'Darling of the West' fears polls, says Musharraf

Hitting out at Pakistan People's Party chief Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has accused the former Premier of wanting to avoid the general election due in January, saying that 'the darling of the West' was unlikely to win.

'She (Bhutto) would not like to go into an election because her party is not in a state to win at all," Musharraf, 64, said in an interview to BBC.

Bhutto, who was placed under house arrest in Lahore on Tuesday to prevent her from leading anti-emergency protests, was released on Friday. She has repeatedly called on Musharraf to quit both as President and Army Chief.

Describing Bhutto as 'the darling of the West,' Musharraf said he would 'certainly go for the election, in spite of any agitation by her. We will not allow her that.'

His remarks follow Bhutto's statement that she was in talks with several opposition leaders, including exiled former Premier Nawaz Sharif, in a bid to form a national unity government and boycott the Parliamentary elections.

54-year-old Bhutto, who returned to Pakistan last month from eight years of self-imposed exile after Musharraf promulgated an ordinance granting her amnesty in graft cases, was earlier engaged in possible power-sharing talks with the General. But now she has rejected the possibility of fresh talks with him and vowed never to serve under him in any future government.

Accusing judges and opposition parties of trying to 'derail' the political and democratic process in Pakistan, Musharraf demanded an explanation for his portrayal in the Western media in recent months.

'Did I go mad..? Or suddenly, my personality changed? Am I Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?" he asked during the interview.

'Have I done anything constitutionally illegal? Yes, I did it on November 3 (when he imposed emergency). But did I do it before? Not once,' said the General, who had seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999.

'Who is trying to derail the political and democratic process? Am I? Or is it some elements in the Supreme Court -- the Chief Justice and his coterie -- and now some elements in the political field?'

Musharraf was referring to sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry and other judges who refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order issued by him on November 3.

The military ruler is due to meet US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who arrived in Islamabad on Friday in a bid to press the General to lift emergency. After his arrival, Negroponte spoke over phone to Bhutto, telling her that 'moderate forces' should work together to get Pakistan back to democracy.

Hours earlier, Bhutto rejected the caretaker government sworn in by Musharraf to guide the country through Parliamentary polls.

'This caretaker government is an extension of the (ruling) PML-Q and is not acceptable.'

The US had been hoping for Bhutto and Musharraf to work together but the former Pakistan Premier again appeared to rule this out. "I cannot see how I can team up with somebody who raises hopes and dashes them. He talked to me about a roadmap to democracy and imposed martial law," she said.