By Xinhua
Islamabad : Exiled former prime minister and chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Benazir Bhutto, will return to Pakistan on Oct 18, her party announced Friday.
Bhutto will land in port city Karachi, where she will pay tribute to a monument of the nation’s founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the PPP said at a press conference telecast live by TV channels.
Bhutto served twice as prime minister of Pakistan in the late 1980s and mid-1990s, and went into a self-imposed exile in 1999 to evade corruption charges against herself and her family, slapped under General Musharraf’s regime.
General Musharraf’s term as president will expire on Nov 15 and the presidential elections will be held between Sept 15 and Oct 15, government officials said earlier.
According to Pakistan’s constitution, the election to the office of president shall be held not earlier than 60 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of the president in office.
Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Muhammad Farooq Tuesday said that the schedule for the presidential polls will be announced in a few days.
Seeking re-election to another presidential term, Musharraf has been holding talks with Bhutto for a possible “power-sharing” formula. But no formal deal has been finalized yet.
Vowing to lead her party’s campaign during the coming parliamentary elections due late this year, Bhutto had set Sep 14 as the day when she will announce date for her return.