Some leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party believe that the Musharraf regimes intelligence agencies are busy gathering material to blackmail its winning members and force them to change their loyalty towards the party after the February 18 elections results are out.
Washington, Jan 15 : Some leaders of the Pakistan People's Party believe that the Musharraf regime's intelligence agencies are busy gathering material to blackmail its winning members and force them to change their loyalty towards the party after the February 18 elections results are out.
Recalling a similar happening after 2002 election in the county, they said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) had used the same tactics to bring 20 PPP members to their party.
Farhatullah Babar, a de facto spokesman of the PPP said that despite all this the party has survived "all these onslaughts."
Babar also expressed fear that the Pakistan Government may launch another such attack after the general elections, " but this time President Pervez Musharraf will not succeed easily".
He further pointed put that it was Benazir Bhutto and the Bhutto name that acted as the central thread in keeping the beads together. "The thread is gone, and many think the party will fall apart," he added.
The PML-Q, a loyal party to Musharraf, has almost admitted that it may not retain the majority they had in the 272-seat parliament and has already started seeking allies.
The King's party may target the PPP that appears to be "rudderless" since the assassination of its leader Benazir Bhutto on December 27 last year. The PPP co-chairperson and Benazir's husband, Asif Ali Zardari has indicated his party may join hands with the PML-Q, something his wife had ruled out before her death.
In an interview, PML-Q spokesman Tariq Azeem had said that his party is open to strategic alliances within the parliament.
"Do the math, and you find that PML-Q will still emerge as the single-largest party. It seems it will be a hung parliament, and there will be a coalition of the willing. But who will be willing, we'll have to wait and see," The Washington Times quoted Azeem, as saying.
According to Pakistan's eminent human rights activist Asma Jahangir, the elections will be postponed again if the PML-Q does not succeed in building enough alliances with PPP legislators. If by (February) 18th, Musharraf and his party have made deals with the other political parties and are assured that they will have a majority, then perhaps we will have elections," said Jehangir, adding, "If they are not assured, then am I afraid the elections will not take place."
ANI