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![]() Wednesday, October 13, 1999 Published at 17:54 GMT 18:54 UK ![]() ![]() World: South Asia ![]() Opposition happy at Sharif dismissal ![]() Mrs Bhutto urged fresh elections and a return to civilian rule ![]() Pakistan's opposition has welcomed the removal of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a cautious reaction to the military takeover of the country.
Both politicians blamed Mr Sharif for sparking Tuesday's military coup.
"Mr Sharif boasted he was a man of crisis," Ms Bhutto said. "This crisis overcame him." She said he had attacked the president and the supreme court, as well as accusing the press of treason. "He fought with everyone." Ms Bhutto also said members of the ruling parliamentary party were backing Pakistan's army chief because they felt that Mr Sharif was turning the country into a police state.
"My message to the army is that if you were provoked into the action the world will understand if you give a firm date for fair elections and go back to the barracks." Asked about a possible return to Pakistan, Ms Bhutto said she would only do so if General Musharraf supported the "forces of democracy". She faces arrest on her return home after being convicted by a Pakistan court of corruption. Imran attack Meanwhile, leader of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-insaaf (Justice) party, Imran Khan, said people in Pakistan welcomed the coup. "The sad thing is, everyone in this country has welcomed the army," he told the BBC.
"The only thing that stood in the way of Sharif from becoming a complete dictator was the army and he was trying to manipulate the army to get his man on top." But Imran Khan also said he did not believe that Pakistan was headed towards instability and a confrontation with neighbouring India. "If anything, the country is more stable now," he said. Another party, the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party said Mr Sharif's decision to pull forces out of Kashmir earlier this year meant he had to go. "He was an incapable and a corrupt leader. He mishandled the economy, acted like a dictator and blundered on Kashmir," a party official, Syed Munnawar Hassan said. "The retreat was a setback for Pakistan, Kashmiris and the army of Pakistan. It was a betrayal of the Kashmir cause," he said. Opposition parties in Pakistan recently joined forces in an attempt to force out the Sharif government. ![]() |
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