'Benazir's support needed for coming elections'

Islamabad, July 1: Asserting that the Pakistan Muslim League needed to fight the coming elections with the ''support'' of Benazir Bhutto, Punjab Chief Minister and senior party leader Chaudhry Pervez Elahi however said he was ''unaware'' of the current status of the negotiations.

''I am unaware of any such talks,''' he said, but added that everything would become ''clear'' after the elections.

''We have to contest the elections with the support of Benazir Bhutto,'' Chaudhry Pervez stressed, in an interview to a private TV channel here last night.

He disclosed that the government was considering multiple options including the dissolution of assemblies before the presidential elections. ''One option is to complete the National Assembly's elections before the presidential election. But we have not finalised any option and are considering which direction the government would to follow,'' he said, adding that he had advised President Pervez Musharraf to dissolve the National Assembly.

The Punjab CM said the controversy over the suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftekhar Chaudhry would end after the Supreme Court decision, and then ''those supporting the CJP would return to their homes. He expressed hope that the decision would be in the ''national interest'', but did not elaborate.

Strongly criticising deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif, he termed them ''selfish, opportunistic and self-centred people.'' ''The two brothers left the Pakistan Muslim League in a lurch and fled to Saudi Arabia without taking the party into confidence,'' he said.

Asked about his future political goals, Chaudry Pervez said that the decision about his contesting the upcoming elections for the national assembly would be made by the party high command with ''mutual consultation.''

UNI

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