ISLAMABAD, Aug 11: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Saturday said the return of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to the country before the general election would disturb the political atmosphere, adding that they would be well-advised not to insist on coming home.

The president was talking to a delegation of the All-Pakistan Newspapers Society’s (APNS) executive committee here.

The president said: “The case of Nawaz Sharif is in court and whenever asked, documents of the agreement will be produced before the court.”

Confusion surrounded the president’s remarks, with television networks reporting that he had ruled out the return of MQM chief Altaf Hussain, too.

But other reports quoted the information minister as having said that Gen Pervez Musharraf had parried a question about the government’s stand on the issue.

Giving details of the meeting with the APNS delegation, information minister Muhammad Ali Durrani told Dawn that the president made it clear that no extreme step, including imposition of emergency, was on the government’s agenda.

About his re-election, Gen Musharraf said: “Everything will be done in accordance with the law and the Constitution,” making a reference to an earlier judgment of the Supreme Court in this regard.

The president informed the delegation that though the issue of emergency had been discussed, no decision about its imposition was taken. The president said his telephonic conversation with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice focused on Afghanistan.

He told the delegation that Pakistan was facing two big challenges: one was growing menace of terrorism and the other was continuity in economic progress.

Mr Drrani said that Gen Musharraf was keen on ensuring free, fair and transparent elections to steer the country out of crisis.He said some people wanted imposition of emergency, but the president was interested in holding elections on time.

The minister appealed to all segments of society, including media and opposition, to help promote a congenial atmosphere for the general election.

Mr. Durrani said the president did not mention the name of Altaf Hussain when he talked about Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto and he only kept quite when he was posed to a question about Mr. Hussain.