LAHORE, June 1: Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad has said national and provincial assemblies will be dissolved soon after President Gen Pervez Musharraf takes oath as president for a new five-year term, as part of a “constitutional mechanism” to pave the way for the next general elections.

“Everything will become crystal clear between Sept 15 and Oct 15 this year and this includes a deal with PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto,” he said while replying to questions at a news conference here on Friday, without elaborating.

He said the president would be re-elected by the present assemblies while retaining his uniform because he (the president) had yet to take a decision about the military office. As things stood today, he said, Gen Musharraf was to contest for the presidency without taking off his uniform.

Answering another question, he said re-electing the president would be the present assemblies’ last function.

About a deal with Ms Bhutto, he insisted that things were moving in that direction. “She will return home after settling all details. May be she will not be able to take part in the general election, but she may contest a by-election,” Sheikh Rashid said, adding that the main beneficiary of the opposition agitation was the PPP chairperson who, he thought, was playing her cards well to improve her bargaining position.

He said Nawaz Sharif might come back ‘in a transit’, but Shahbaz Sharif, who earlier had a good chance, had been stopped by his sister-in-law Kulsoom Nawaz. However, the minister did not elaborate his assertions and most of his replies remained ambiguous.

In reply to another question, he said arms and politics could not go together and use of force and threat was alien to politics which meant a peaceful process. He also appealed to the media to “exercise restraint” in reporting events.

He said the government would accept and implement any decision taken by superior courts in the case of the reference against the chief justice.