LAHORE, Aug 17: President Pervez Musharraf says he is contesting the election for another term not because he wants power for himself but to save the country from the challenges ahead.

Addressing ministers and ruling PML legislators belonging to Lahore and Gujranwala divisions on the second day of his election campaign on Friday, the president said he would advise his supporters that instead of asking questions about his contacts with the PPP leadership they should monitor their impact.

Today the opposition stands divided, he said.

PML President Shujaat Husain, Governor Khalid Maqbool, Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi, Kashmir Committee Chairman Hamid Nasir Chattha, Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar, Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal, MNA Wajahat Husain and many others were present at the meeting where the presidential candidate shed light on the global and domestic situation.

In an obvious reference to speculations that the exiled leaders could come back as a result of some deal or through judicial verdicts, Gen Musharraf held out an assurance that such a development would not have a bearing on the PML.

The commerce minister reportedly advised the president to have his eligibility for the top office reexamined by a team of competent lawyers to ward off any last moment difficulty.

The president said he had discussed the matter with constitutional experts and was satisfied that he was qualified to go for another term.

He said terrorism and militancy should be uprooted at all costs, warning that any terrorist activity in any European country, if attributed to Pakistan, could land the country in serious trouble. He said his stay in power was imperative to fight terrorism.

Enumerating his services as president for the past eight years, Gen Musharraf claimed that the country had made unprecedented progress during this period. To substantiate his claim, he said, the government would soon release the necessary statistics.

Without naming anyone but leaving no doubt that he was referring to his political adversaries, the president said those wanting to disrupt the pace of progress should be resisted.

He said the presidential election would be conducted strictly in accordance with the constitution between Sept 15 and Oct 15. It would be unconstitutional, he stressed, if the process was not completed during this period.

The president was effusive in praise for Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi for the development projects he launched over the past five years.

About the controversy regarding the banishment of the Sharif family, the president said documents in this regard would be produced before the apex court.

He said he did not want confrontation with the judiciary and had accepted the apex court’s verdict on the reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

MNAs Wajahat Husain and Begum Mehnaz Rafi and parliamentary secretary Dr Farzana Nazeer gave various suggestions about the presidential election. —ASHRAF MUMTAZ