Back my supporters, Musharraf to voters

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has asked people to vote in the upcoming general election for candidates who had 'been with him' in the past.

Addressing a meeting at Vehari in Punjab province after inaugurating a gas project on Monday, Musharraf said the continuity of official policies and projects 'depended on the re-election of people who had initiated them.'

The gathering largely comprised candidates of the PML-Q, the party which backed the military ruler, their supporters and government employees.

Musharraf said the January 8 parliamentary polls will be free, fair and transparent and pledged that power will be transferred to whoever won a majority in the election.

'The elections will not be rigged and politicians should not pre-judge the entire exercise,' he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

'I assure you that the elections will be completely free of any manipulation and I ask the international community to send any number of observers to monitor the elections.'

The PML-Q, which was formed by some leaders of former premier Nawaz Sharif's party in 2002, is expected to perform well in Punjab province in the polls but it may need the support of other parties to form the federal government as observers believe the election will produce a fractured verdict.

Noting that he had 'lifted the state of emergency before schedule' on December 15, Musharraf said: 'I appeal to all parties to ensure peace during the elections and to accept the people's verdict without resorting to a blame game.'

Successful candidates should respect their opponents and losers should accept their defeat gracefully. 'A boycott will not benefit anyone,' Musharraf added.

The President also reiterated his reasons for imposing emergency last month and accused lawyers, journalists and political opponents of 'misguiding' the people.

He said after the lifting of emergency and restoration of the constitution, all three wings of the state had started functioning as usual.

Curbs on the media are necessary to enforce a code of conduct, he remarked. 'I stand for independence of the media and hope everyone will perform his duties with a sense of responsibility.'

Extremism and terrorism are hampering national development and suicide attacks are un-Islamic, Musharraf said.

People should take on the 'perverts' who wanted to impose their brand of religious ideology on them, he said.

Pointing out that the development budget had increased from Rs 80 billion to Rs 520 billion since he came to power, he said that Rs 87 billion had been spent on developing southern Punjab during the past five years.

Only 1,000 villages had been receiving electricity but now 16,000 villages had power supply. Gas connections too had gone up from 100,000 to 250,000 during his tenure, he said.