DUBAI – Former president Pervez Musharraf will return back to Pakistan tolead the 23 party alliance

Musharraf is set to lead a 23-party alliance, Tribune has reported onMonday.

All-Pakistan Muslim League (APML) president Muhammad Amjad, Islami JamhooriIttehad (IJI) leader Allama Zubair Ahmed Zaheer, Awami League presidentRiaz Fityana, Junejo League president Iqbal Dar and chief organiser FaqeerHussain Bukhari told journalists in Lahore they all stood united behind theformer President.

They said Musharraf would be returning soon to lead the Pakistan NationalAlliance. Together, they said, the alliance would constitute a third forcein national politics. The politicos said the Interior Ministry had beenasked to ensure Rangers’ personnel were deployed for the former president’ssecurity. They urged former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to stop rapping thejudiciary and armed forces to divert attention from his corruption.

Amjad said foreign debt had kept rising during the former PM’s tenure. Hesaid the nation had prospered in the Musharraf-era. “The media experienceda boom too,” Amjad said.

Dar said the country needed a leader who could play a proactive role ininternational politics. Musharraf, he said, was ideal on this account.

Fityana said the governments botched initiatives had left farmersdistressed. He said health and education standards had also nosedived. “ThePakistan National Alliance will remedy this,” Fityana said.