November 13, 2007
Bhutto: 'Musharraf Must Quit'
In her boldest challenge yet to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto told reporters today that she wants Musharraf to step down as both head of state and army chief.
"It is over with Musharraf," she told Agence France-Presse from her residence in Lahore, where she has once again been placed on house arrest. "General Musharraf must quit.... I call on the international community to stop backing him -- to stop backing the man whose dictatorship threatens to engulf this nuclear-armed state in chaos."
She also vowed never to serve with him or under him, sounding what appears to be the final death knell for a power-sharing deal that the U.S. and other Western allies had hoped would help head off a political crisis. "I would not serve as prime minister under a man who has repeatedly broken his promises, who is a dictator," Bhutto told AFP.
Bhutto also told reporters today that she expects her Pakistan People's Party to boycott the January parliamentary elections that Musharraf promised earlier this week.
As she spoke to reporters by telephone, about 900 police officers surrounded Bhutto's home. Thousands of law enforcement officers have been arresting protesters and gearing up for more demonstrations and riots expected by Bhutto's supporters and others opposed to Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule.
The New York Times and Washington Post have more on Bhutto's comments. Meanwhile, the Post reports that while Pakistani authorities are focused on quelling the protests, Musharraf's army is losing control of border areas home to radical insurgents.
The London Guardian has an analysis of Musharraf's options and a news blog devoted to the crisis in Pakistan. BBC News examines how Western diplomats plan to help bring political stability to the region.
