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Pakistan in the making?
The political storm that was created in Pakistan on 11 March , following the communiqué issued by President Pervez Musharraf, summoning parliament to meet on March 17, seems to be subsiding and the issue of future of incumbent President gradually relegated to side ways with the emergence of a new set of issues before the opposition leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN), now busy debating other crucial issues before the parliament, including the choice of a new premier. As a result, rather the leaders are coming together to form the central as well as provincial governments by concentrating on removal of the differences that have cropped up in each party as well as in their negotiations for power-share.
The struggle thus has trespassed from "Musharraf versus opposition" to several domains of choice of people for top slots and other issues now. The role of presidency and its place in relation to parliament, role of military in Pakistan and its role in relation to legislature, role of judiciary and appointment of judges, choice of Prime-Minister are doing rounds in political discourses of the opposition conclaves, though fate of Musharraf seems to be still in the background of their talks. The opposition parties have to now decide about persons for country's major offices, Premier, Speaker and, if necessary, the President. Nawaz Sharif seems to be still eying on the presidency.
As it stands, the PPP is all set to form government at the centre with the backing of former premier Nawaz Sharif's PML-N and the Awami National Party, which draws its support from the ethnic Pashtun minority. The three parties are five seats short of a two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament, having won a total of 223 seats in the 342-member National Assembly. According to detailed results, the PPP has 120 seats, the PML-N 90 seats and the Awami National Party (ANP) 13 seats. The PML-Q, which backs Musharraf, is the third largest group in the National Assembly with 51 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has 25 seats, the Muttahida Majlas-e-Amal six seats, the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional five seats and the Pakistan People's Party-Sherpao, National People's Party and Balochistan National Party-Awami one seat each. At regional levels, too, they are finalizing the candidates for top slots.
Murree Declaration signed on March 09 by Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif is an important event and its enforcement could change the course of politics. This is the second most important document signed by the two parties. First was the Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed in 2006, which is regarded as the best piece of paper produced in the country after the 1973 Constitution. Both documents show a bipartisan manner in which the two big parties want to pursue the common objective of democratic and constitutional rule.
Under the Murree Declaration, both parties agreed to restore the judges of the supreme judiciary, including deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry, as it existed on November 3, 2007. The PML-N and its leader Nawaz Sharif have been very vocal on this issue. But both are vague over the issue. The media, civil society, lawyers, the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) and the PML-N are only stressing on the restoration of judges. The issue related to the constitution is only mentioned as a passing remark. There still is debate in the country whether a resolution of the National Assembly or even the parliament will be sufficient to restore the judiciary in the Supreme Court as well as four high courts. The issue of judges has not been the central problem of PMLN or PPP, but it came handy in fighting elections to marginalize Musharraf.
NEW PREMIER: THE CONTROVERSY
There have been "wheels within wheels" in every party that keep turning on different vital issues, especially on the choice of premiership. Sources report that there is a lot of undercurrent on the final choice of the premier, still causing problems in the opposition camp, while Musharraf is closely watching the developments and meeting the leaders across the political spectrum.
Makhdoom Amin Fahim, whom the PPP had proposed inthe beginning, has become irrelevant now. The opposition parties oppose his candidature because of his proximity to Musharraf and military, but Fahim says he has met Mushaaraf several times on behalf of PPP and there is nothing special about seeing him now. PML-N leader Khawaja Asif, who earlier emerged as a possible choice, was in fact "launched" by PPP-PML(N) only to "discredit and ditch" Fahim on a wink from high-ups. His outburst against Fahim was not something out of the blue; it was well planned and well considered. It was intended to give a clear message to Fahim that the major coalition partner of the PPP was not willing to accept him as the candidate for the prime minister. This has enabled Zardari to make it clear to Fahim that he could not name him as the PPP candidate because he had been opposed by his major coalition partner without whose support his party could not form the government at the Centre.
Before Khawaja Asif came out in the open, Nawaz Sharif had set the ball rolling when he had stated that anybody who was "wired" should not be nominated as the prime minister. He had made this all-embracing remark during a news conference at Bhurban that he had addressed with Zardari following their historic accord to restore the deposed judges and form coalition governments at the Centre and in the Punjab.
Many usually well informed senior party leaders do not precisely know why such eruption of angry remarks against the respected Makhdoom, proposed earlier by PPP as the final choice for Premiership, took place. After Zardari dropped Fahim there has been a sense of disquiet in political circles. On March 14 PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif and ANP chief Asfandyar Wali chose not to meet Makhdoom Amin Fahim citing prior engagements, but he did manage to meet JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman here at the latter`s residence. His meeting with the JUI-F leader has been termed `informal`. However, no senior PPP leader was willing to talk about it, saying they did not want to comment on it as already the media was fueling the controversy within the party. Rehman said after the meeting that it is PPP`s internal matter to nominate a candidate for the prime minister and his party would not interfere in it. He said his party supports the PPP and has no reservations on whosoever becomes prime minister.
Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, another important contender for the post, has now emerged as the apparent sole front-runner in the race for the top slot, has made some interesting remarks to prove his "credentials". For example, he has stated that a smooth working relationship can be worked out with President Pervez Musharraf. He has also declared that he would vacate the top office for Zardari after the latter's election as MNA to assume the charge.
Meanwhile, Veteran PPP leader Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani told he would win the Prime Minister race. Gillani had started his political career when he was made a member of Gen Ziaul Haq`s handpicked Majlis-e-Shoora. He remained with the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) for a few years. Later, he joined the PPP with which his attachment continues to this day. He suffered a lot because of his imprisonment on a frivolous charge of recruiting people in the National Assembly Secretariat when he was its speaker.
Asif Ali Zardari
Of course, as it is known, Pakistan People's Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari expressed his ambition o assume the premiership as soon as he is cleared of his graft charges and he expects it would take about 3 months. Meanwhile, the Accountability Court No 3, Rawalpindi, acquitted on 14 March Asif Ali Zardari in the BMW car reference, the last corruption reference against him, suspending all the previous orders related to the confiscation of his property.
The court, in its judgment, observed that the alleged involvement of Zardari in importing a BMW car from England and evading the customs duty could not be proven. In the BMW case, Zardari was accused of impersonating as a student and importing a 1993 model armored luxury vehicle with the intention to evade duties that caused the national exchequer a loss of Rs 10 million. The Sindh High Court (SHC), in its ruling, had recently directed the attorney-general and the NAB authorities to withdraw the corruption cases filed in Switzerland by the Government of Pakistan, and the SHC would take up the case on March 21. Pakistan media report that Zardari would be the premier.
The PPP`s nominee for the slot of the speaker and his domicile would be keenly watched. He said both the prime minister and the speaker were unlikely to be taken from the same province though such an arrangement might be a stopgap arrangement. However, Asif Zardari will take the final decision about the prime minister slot after consulting with the PML-N and ANP. Fahim seems to have declined to accept Speaker-ship. Most probably a nominee of PML (N) would be selected for the Speaker-ship; a seasoned politician Javed Hashmi might be considered for this important job of balancing the hot politicians in the Hall.
Amid the confusion being generated by the post-poll adjustments made for the final selection of premier and speaker, one thing is becoming amply clear: the opposition led by PP leader Zardari has shelved their major goal of removing Musharraf from presidency, at least for the time being. That is indeed a positive signal for Pakistan and its people; both have suffered a great deal. Musharraf, who has declared his support to the new government, was also elelcted by constitutional means and is not a threat to legitimate interests of either Pakistan or Kashmir. But a unified leadership is in Pakistan's as well as Kashmir's advantage.
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Analyst,
Delhi
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