(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-11-17 07:14

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Friday rejected a caretaker government soon after it was sworn in by President Pervez Musharraf to organize parliamentary elections by January 9.

"This caretaker government is continuation of the PML-Q (the former ruling party) and is not acceptable," Bhutto told a press conference in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.

She said that fair elections would not be possible under the caretaker government and emergency, saying that she was in touch with all opposition parties, including Islamic groups, to unite on a one-point agenda to force Musharraf to quit.

Bhutto said that she had held dialogue with Musharraf with intention to restore democracy. "But General Musharraf did not honor his commitments," she said.

"Only democracy can save Pakistan," she said, urging the international community to support the democratic elements in Pakistan.

Bhutto demanded release of all political prisoners, lifting of restrictions on media and restoration of the 1973 constitution.