Elections to be held on January 30, 2008: Afgan

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Khan Niazi on Thursday said President General Pervez Musharraf would contest for the president's slot in the next general elections while keeping his uniform and other people could also contest against him.
The minister stated this at a seminar held here. He said general elections would be held on January 30, 2008 and transfer of power would occur in the subsequent month of February.
Giving the date of presidential election, he said this would be held any time between September 15 to October 15, 2007. He said assemblies would be dissolved on November 11, 2007 and holding of presidential election from the present assemblies was a constitutional requirement.
He said general elections would be held under a caretaker set-up and averred that despite being signatory to the Charter of Democracy, Pakistan Peoples' Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) would vote against each other. He criticised Nawaz Sharif for a number of discrepancies in his personality.
Speaking on the occasion, Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim opined contesting presidential election in uniform by General Musharraf was his personal matter.
Referring to construction of dams in the country, Arbab said it was a good development that the government had left its stance on the matter. He said with this positive change, Sindh could also give its consent to participate in Kalabagh dam talks.
Talking about present electricity crisis, he said its magnitude was same in Karachi and Lahore. Talking about hydel electricity, he said it was definitely economical, however, on its production, unison of thought was not there, he added.
Former Punjab governor Ghulam Mustafa Khar, speaking on the occasion, said General Musharraf had no future in the country. He said his era was closing down. He said Charter of Democracy was a 'black warrant' against Musharraf.
PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafiq said under the present government, Islam, democracy and constitution all were under chains. He termed LFO an illegal encroachment that destroyed the nation. Uzma Bukhari, Farzana Raja and others also spoke on the occasion.