Musharraf says elections will go ahead despite violence

PAKISTAN- President Pervez Musharraf said Monday’s crucial parliamentary elections would go ahead as planned despite a massive suicide car bombing at a campaign rally that killed at least 37 people and wounded nearly 100.

The bomber struck Saturday evening in the northwestern tribal belt town of Parachinar at the end of a rally for an independent candidate endorsed by Benazir Bhutto’s opposition party. Mangled bodies lay in pools of blood as frantic rescuers scrambled to ferry the wounded to hospital.

The blast confirmed fears that Islamic extremists may try to sabotage the election campaign, targeting secular candidates such as those from Bhutto’s party. Many Pakistanis also fear the government may delay the polls, using violence as a pretext.

But Musharraf told the state run Associated Press of Pakistan the election would go ahead as planned, saying “any effort to derail the democratic process or the holding of elections will be foiled.”

On the eve of the ballot, streets were quiet early Sunday, with all campaigning banned the day before the polls.

Monday’s elections are considered crucial to restoring democracy in Pakistan eight years after Musharraf seized power in a coup. He is facing rising public anger following decisions late last year to declare emergency rule, purge the judiciary and impose restrictions on the press - some of which are still in place.

That has “prevented Pakistani journalists from working as they should, especially ahead of elections,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Islamabad, Sunday, AP