President General Pervez Musharraf on Friday reiterated that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto should delay her return to Pakistan, planned for October 18. "There is a lot happening here. There are court cases and I think she should come after that," he said in an interview with BBC Television.
Musharraf said he would not like to prevent her from coming home but has sent her messages to delay her return. "I haven't got her response as yet." He said he could not say for sure if she would delay her return or not. "May be, may be not."
The president made it clear that he is not afraid of the reception that is expected for her when she lands in Karachi on October 18. Speaking about the National Reconciliation Ordinance and if he felt difficult to sign it in the backdrop of his statements against corruption, Musharraf said, "it did cause a concern."
He said he was still against corruption by the high and the mighty and added people think both Benazir and Nawaz Sharif have plundered the country. Musharraf recalled that both of them have apologised to each other and admitted to victimising each other. "If you want reconciliation, you have to overlook the past. That is the only way to reconcile, otherwise you remain on a confrontationist mode."
He said what he has written about Benazir and Nawaz Sharif in his book that they were corrupt, does not hold any legal value, but added, "I will never contradict my statement." About Benazir's Swiss cases he said it is up to the Swiss government as the cases are in their courts. To a question on the case of alleged illegal payments to Benazir in "oil for food programme" for Iraq, which is not covered in the ordinance, he said will be pursued by the government, Musharraf said he will not be able to comment on it. "Whatever is covered in the ordinance is covered whatever is not, is not covered," he added.