Islamabad: Pakistan will hold elections by February 15, President Pervez Musharraf said, hours after US President George W. Bush urged him to hold the polls on time and end a state of emergency.
"There is no doubt in my mind that elections must be held, and it has been calculated that elections must be held before the 15th of February 2008," Musharraf said in a brief interview with state television after chairing a meeting of Pakistan's National Security Council.
Former premier Benazir Bhutto however denounced the "vague" statement by the army general and pledged to continue with plans to lead thousands of her supporters onto the streets of Rawalpindi near Islamabad today.
Musharraf said the tenures of the national assembly, the lower house of parliament, and the provincial assemblies were ending on different dates around mid-November.
PPP members charged
After studying the option on whether to hold elections to parliament and provincial assemblies on separate dates, it was decided to hold polls simultaneously on or before February 15, the president said.
Musharraf said that when his re-election is confirmed by the new court, "that is the time I can take my oath as president and I can remove my uniform as I have said some two months back."
Police, meanwhile, stepped up a crackdown on the opposition, rounding up hundreds of Bhutto's supporters and charging four people with treason - an offence punishable by death.
"Well over 600 party activists have been arrested and many of our leaders have gone underground. The crackdown is continuing," senior party leader Raza Rabbani said. Police only confirmed 140 PPP arrests.
The police chief of Rawalpindi warned that up to eight suicide bombers had infiltrated the city ahead of Bhutto's planned protest.
