TOKYO, March 13: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday ruled out any possibility of former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif being allowed to stand for election in October.

President Musharraf was asked whether he would allow the two to take part in national and provincial elections due in October during a press conference in Tokyo.

“Well, the answer is very short — no,” Gen Musharraf said.

Benazir Bhutto has been living in self-imposed exile, mostly in Dubai but also in London, since just before her conviction for corruption in 1998.

Earlier this month, Qasim Zia, president of PPP Punjab, said Benazir Bhutto would return to Pakistan and was sure to be elected prime minister for a third time if Musharraf permitted free and fair elections.

Nawaz Sharif was exiled to Saudi Arabia in December 2000 after he struck a deal with the military government to get out of jail, where he was serving 21 years for hijacking and tax evasion, in exchange for political silence.

The President has said he will remain as leader after October. But he was vague on his own future, saying only that he would do his constitutional part.—AFP