The Hindu : Polls as planned, says Musharraf

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 04, 2002

International

International

Polls as planned, says Musharraf

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Sept. 3. The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, today sought to put at rest speculations in a section of the media that elections would be postponed.

Addressing a cross-section of society at the Governor's House in Karachi this afternoon, Gen. Musharraf said the elections would be held as scheduled on October 10 and any ``outside interference'' would not be permitted. ``I am not going to the United States to talk about elections. There will also be no outside interference in the elections'', he said.

``Let me know the procedure whereby I could prove that elections would be held in October'', the President told a questioner.

It is not clear as to what prompted Gen. Musharraf to talk about ``outside interference''. One conjecture is that it was prompted by scathing criticism in the media in the U.S. of his constitutional amendments and the manner in which his regime has edged out the two former Prime Ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, from the electoral race.

Gen. Musharraf asked the audience not to be guided on the elections and state of affairs of Pakistan by what they see and hear on BBC and CNN.

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