Benazir won't come to power: Mush
Islamabad,
Nov
17:
Pakistan's
President
Pervez
Musharraf
has
criticised
former
Prime
Minister
Benazir
Bhutto
despite
recent
efforts
by
the
two
to
form
an
alliance,
and
dismissed
her
hopes
of
coming
to
power
in
elections.
He
said
Bhutto
in
fact
feared
the
polls,
set
for
January,
because
her
party
was
unpopular
and
she
would
lose.
Musharraf
said
she
was
"the
darling
of
the
West" but
that
"she
would
not
like
to
go
into
an
election
because
her
party
is
not
in
a
state
to
win
at
all."
"Therefore, I will certainly go for the election, in spite of any agitation by her. We will not allow her that," Musharraf told to the media. Musharraf is due to meet US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte on Saturday to discuss the deepening political crisis.
Negroponte arrived in Pakistan on Friday and spoke on the telephone to Bhutto, telling her that "moderate forces" should work together to get Pakistan back to democracy.
Washington had been hoping for Bhutto and Musharraf to work together to give his government more support in its fight against pro-Taliban extremists. But Bhutto again appeared to rule this out.
"I
can't
see
how
I
can
team
up
with
somebody
who
raises
hopes
and
dashes
them...
He
talked
to
me
about
a
roadmap
to
democracy
and
imposed
martial
law,"
she
said.
ANI>