Date with a dictator

Pakistan's former leader Musharraf joins website to sell his company for cash

General Pervez Musharraf needs your money. Pakistan's former military dictator and President, who on March 1 announced an end to his self-imposed fouryear exile, has put out a price-list for access.

So here's what you need to shell out for a date with the General - $2,500 (Rs 1.37 lakh) will get you a ticket from Dubai to Pakistan for a trip with Musharraf later this month; $1,000 (Rs 54,780) will buy you dinner with him the evening before, and for half that price, you could skip dinner to just attend the reception and score a photo op. If all you desire is a handshake and photograph, you will have to pay $250 (Rs 13,700).

Journalists, meanwhile, are required to pay a flat registration fee of $550 (Rs 30,100) to accompany the India-born former dictator from Dubai to Pakistan.

The fundraiser, described as "a unique opportunity to travel with General Musharraf to Pakistan", has been organised by his office and is being hosted on the popular US-based web-ticketing firm, Eventbrite.

Musharraf had revealed on March 1 that he would return to Pakistan, most likely Karachi, within one week of the announcement of Pakistan's election schedule. Pakistan's historic elections, which will mark the first time a civilian administration has completed a full term, are expected to be announced on March 16.

The workers of his party, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), said the fundraiser was the brainchild of the outfit's US chapter. Political analysts say the former President and his fledgling party are fringe players in the upcoming elections. "Musharraf will have to face the courts in various cases registered against him, including the attack on the Lal Masjid and (the assassination of Baloch leader) Nawab Akbar Bugti," Pakistan People's Party senator Faisal Raza Abidi said.