Imran says Musharraf's days are numbered, cautions Benazir

New Delhi, July 15 (UNI) Pinning hope on his country's Supreme Court and claiming there was a popular discontent over the Lal Masjid blood bath, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party Imran Khan today said General Musharraf was not going to survive September.

Mr Khan, a former Pakistani cricket captain, also warned People's Party chief Benazir Bhutto against making a deal with President Musharraf, saying it will prove to be her nemisis.

The General's days were numbered as the opposition to his rule was gaining strength day by day and the Supreme Court backed by a strong people's movement will foil all his attempt to get himself endorsed by the country's legislatures for a second term, Mr Khan said in an interview to the CNN-IBN programme Devil's Advocate to be broadcast tonight.

When asked what would happen after Gen Musharraf was out, Mr.

Khan said, "the power will go back to army, the army will be left with no choice but (to hold) free and fair elections because the experiments of having a Kings' Party has failed".

Replying to a question, he tried to downplay the absence of Benazir Bhutto from his all party meet held in London.

He said, "It doesn't matter if Benazir is not part of it. At least there is an opposition which people would identify as genuine one.'' When asked what would happen if Benazir did a deal with Gen Musharraf, Mr Khan said,''I think Benazir will be sunk if she does a deal. Remember her father was hung by a military dictator. Her party had a greatest struggle against a military dictator of Zia-ul-Haq.

So if she does a deal, I think her party will break up.'' Asked what was the basis of of his reliance on the Supreme Court in the struggle against Genaral Musharraf, as it had always legitimised military regimes, Mr Khan said: ''That is why for the first time in our history we will have a Supreme Court which will derive its power from Public rather than GHQ (General Head Quarters). That's why the General is in trouble.

''If the public had not stood by Chief Justice, he would have been history in two weeks. The fact that he is today standing there with whole lawyers' movement and the judges are scared to give a verdict against him means that the Chief Justice is there with the power of the people.'' Along with the Supreme Court deriving strength from people's power, one thing that has gone most strongly against General Musharraf was his Operation Silence in Lal Masjid, he said.

''You cannot imagine the damage it has done General Musharraf. Its gone against him. Its going to.. its an albatross. Its not going to leave him,'' he said.

When pointed out that Pakistani newspapers which were refelctive of public opinion had praised President Musharraf for his resolve in dealing with the Lal Masjid crisis, Mr Khan said: ''This is not true what happened was that everyone in Pakistan, the public opinion was against the clerics. And everyone thought what they were talking was wrong. But there was a lot of question marks about the way this was being handled. But eventually I think there was a time when General was.. that the move was quite popular when one of the clerics was caught in burqah but after the bloodbath, I think its gone very much against him.'' UNI