NEW DELHI, Dec 6: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has warned his two chief political rivals against returning home for next year's elections, telling an Indian TV channel tartly that Benazir Bhutto faces arrest and Mr Nawaz Sharif would be repatriated to Riyadh under an agreement with Saudi Arabia.

Asked by NDTV if the two former prime ministers would be candidates in general elections, he said "no".

"Firstly, one of them is convicted. The other also is convicted. Both of them are convicted actually. One of them has gone out for 10 years for an agreement, by himself. And the other is out since," Gen Musharraf said in the interview the second tranche of which was aired on Wednesday.

What would happen to the leaders if they arrived together in a plane anyway? Gen Musharraf's reply was emphatic. "If he comes, he will be sent back to Saudi Arabia. He is on a 10-year agreement. He will straight go back. Like his brother came, went back there. So he will be sent back to Saudi Arabia. If she comes, there are trials and cases against (her)."

Gen Musharraf denied he was scared of the two popular leaders. But he appeared to be unsure if or when he would give up his army uniform.

"The constitution allows me to hold it till 2007, so I will hold it…There are some arguments. Some say it's November 2007 and some say it's up to December 2007. I don't know the legalities. Now that is the constitutional position. So if the elections, as I said are in November, I will be in uniform. And that decision I haven't taken -- whether I need to take the uniform off before that. But I will be in uniform then. I will have to decide about the uniform, yes," he said.

He acknowledged that the uniform decision was a key issue for him.

"It's not easy, because there are some perceptions. At this moment what Pakistan is facing needs a unity, a unity of command over important organs of the state that includes the military, the political… and the bureaucracy. A unity of command over them. The unity of authority over them. And I give that unity through maintaining the uniform," he said.

Would he then be keeping the uniform? "Oh, I don't know. The constitution does allow me after 2007. Let me see," he replied.

He said there should be no doubt about the elections being held on schedule soon after the National Assembly completes its five-year term in November.

"After completion of this tenure, within, I think, it is two or three months, elections have to be held. Now, this is the Constitution of Pakistan. So who the hell is doubting? Unfortunately. It's the people who call themselves democratic. They are trying to impose a dissolution of these assemblies by me, and they call themselves democratic. I am on the contrary saying this assembly must complete its tenure for the first time in the history of Pakistan. Who is more democratic, I don't know. I am a dictator. I am asking them to let the assembly complete its tenure but they are forcing me by all means. Nobody forces me. They are trying to."

Does he expect to win the elections, he was asked. "I have a desire and I have a hope," he replied. "I think that should happen. I have a hope that moderate forces must win. I have started calling it the mother of all elections. I borrowed the term from Saddam Hussein. The mother of all battles. So this is the mother of all elections…We should win here. It's a greater issue because of the complexity of the region and of Pakistan. Moderate forces, enlightened forces must win against these religious elements – obscurantists, I call them. They must go down to the level where they were before. They never had more than three to four per cent. Now they have about 17 or 18 per cent in the assemblies. They are running one of the four provinces.

They must be defeated," Gen. Musharraf replied.