ISLAMABAD, May 17: Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif will not to be allowed to return to the country before the general elections, according to President General Pervez Musharraf.

“No. They (Ms Benazir and Mr Sharif) cannot return before elections,” the president said in an interview with a private television channel. The interview will be aired on Friday.

The president said: “There is an increase of extremism and militancy in the country. We have to counter it. We have to face it.”

He said there were Al Qaeda elements in Mir Ali and Waziristan areas and they would be eliminated through intelligence operations.—APP

Opinion

Editorial

Centre’s shadow
Updated 23 Apr, 2025

Centre’s shadow

The Centre should stop encroaching on provincial jurisdictions in its misplaced eagerness to control minerals.
Himalayan crisis
23 Apr, 2025

Himalayan crisis

THE Hindu Kush-Himalayan region, known as Asia’s water tower, is in trouble. The towering ranges have registered a...
Seeker of peace
23 Apr, 2025

Seeker of peace

POPE Francis, who prayed for Palestine, died on Easter Monday. The first Argentine pontiff’s diverse and...
Dar in Kabul
Updated 22 Apr, 2025

Dar in Kabul

Kabul must ensure that the TTP and other anti-Pakistan groups are put out of business.
Ready to talk
22 Apr, 2025

Ready to talk

ADVISER to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah’s phone calls to Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon regarding...
Grassroots governance
22 Apr, 2025

Grassroots governance

WHEN something as basic as a functioning union council is absent in over a quarter of Balochistan’s areas more ...