KARACHI: Former prime minister Shaukat Aziz has claimed US wanted Benazir to become the prime minister and wanted Musharraf to remain president.
Aziz, who held the prime minister’s office from 2004 to 2007, was talking in a Geo TV’s programme about the claims made in his recently published book.
Shaukat Aziz’s book, “From banking to the thorny world of politics”, was launched earlier this month. The book is co-authored by Sunday Times journalist Anna Mikhailova.
He also claimed that former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto did not want Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan before 2008 general elections.
“The then US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Richard Boucher told me that both Musharraf and Benazir wanted Nawaz to stay abroad to avoid competition,” said Aziz.
Aziz claimed that after the October 1999 coup, the then US President Bill Clinton asked Musharraf to remain cautious, adding that both Saudi Arabia and US prevented the then government from any step which could threaten anyone’s life.
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