By DPA
Hamburg : Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf has told a German news magazine in an interview made public Saturday that he would resign if a majority of people in the country no longer wanted him.
The Pakistan leader also told Der Spiegel somebody should have stopped opposition leader Benazir Bhutto standing up in her car into the line of fire on the day last month when she was assassinated.
“After the events of the past seven or eight months, resignation would have been the easiest option. I enjoy playing golf, bridge and tennis and would have more time for my friends. I like to relax,” he said.
“Believe me, on the day when I arrive at the conviction that the majority of the people don’t want me any more, when I believe I can no longer make a contribution to my country, I will not hesitate a second. I will go,” he said.
Der Spiegel interviewed him in English but only released a German version in advance of Monday publication. The translation back into English is by the German news agency DPA.
Asked about the Bhutto assassination, Musharraf said: “She was warned, but she ignored it. Three weeks before her death, I prohibited her from holding a rally on the busiest space in Rawalpindi…”
“Her arrival and her speech itself were secure. Her walk to the car also went off without any problem. But what happened then? Everyone else in the car survived uninjured. She was the only one who stood up. Somebody should have stopped her.”
He rejected calls from the Bhutto family for a UN inquiry, saying: “What has the United Nations got to do with it? This is a murder.
“If we have gaps in forensic technology, then we engage Scotland Yard. But you should not underestimate the capabilities of a nuclear state, a country that has 160 million people and a very well organised military as well as an intelligence service.”
He also rejected allegations that Islamabad might have plotted against Benazir, saying: “She was always accusing people without proof. So why should I have to prove my innocence?”
He promised the Feb 18 elections would be conducted by the rules and said international monitors had been invited to observe, but rejected demands for western-style democratic customs.
“You have to understand. Pakistan is not Germany. We are a developing country. Give us time and don’t force your own models of democracy on us,” he said.
Musharraf said of US President George W. Bush as the end of his presidency approaches: “I’ll miss him a lot. He is a friend, a man who means what he says and speaks openly.”
But he added: “Obviously personal relationships do count in politics, but ultimately it is national interests that predominate.”