Musharraf Eyes Return to Power in Pakistan

Exiled General to Create New Party, Run for Office

by Jason Ditz, September 10, 2010

Former Pakistani junta leader Pervez Musharraf is hoping to return to Pakistan and return to power in the next few years, according to announcements he has made from exile in London, United Kingdom.

Musharraf seized power in 1999 while head of the military, and ruled Pakistan through 2008, when amid rising protests against his increasingly heavy-handed rule he relented and agreed to allow elections. The parties supporting him lost, and he fled the country.

But a couple of years later, and with the Pakistani government facing a growing number of crises and increased questions of its legitimacy, he’s hoping for a political comeback and intends to form a new political party to make it happen.

Which is quite a change from last year, when officials were openly talking about trying to extradite Musharraf and try him for treason. But with Pakistan’s problems mounting, that has been the least of their concerns.

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