ISLAMABAD - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf pledged Thursday that next week’s general elections will be free and fair, but warned that any opposition protests against the result would be crushed. Musharraf said the success of the ‘mother of all elections’ was crucial for international efforts to stabilise the militancy-hit, nuclear-armed nation, a key ally in the US-led ‘war on terror.’His warning came as the widower of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto urged supporters to besiege polling stations to prevent rigging and threatened mass agitation if fraud denies his party victory. ‘Despite all the insinuation and apprehensions, the elections will be free, fair, transparent and peaceful. It is my pledge to the nation,’ Musharraf said at a special government conference shown live on state television.
‘No disruption or violence will be allowed. If people think they can come on streets after the elections, nothing of that sort will be allowed,’ added Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999.
| That last sentence is just sublime. |