The United States issued a rare rebuke yesterday to President Musharraf of Pakistan, a key ally in the War on Terror, over the detention of dozens of opposition leaders ahead of a presidential election. The criticism came as a respected former Pakistani Supreme Court judge announced that he would stand against General Musharraf, who is also army chief, in the election scheduled for October 6. The two moves compounded the pressure on General Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, as he prepares for reelection despite a wave of protests and legal challenges. He has promised to shed his army uniform after he is reelected, but opponents say he cannot run while holding both posts and are calling for a return to democratic, civilian rule.
The US Embassy in Pakistan published a tersely worded statement after police detained dozens of opposition leaders over the weekend to prevent them from organising protests in the capital, Islamabad. “The reports of arrests of the leadership of several Pakistani political parties are extremely disturbing and confusing for the friends of Pakistan,” the statement said. “We wish to express our serious concern about these developments. These detainees should be released as soon as possible.” The US rarely criticises Pakistan’s Government in public and earlier this month refrained from condemning the deportation to Saudi Arabia of Nawaz Sharif, a former Prime Minister.
Washington has been pushing General Musharraf to reach a power-sharing deal with Benazir Bhutto, another former Prime Minister, who fled Pakistan to escape corruption charges in 1999. But the EmbassyÂ’s statement suggested that US officials were unhappy with General MusharrafÂ’s heavy-handed efforts to ensure that he is re-elected before Ms BhuttoÂ’s planned return on October 18. Opposition parties say that police have detained more than 200 of their leaders and activists since Saturday, including dozens who tried to protest outside the Supreme Court yesterday.
The Government says that the detentions were far fewer and were necessary to prevent protesters from intimidating the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court dismissed three petitions against General MusharrafÂ’s re-election yesterday, but is still considering several more. One group of lawyers challening his re-election has also nominated Wajihuddin Ahmed, a respected former Supreme Court judge, to run in the election. Mr Ahmed, 67, was sacked for refusing to sign an oath of allegiance to a new provisional constitution after the coup in 1999 and has been a staunch critic of General Musharraf ever since.