Musharraf vows tough steps after poll

Islamabad: Four days before Pakistan's crucial election, President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday pledged fair and peaceful vote and issued a tough warning against any post-poll attempt to create strife on the pretext of electoral fraud.

Speaking at a "Unite for Elections" conference in the capital, Musharraf criticised foreign pollsters pre-judging election results and raising "exaggerated expectations" in the country through their surveys.

Such surveys covering a few thousand people in a country of 160 million created "unrealistic" hopes by declaring winning parties in advance and could be a catalyst for trouble, he contended.

Foolproof arrangements

The president's criticism was apparently directed at three surveys released this week by US-based International Republican Institute (IRI) and Terror Free Tomorrow and BBC world service.

"To all I say do not incite trouble in Pakistan... Let the results speak for themselves," he said.

Musharraf emphasised that peace and stability in Pakistan, a country fighting terrorism and extremism, was vital for the world. "It is critical for the world... Don't disturb peace in this country and this region."

"I would like to say it to all these foreign organisations, especially those conducting surveys; don't disturb the peace of this country, don't disturb the peace of this region. You are playing with the peace of the world."

He said it was vital to understand that this region was critical for the world. "Those, who do not understand, will eventually realise it," he added. Musharraf urged the domestic print and electronic media to provide balanced projection of the electoral process, avoiding any hype and pre-judgment of election results.

Future

Musharraf said the very future of Pakistan depended on the February 18 election and vowed that the government and the election commission had made foolproof arrangements.

Free, fair, transparent and peaceful election "is my pledge to the nation". "The world is watching us; our national prestige is at stake; peace and harmony is at stake; our future is at stake. The whole world is watching us and it is important the election is seen to be fair, free, transparent and peaceful."

To ensure the peaceful conduct of election security forces with backup from the army would maintain law and order.

"This will be guaranteed that the election is peaceful," he said.

He said certain parties were working on dual track of going on with the election campaign and preparing dossiers that if they lost they would launch agitation on the pretext of fraud.

Survey

Leader's exit sought

Majority of Pakistanis say stability and security in Pakistan would improve if President Perez Musharraf resigned, according to a BBC World Service poll released days before the country's parliamentary election.

The survey of more than 1,400 people across Pakistan conducted on January 27-28 suggested support for Musharraf has fallen dramatically.

Almost half the respondents said they thought his controversial re-election in last November was not valid.

Pakistanis polled were divided about whether the general elections scheduled for February 18 would be free and fair.

They were also asked whether they thought the new National Assembly should re-instate deposed chief justice of the Supreme Court Iftikhar Chaudhry.

Almost two-thirds of the people questioned said they thought it should. The survey supports the findings of another recent poll conducted by the International Republican Institute.