Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairperson Benazir Bhutto said Tuesday that her party will possibly boycott the upcoming general elections, local media reported.
Bhutto made the remarks in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore during a telephone interview with a group of reporters.
She also ruled out the possibility of serving under Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf in the future government, saying "it seems unlikely that the People's Party will participate in the upcoming elections."
Bhutto said that she would seek to build an alliance to restore democracy with other opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The chairperson was staying at the PPP leader Latif Khosa's residence in Lahore before a planned march to protest against the state of emergency in the country, the suspension of the constitution, the detention of judges and arrests of lawyers and political workers.
According to local media reports, police officials closed the Khosa House early Tuesday with detention orders for Bhutto, who would be confined under house arrest for seven days to prevent her from leading a long march of over 300 km from Lahore to the capital of Islamabad.
Musharraf declared a state of emergency in the country and issued a provisional constitutional order on Nov. 3. On Nov. 11, he also announced that general elections including the national assembly and the provincial assemblies would be held simultaneously before Jan. 9.
But Bhutto said that fair, free and transparent elections were not possible under the state of emergency.
Source: Xinhua
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