Former Pakistani president and military dictator Pervez Musharraf on Friday announced the end of his self-imposed exile and said he will return to Pakistan within one week after the formation of an interim government.
Clad in a black traditional sherwani, Gillani, the country's 25th prime minister and the first premier from the Pakistan People's Party who is not a member of the Bhutto family, was administered the oath by Musharraf in the central hall of the Aiwan-e-Sadr or presidency in Islamabad. The ceremony was delayed by almost an hour as Gillani had gone to Karachi on Monday to attend the wedding of his son and had to rush back to the federal capital on Tuesday.
Speaking to a television channel over phone from Saudi Arabia, he said, "If Benazir abandons her negotiations with Musharraf, we can work together and launch a joint struggle."
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Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri saw him off at the airport at the Chaklala Defence Airbase in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan and India also decided to increase the frequency of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus services, official sources said.
Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has announced he will return to his homeland no later than March 23 next year to participate in the 2013 general elections, despite facing possible arrest in the country. "I am going to land in Lahore on March 23, 2012, if not earlier -- but not later," he told mediapersons in Dubai.
Bhutto, who might face corruption charges on her return to Pakistan, said she felt confident that the people of Pakistan will rally around her because they wanted democracy restored.
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'If there is a face-off between the army and people, the leadership may lose control of the army.'
Incidents like the recent terrorist attack on the [Srinagar-Muzaffarabad] bus service could mar the ongoing peace process, the PM told Musharraf.
The sequence of events since Pakistan's Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was suspended on March 9, which sparked a major crisis in the country.
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