He said that he had asked the Pak Army and the Rangers to be put on duty until elections, even later, to control the law and order situation. “People who did arsoning and looting also had a political motive, since those against these political outfits were targeted while others were not,” he said, without naming any particular outfit.

Musharraf also said that he had instructed the Prime Minister to work out a “compensation package for those who suffered losses” in the last five days.

Estimating that Rs 100 crore loss has happened in the last five days, he said that, in Sindh, the investment in development in the last eight years had been damaged in the last five days.

He also reached out to Bhutto’s supporters, saying that she worked to promote democracy and end terrorism.

“My mission is also the same,” he said. “We need to fight terrorism with full force, and I think that if we don’t succeed in the fight against terrorism, the future of Pakistan will be dark,” he said. “I appeal to the people and the nation, and to the media to support the government and the security agencies.”