Musharraf to Announce Caretaker Government

General Pervez Musharraf was poised today to announce a caretaker government ahead of parliamentary elections that opposition parties have threatened to boycott.

A cabinet minister close to Musharraf said that Mohammedmian Soomro, chairman of the upper house of parliament, was a strong candidate for the key position of caretaker prime minister.

"I see him as the caretaker prime minister, but any final decision will be announced by president Musharraf," railways minister Sheik Rashid Ahmad told the Associated Press.

A caretaker government is needed as parliament's five-year term ends today. Musharraf's concurrent presidential mandate also expires today, although the president has extended his rule by declaring a state of emergency that has thrown the country into disarray.

Other candidates mentioned by Pakistani media for the job of caretaker prime minister include a retired general currently serving as ambassador to Turkey, Iftikhar Hussain Shah, and a former central bank governor, Ishrat Hussain.

Pakistan state television said an announcement was expected later today. As Musharraf prepared to name a caretaker government, his opponents have started discussions on an opposition coalition.

Benazir Bhutto spoke with another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, whose government was ousted by Musharraf in 1999, about a united front, a spokesman for her Pakistan People's party (PPP) said.

"She talked about the need for cooperation by all political parties on a one-point agenda aimed at the restoration of the constitution, lifting of the emergency and holding free and fair elections," Farhatullah Babar told the Associated Press.

Bhutto was placed under house arrest yesterday to prevent her from leading anti-Musharraf rallies and Sharif said he would make another attempt to return to Pakistan. He tried to go back in September but was promptly deported back to Saudi Arabia where he has been living in exile.

Speaking to GMTV by telephone he said: "I will certainly make another attempt to return to Pakistan because my country needs me. I am in touch with Benazir Bhutto. She is expressing her desire to come back and we will be very happy to work together and launch a joint struggle against the dictator. It's important for me to go back now."

Sharif described the arrest of former cricket star turned politician Imran Khan as a "very serious matter".

Khan was arrested and charged draconian anti-terror laws. He had been one of the few opposition politicians to have remained at large since Musharraf declared emergency rule on November 3, igniting criticism at home and abroad, and sparking fears about the stability of a nuclear-armed state.

The US, which considers Pakistan a key ally in the "war on terror", has called on Musharraf to end the state of emergency and hold elections. The US deputy secretary of state, John Negroponte, who last week warned against cutting aid to an "indispensable" ally, is due in the country this week to press Musharraf to restore constitutional rule.

Musharraf has said that he would step down as army chief and be sworn in as a civilian president as soon as the supreme court, where new judges have been appointed to replace those he regarded as hostile, rule on challenges to his October re-election. The attorney general said the court was expected to reach a ruling around the end of next week.