Reuters

Islamabad, Aug 1: Pakistan's greatest living Urdu poet said he had returned the country's highest civilian award to protest the policies of President Pervez Musharraf.

Ahmed Faraz, 75, hopes his action to return the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (the Crescent Moon Honour) would promote the cause for the restoration of full democracy in Pakistan.

"My conscience does not allow me to keep the award when we have pseudo-democracy like a house of cards, and when the government is waging a war against its own people in Waziristan and Baluchistan," he told Reuters.

The army has been fighting against pro-Taliban tribesmen in Waziristan, on the border with Afghanistan, and against ethnic Baloch tribesmen in revolt in the southwest.

Faraz said yesterday that Musharraf had violated the constitution and broken a promise to give up his role as army chief.

"I am not scared because I have been blindfolded and put in solitary confinement before for democracy,'' he said.

Faraz, whose works have been compared with Mohammad Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz, the greatest Urdu poets of the last century, was jailed and sent into exile by the late military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq.

Musharraf came to power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, and the leaders of the main opposition live in exile, and their parties have been marginalised over the last seven years.

Critics have questioned the fairness of elections held during Musharraf's time in office, and his political allies now say he will be relected as president for another five years by the present assemblies before they are dissolved for general elections due at the end of next year.

Musharraf has controversially retained his role as army chief, saying it was necessary in order for him to wage a war on terrorism in Pakistan and to seek peace with neighbouring India.