Elections to proceed as planned

Pakistan’s military-led government said on Wednesday that it would abide by a Supreme Court ruling to restore democracy and hold elections within three years of the date the military seized power in late 1999, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday. The assurance was given by the main government lawyer, Sharifuddin Pirzada, a day after the country’s top court asked Islamabad to state when it would hold elections. Pirzada told an 11-judge Supreme Court bench: “Under instructions from the competent authority, I reaffirm the assurances which have been given.” He was referring to a promise from military ruler General Pervez Musharraf that he would meet a three-year deadline given to him by the court last year for the holding of elections.