ATP Poll: Musharraf Says He Will Contest Elections, Form New Party; What do You Say?

Adil Najam

Not totally unexpectedly, Gen. Pervez Musharraf has announced that he will return to active politics, that he will contest in the next elections whenever they are held, and that he will form a new political party. How do you react to this news? Is it great, good, irrelevant, bad, or terrible news? Cast your vote in our ATP Poll here and then, please, tell us why.

As you think about this, you may also like to revisit our August 2008 ATP Poll done right at the time of his departure, where we had asked what lay in Pakistan’s future after his departure: 30% said “everything will become much much worse” while another 30% said that “everything won’t become perfect, but things will improve.” Clearly a split decision.

We did a similar ATP Poll in October 2008 asking how people thought Pakistan had fared in the first two months without him: 31% said “everything became much much worse,” 24% said “only the faces changed, things are what they always were,” and 22% said “Everything hasn’t become perfect, but things have improved.”
Details of the news is still trickling in, but here are the essentials as reported in The Express Tribune:

Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has unveiled his plans to return to active politics, saying that he will contest the next general election in Pakistan.

Musharraf made the announced at a gathering of his supporters in Islamabad by teleconference. “I have decided to take part in Pakistan’s politics and I will contest the next elections, irrespective of whether they are mid-term or ends term elections,” he said in his brief address. A number of cases have been filed against Musharraf since the Supreme Court (SC) declared that the emergency imposed by him in 2007 was unconstitutional and illegal.

Musharraf said that he has received a lot of support from Pakistanis living abroad. “The Pakistanis I have met abroad have told me I should return to Pakistan,” he said. He remained secretive about his future plans saying that he would present his vision for Pakistan’s progress and the direction the country should take at a suitable time. “If you are with me, I will not let you down,” he added.

Musharraf asked his supporters to attend the Pasdare- Pakistan gathering on May 8 at the Islamabad Press Club. “Sitting on the sidelines of history never changed anything, become a part of positive change in Pakistan,” he added. Musharraf’s supporters have also launched a move to register a new party, The All Pakistan Muslim League.