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Sharif's party 'to contest polls' | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The party of Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif says it will contest general elections due to be held in January. | |
The PML-N decision came after it failed to agree a boycott with Mr Sharif's opposition rival, Benazir Bhutto. | |
The two sides complained the poll would not be fair, given a state of emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf. | The two sides complained the poll would not be fair, given a state of emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf. |
President Musharraf said on Sunday he would lift the emergency on 15 December, a day earlier than planned. | |
In an interview with US broadcaster CNN, he confirmed remarks by his attorney general that "the emergency will be finished on the 15th". | In an interview with US broadcaster CNN, he confirmed remarks by his attorney general that "the emergency will be finished on the 15th". |
Emergency rule was declared more than a month ago. President Musharraf has since quit his post as army chief. | Emergency rule was declared more than a month ago. President Musharraf has since quit his post as army chief. |
Judges row | |
The decision that Mr Sharif's party would stand in the parliamentary elections came after 33 opposition groups, including Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, met in Lahore but failed to reach a joint position. | |
"Since we could not reach any agreement with the People's Party and they are contesting polls, we cannot leave the field open," said Ahsan Iqbal, spokesman for the PML-N. | |
Ms Bhutto says a boycott would benefit the president | |
He told the BBC that the party's manifesto would be a single demand, the restoration of judges deposed by President Musharraf in November to fend off possible challenges to his re-election as president. | |
Mr Sharif and Ms Bhutto, who are both former prime ministers, had differed on this issue. She maintains that the new parliament should decide whether to reinstate the judges. | |
Ms Bhutto has said she will contest the elections "under protest", but reserves the right to challenge the results if she feels the vote is not fair. | |
She has argued that to boycott the polls would leave the field open for supporters of President Musharraf. | |
The BBC's Roland Buerk in Islamabad says a joint boycott would have deprived the election of credibility, but the two leaders' suspicion of each other seems to have outweighed their distrust of the president. | |
Coup history | |
Mr Sharif is himself barred from standing in the election because of criminal convictions against him. | |
These date back to 1999, shortly before he was deposed by the then General Musharraf in a bloodless coup. | |
He was found guilty of hijacking and terrorism after ordering that a plane carrying Gen Musharraf back to Pakistan be stopped from landing. | |
He and Ms Bhutto have both returned from exile in recent months. |