sharif’s government.
“The United States should see that Musharraf have not limited or curbed terrorism. In fact terrorism is now stronger than ever before with more sinister aspects,’’ he said. “The international community should not antagonize the people of Pakistan for the sake of one man. It should support democracy. It should support political parties that are farsighted and pragmatic and can play a constructive role in putting Pakistan on a path of moderation,’’ he said. ``With Musharraf in power, Pakistan does not have a future.’’
The Chief of PML(N) and ex-Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif has said that PML(N) will fully participate in the general elections. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, he said, PML had decided to boycott election for expressing solidarity with PPP following assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. However, he said, PPP in its CEC meeting thanked PML for its gesture and appealed to participate in elections.
He said during his visit to Naudaro Asif Ali Zardar and other PPP leaders also had urged him for participation in the elections. He said now after PPP has decided to participate in elections, these should not be delayed and held as per schedule. He alleged that the government wanted to postpone elections on the request of PML(Q). He said that if free, fair and transparent elections are held PML(Q) would not win more than ten seats.
Nawaz Sharif said “no country can run where constitution and law is violated and judiciary is not given due respect.” Expressing apprehensions about the credibility of Election Commission, he said, it is not playing its role effectively to ensure holding of elections in transparent manner. To a question, he said, PPP is a political party and PML(N) can go for forming coalition government with it after elections.