Former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf has said he intends going home to enter politics, perhaps standing to become President or Prime Minister, CNN reported.
Mr Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999 and ruled until stepping down as President in 2008, has raised the possibility of re-entering politics several times over the past year although political analysts have played down the likelihood.
“I certainly am planning to go back to Pakistan and also join politics. The question of whether I am running for President or Prime Minister will be seen later,” Mr Musharraf told CNN in an interview. Mr Musharraf left Pakistan about a year ago and spends most of his time in Britain and the United States.
Many Pakistanis welcomed the 1999 coup by the straight-talking Army Chief, which ended a decade of fractious rule by rival parties tainted by corruption accusations.
But the longer he ruled the more unpopular he became. In 2007, he became embroiled in a conflict with the judiciary after attempting to dismiss a Supreme Court chief who was expected to challenge Mr Musharraf’s bid to cling to power.
For months, lawyers, joined by the Opposition party supporters, staged protests across the country, decrying what they described as Mr Musharraf’s dictatorship.