LONDON  - Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said Thursday he would consult with members of his party before deciding whether to delay his return from exile later this month.
Speaking from Britain after friends and supporters in Pakistan advised him to stay away for his safety, the ex-president said he wanted to stick to his plan and fly home at the end of January. "I have to return no doubt whatsoever. My decision stands between the 27th and the 30th of January," Musharraf said at a press conference in Ilford, east of the capital London. But he added: "My party leaders in Pakistan are looking at the implications of my return and will give me the recommendation whether to return or whether to postpone. I have not had any recommendations yet."
Musharraf faces two court warrants for his arrest, connected to the 2006 death of Akbar Bugti, a rebel leader in the southwest, and the 2007 assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto. "My message to the Pakistani government is that I should not be arrested," Musharraf added. He said he would fly to Dubai before going to Pakistan in any case.
Leaders of his All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) said in Pakistan earlier Thursday that he should put off his return because he would be arrested if he came back.
Musharraf took power in a coup in 1999, when he was army chief. He later became president but was forced to step down in August 2008 after the Pakistan People's Party of current President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani formed a government following elections.