Pakistan Gen. Unveils Election Plan

The Associated Press
Monday, Jan. 31, 2000; 10:35 a.m. EST

NEW DELHI, India –– Pakistan may hold local elections this year but it will be at least two years before the nation will have an elected national government, its military ruler told Indian television.

Gen. Pervez Musharraf's comments, which came as President Clinton weighs whether to include Pakistan on a trip to South Asia, were his most specific yet on a timetable for restoring democracy and relinquishing the power he seized in a coup last October.

Musharraf also said he was prepared to meet with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but only if the talks would include Kashmir, the mountain territory both countries claim and over which they have fought two wars.

"Our relations with India may be at their lowest. Now the question is what can be done about it?" he said in the interview, aired Sunday in India on the private Star TV network.

Musharraf also said he was talking to Afghanistan about Osama bin Laden, the Afghan-based Saudi millionaire whom the United States accuses of operating an international terrorist network.

"I will go to Afghanistan myself," he said. "Obviously I'm going to talk about issues. Afghan issues in their totality. Osama bin Laden. Also any training camps for terrorism in Afghanistan."

Clinton is tentatively scheduled to visit India and Bangladesh in March. His decision on Pakistan could be swayed by announcements on a timetable for restoring democracy and helping to curb international terrorism.

"We would love him to come to Pakistan," Musharraf said. "The indicators from our side could be given, are being given."

Musharraf said he plans to hold district government elections this year, but first wanted to strengthen the autonomy of the election commission and reform the political system to "ensure that better people come up for election ... and wrong kinds are disqualified."

"Beyond the year 2000 we get into the area of provincial and central elections. The basic thing that is required here is computerization of data, of voting lists. This is being done. And I am very sure this will be completed in 2001," he said.

After delineating constituencies, "we can have elections."

But Musharraf also said it was necessary to revive the economy and establish "good governance" before national elections can be held, and "I cannot pin down exactly the time frame."