Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf is not considering any proposal to induct a civilian prime minister until general elections planned for 2002, a senior aide said.
"When General Musharraf speaks of a change, it means to be applicable after two years from now, when the deadline set by the Supreme Court runs out," Major General Rashid Qureshi said in a statement late Saturday.
Qureshi denied reports that a recent meeting of military commanders chaired by Musharraf discussed the appointment of a civilian prime minister and the anger of the people.
"No such thing, whatsoever, was discussed and that the news item is totally a figment of imagination," the statement carried by the official Associated Press of Pakistan said.
Musharraf on Thursday admitted that his popularity was winning amid soaring prices resulting from new tax measures.
"I know that the graph of the government has gone down and the perception of discouragement and despondency is setting in but this is not really true," local daily The News quoted Musharraf as telling a dinner of Pakistan-American physicians.
"If we were not performing, I would be the first person to be thinking of ways to bring somebody who can run Pakistan better," the paper quoted him as saying.
Qureshi defended the performance of Musharraf's government as "far better than the preceding governments which were inefficient and corrupt."
"The effects of their mal-administration are still lingering and the nation is still paying the price of their misdeeds even after one year," he added.
He said conscious people were satisfied with the performance of the government.
"Those opposed to a better change in the life of the people cannot succeed in retaining the decadent system which drove the country to the brink of disaster ... ," he added.
Musharraf came to power after prime minister Nawaz Sharif's unpopular government was toppled in a coup in October last year. The supreme court has validated his rule and allowed three years from the takeover to complete his reform agenda and restore democracy.
The General has promised to return Pakistan to full civilian rule by October 2002, with elections of new village councils beginning in December this year -- ISLAMABAD (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
