Musharraf to launch his own political party

By Mazhar Tufail

ISLAMABAD: Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf is finalising plans to launch his own political party in March, a source close to the former military ruler told The News here on Wednesday.

“The former president still enjoys the support of some senior leaders of the PML-Q, which had played the role of the king’s party during Musharraf’s rule,” said the source, seeking anonymity.

“Various senior leaders of the PML-Q, except for Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and his close associates, are still in touch with the former president and are ready to join his party,” he said. According to the source, Gen (retd) Musharraf wants Chaudhry Shujaat to extend some sort of support to him even if he is not ready to join the party of his former mentor. He said that the former president was, however, unlikely to get the support from the Ex-Servicemen Society of Pakistan despite himself being a former military officer.

“During his current visit to the UAE, Musharraf was also scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia but now he has changed his plan and will return to the UK without visiting Riyadh,” the source said. “In March, he (Musharraf) will return to Karachi where he will launch his own political party,” he added.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=218673