Islamabad: The political scene in Pakistan
appears to be heating up, with the cricketer-turned-politician
Imran Khan's Tehrik-e-Insaf party indicating that it is open
to an alliance with former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
The party's new vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi
said a decision on forming an alliance with Musharraf's All
Pakistan Muslim League will be taken in due course of time
after considering circumstances.
His comments come in the wake of political ripples
triggered by the 'memogate' scandal, which has put the
country's powerful army and the executives at loggerheads,
leading to speculation of possibility of early polls and new
political alignments.
Musharraf, who has been living outside Pakistan in
self-exile since early 2009, recently announced he would
return to the country later this month.
Musharraf is expected to set the date for his
homecoming while addressing a rally in Karachi by phone on
January 8.
During an interaction with the media in Multan yesterday,
Qureshi said: "People from every political party are joining
the Tehrik-e-Insaf."
The party is not "just a trend" as it represents "an
ideology against the status quo", he said.
Qureshi further said that if all lawmakers of the
main opposition PML-N decided to resign from parliament, the
Pakistan People's Party-led government would be left with no
option but to call an early election.
The Tehrik-e-Insaf, however, is in no hurry to gain
power, said Qureshi, a former Foreign Minister who recently
broke away from the PPP.
PTI
First Published: Monday, January 02, 2012, 14:40