Musharraf creating scenario for his return

Islamabad: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said he is busy creating the right environment for his planned return to Pakistan.

"I am [not] so naive as to return before there is a suitable environment for me," he said in an interview to Geo television network in London, where he launched his All Pakistan Muslim League party a week ago.

He expressed confidence that he and his new league faction would be able to pave the way for his comeback but again declined to give a definite date, repeating what he has been saying all along that it would sometime before the next general election due in 2013.

"I expect lakhs [hundreds of thousands] will turn up to welcome me back," the former head of state asserted in his typical authoritarian style.

Denial

Musharraf denied he committed any misdeeds and claimed his nearly 9-year rule as the country's fourth military strongman was marked by service to the nation and economic upliftment. He refuted a commonly held view in Pakistan that he had delivered Dr Afia Siddiqui — who was sententenced recently to a a harsh jail term — to the US.

Answering a question about what happened to the money received by the Pakistani military for each wanted person handed over to US, Musharraf said there was a system for disposal of such and he was not aware of details.