|
Articles About Benazir Bhutto
Editorial Defining
President Musharraf's 'turmoil'
The Supreme Court is getting ready to hear a number of petitions
against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and has named a bench
of judges along with known jurists as amici curiae to match the
"seriousness" which the NRO has assumed in the public eye. As the court
announced that it would start hearing the case after 21 days, Chief
Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has clarified that till the
pronouncement on corruption cases involved is made, no benefits will
accrue to the affected parties.
The reactions to the new development have been interesting. President
General Pervez Musharraf has repeated his "request" to Ms Benazir Bhutto
to postpone her return to Pakistan to avoid "turmoil" – his chosen word to
express a complex problem. He says he has not received Ms Bhutto's
reaction to his request, but the PPP spokespersons have already rejected
the request, and preparations are on to welcome her in Karachi amid
massive security measures after Al Qaeda, as conveyed through its deputy
Baitullah Mehsud, threatened to kill her.
The "turmoil" the president wants to avoid is politically complex. It
is not so much Al Qaeda he is currently dreading because that is a
longer-term problem; nor can he be expected to ruminate too much on the
personal safety of Ms Bhutto. It is the "turmoil" that is brewing inside
the party he has been propping up and canvassing for quite blatantly over
the past months, the PMLQ and its anti-PPP partners in power. While the
attorney general, Malik Muhammad Qayyum, says the NRO will be implemented
because it has not been "stayed" by the Supreme Court, the PMLQ leaders
most upset by the prospect of facing a PPP led personally by Ms Bhutto
consider the NRO as already defunct.
The old hackles are rising and the country is once again getting ready
to settle into its crippling polarities. As passions begin to run on
familiar lines, a report says that the tomb of the founder of the PPP,
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto at Naodero in Sindh, carries abusive graffiti against
him. The Sindh chief minister has been most aggressive in his dislike of
the "reconciliation" the president is bent upon effecting with Ms Bhutto.
He sees a new political combination coalescing between the PPP and the MQM
and finds himself once again consigned to the limbo of Tharparkar with
acts of omission and commission during his tenure returning to haunt him.
Reflexes in the PMLQ have also sharpened after realising that, despite
all kinds of passionate condemnation in the media, the PPP is bound to
retain its hold over 30 percent of the electorate, which can manifest
itself in all sorts of ways in the January 2008 general elections. So the
PMLQ leaders are basking in the media-unleashed furore that the NRO has
"let the corrupt run away with public money". They want to scuttle the
efforts being made by a besieged President Musharraf to widen his
political support-base as he fights his lonely battle against Al Qaeda in
the Tribal Areas.
Media anchors have typically glossed over the origin of the corruption
cases in Pakistan and have carried along the "moral outrage" expressed by
those supporting the Lal Masjid revolt and the lawyers' movement, as they
once again go into paroxysms over the NRO. The hype has been so intense
that public opinion is now totally geared to the tribal trait of "honour"
rather than the democratic condition of "compromise". There is no regard
paid to the need of safeguarding the country's bipartisan system. A "rejectionism"
which will ultimately go in favour of the extremist elements informs the
thinking encouraged by the media in Pakistan. "Deal" is a swear word
presented as such in the publicity "inserts" of one dominant TV news
channel.
The love of confrontation and conflict is on the upswing in Pakistan.
Apparently, the only way our "honour" can be saved is by refusing to agree
to political compromise and reconciliation. Everyone wants martyrdom
without any solution based on the democratic acceptance of
"imperfections"; no one thinks of the meagre resource of talent and wisdom
in the country's political system. The tired myth of the "unerring wisdom
of the 160 million people" is being repeated by all and sundry on TV
channels, without admitting that the 160 million have repeatedly elected
the same corrupt politicians again and again, giving the lie to the claim
made in their favour.
Vilifying Benazir
Bhutto serves Chaudhry Shujaat, Baitul Mehsud, MMA, and MQM interests
Iqbal Tareenr
It is understandable when Taliban, MQM and Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
folks hate Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's guts but it is beyond me when I see
so called pro-democracy groups and individuals engage into
slanderous campaign against her.
I hope these born again "Desktop Revolutionaries" realize that their
mudslinging movement against Benazir Bhutto advances cause of Baitullah
Mehsud, Chaudhry Shujaat, Arbab Ghulam Rahim, and MQM. By throwing
stones at MBB, they are not only strengthening Musharraf's hold on
power but they are weakening real cause of restoration of democracy in
Pakistan. In my opinion liberty and democracy in Pakistan has a long
list of predators but Benazir Bhutto is not one of them.
The real enemies of people are those who have captured power under
military rule and through takeovers. They are the ones who would prefer to
retain uncontested rule without losing even an ounce of it. As far as
remaining political parties are concerned, majority of them are either
creation of agencies or they are doing business with their blessings. The
only party that significantly challenges establishment’s monopoly on power
and shares it with the masses is Pakistan People's Party. That is why the
real beneficiaries of Musharraf’s rule including PML (Q), Arbab Rahim, MQM,
and Mullahs hate MBB’s return to Pakistan.
I hope these so called critics realize that Musharraf has not conceded to
MBB's return to Pakistan out of mere admiration for her. It has taken MBB
years of perseverance, sacrifices, separation from her family and heroic
hard work of democracy loving people around the world that has forced
Musharraf's hand to change of status. The Chaudhry Bros. & Co., MQM,
Taliban, and Mullahs will have field goal if by any hook or crook they can
prevent MBB's return.
Recent ploy by Musharraf team to delay Benazir Bhutto's return to
Pakistan on October 17th is yet another trick to create confusion and
demoralize pro-democracy forces in Pakistan. It speaks a lot about real
losers who are determined to stop Benazir at any cost. Asking Benazir
Bhutto to delay her return is also aimed at creating a Nawaz Sharif like
situation but without resorting to an open confrontation.
Although Pakistan celebrates its annual anniversary without any
failure but it had failed to advance beyond its inception that took place
6o years ago. Sanity requires that we honestly dice and slice the current
status; identify various options to arrive at the most sane and peaceful
resolution of Pakistan's stagnant existence.
REALITES ON THE GROUND
1. Decades of direct and indirect army rule, unrepresentative
governments, especially last eight years of combined Musharraf, PML (Q),
MQM, and Mullah Rule has enlarged the gap between rich and poor of the
nation to its max. Advances in electronic media has shrunk the distances
but it has also provided most modern tools of manipulation
to unrepresentative governments thus disarming and deflecting rising
public opinion against its hold on power.
2.Pakistan being a frontline state against increasing threat of Talban
and their growing influence in Pakistan and the region provides General
Musharraf a favorite status with western countries. Although it is no
secret that General Musharraf has successfully leveraged this threat as an
insurance policy to continue his grip on power but in absence of any
viable alternative, the General remains to be the only game in town and an
important ally in war against terrorism.
3. Traditional friends of Pakistan, regional countries and powerful
Muslim states will not allow imploding of Pakistan from within. In a
national chaotic situation it could be any body's game thus leading to
loss of innocent lives of unarmed and peaceful citizens of the country.
Good students of history should recall lessons learnt from the French
Revolution. Mass uprisings do not necessarily bring democracies and order.
Chaos will create unstable Pakistan thus triggering a dominos effect where
one Muslim state after another might fall in the hands of Taliban rule.
4. Those who know history will vouch that anyone who takes over power
by violent means does not relinquish it so peacefully. We also know that
the violent takeovers of government rarely produce democracies.
5. If you value liberties and are concerned about the freedoms under
Musharraf rule, you aint seen nothin yet. Make no mistake the Taliban's
Afghan Model of governance is no picnic. Under Taliban rule, the first
thing to go will be the Internet, next to follow will be TV and Media, and
then the current judicial system will be replaced by mobile Sharia courts.
6. APC’s failure to provide a unified, doable, and credible solution
to the current constitutional and political crisis has put a damper on
popular hopes. Nawaz Sharif's poor execution of his comeback-strategy
cracks in MMA, and despicable reaction against Nawaz Sharif's deportation
proved that APC is not ready to pose any significant challenge to
Musharraf's powerful machinery. At least not in current situation.
7. Contrary to his public stance, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rahman's (Maulana
Machiavelli) vacillating stand on resignations revealed his real
allegiance. Mysterious absence of APC leadership from Pakistan during
Nawaz Sharif's arrival and repeated expulsions of Imran Khan and other APC
leaders from province of Sindh by MQM government exposed a huge gap
between their rhetoric and real power to act. Maulana Machiavelli's true
colors vindicated Benazir Bhutto's stand on her refusal to team with the
Maulana. Time will tell Mian Nawaz Sharif should not have cut away from
MRD to form a handicap group with highly opportunistic and unpredictable
Mullahs.
8.Contrary to wild speculations and popular wishes, Pakistan Army
leadership stood united behind General Musharraf by either blessing his
actions or remaining indifferent to his strikes against the opposition
during the recent political crisis.
9. Successfully pinning down possible reaction from Mr. Sharif's
deportation brought PML (Q) and MQM closer to Musharraf's ear. If
Musharraf had his own way, he would never let Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto step
on Pakistani soil ever. He will love to remain surrounded by gang of
political bouncers who are willing to do any hounding for him.
10. Icing on the cake and badly needed victory to General Musharraf was
delivered when the Supreme Court cleared his way to run for another term
on September 28th. This was done by the very Supreme Court whose Chief
Justice- a people's hero conveniently detached himself from nation's most
critical constitutional decision thus leaving the court's panel hanging
heavy on one side. The 6 to 3 ruling, which dismissed number of petitions
seeking to remove Musharraf off the ballot, made it difficult for rivals
to keep him from winning another five years in office.
OPTIONS
I see an adrenaline rush in many Desktop Revolutionaries who are
trying to look cute politically. But the question is how do you make any
decent difference on the ground if the objective is to make a change and
not merely writing about it? There are different sets of responsibilities
for those who believe in Desktop Revolution and those who have
responsibility to bring about changes on the ground. Here is the set of
options available to people of Pakistan:
1. Do nothing and let the pack of Chaudhry Brother, MQM, and Mullahs
continue consolidation of their power under army rule.
2. Whip-up popular uprisings, civil strife, and chaos in the hope that
a perfect government will be awaiting at the end of tunnel.
3. Adopt a peaceful quest for transition from nominal democracy to
representative democracy that guarantees civil liberty and welfare for
ordinary people.
REASONABLE PURSUIT
I support the 3rd option even though the road leading to its
accomplishment may look bumpy. In my opinion the only party that has a
shot at bringing about this change is Pakistan People's Party and that
also under the leadership of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. It would be highly
blissful for people of Pakistan if Mian Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan give
up their betting on MMA and joined Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in her bid for
restoring representative government in Pakistan.
Forcing change through violent means will be counterproductive. No
matter which way we look at it, if there is anything consistent about
Pakistan, it is the constant growth in the power of military and
bureaucracy and not the strengthening of civic institutions. By shooting a
few emails at each other, Desktop Revolutionaries can't scare this giant
away. Change on the ground requires much more than just a few movements of
mouse and keyboard strokes.
Although the recent heroic movement of Pakistani attorneys deserves
the real Kudos but re-instatement of Chief Justice took most of steam out
of it. Pakistanis are not ready to engage into fist fighting with their
children in the uniform. Record shows that the Generals will not hesitate
using them against the masses to protect themselves.
If anyone thinks that the judiciary and lawyers alone no matter how
noble there cause seems to be will be able to bring about a sea change in
Pakistan, they are mistaken. Instead of waging your war against Benazir
Bhutto and Pakistan People's Party, engage into a progressive and
pro-people alliance with her. Your rage against Benazir Bhutto is starting
to sound similar in tone and tanner to that of Chaudhry Shujaat, diehard
MQMites, Arbab Rahim, and Baitul Mahmud. If that's what you really want to
accomplish than say it and don't pretend as if you are really longing for
representative governance and guaranteed liberties in Pakistan.
If you have a better intention on mind then let me remind you that”
The road to hell is paved with good intentions". You simply don't
succeed in doing the good things you intend. You will have to work towards
achieving it on a much deeper level by creating the capacities to do the
things you should. Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai - a most famous Sindhi sufi
poet may have a good piece of advice warning you against barking at the
wrong tree. He said:
“Kashay teeru kamaan maan, mian maar na moon,
Moon mein aaheen toon mataan tuhinjo ee tokhay laGay"
English translation would mean: Do not target me with your arrow – you
may end up hurting yourself because you are in me"
I urge you to make up your mind and decide what side are you on?
Note: Term "Desktop revolutionaries" is coined by a good friend
Murtaza Solangi.
back to top
Talking Points
Regarding Ethnicity Based Discrimination
1.The Executive has the power to commute sentence of guilty and
withdraw cases against those not proved guilty.
2.It is a fact that Punjab’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was proven guilty
of corruption and treason. The court refused to intervene.
3.It is a fact that 11 years of a witch-hunt could prove nothing
against a Prime Minister from Sindh. Yet the court mood is ugly.
4.A Prime Minister from Sindh was hanged.
5.A Prime Minister from Punjab was not hanged.
6.Governor (S) was absconder in a murder case. He was made Governor and
the court did not intervene.
7. The Cabinet has admitted that the cases were politically motivated
as have the President and Prime Minister, but the court has chosen to
intervene and are told its “mood is ugly”.
8.Forty PPP workers gave their lives to protect Chief Justice from
political victimization. Judiciary should be fair and just and reciprocate
upholding the principle of ending political victimization.
9.It is unfortunate that prejudice and discrimination runs so deeply in
our country that double standards are applied to the Prime Minister from
Punjab proven guilty and to the Prime Minister from Sindh who has defended
and proven her innocence.
10. Pakistan’s unity can only be threatened by such double standards.
Let us hope the court does not discriminate when dealing with executive
actions relating to the Prime Ministers depending on their ethnic
background.
11. Anyhow we expect the court to do justice equally and demonstrate
fairness when dealing with executive actions relating to Prime Ministers
from different ethnic grounds so Pakistan is strengthened.
back to top
NRO Points
1. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is the symbol for democracy and
civilian rule. The party’s negotiations with General Musharraf are aimed
at an orderly transition to democracy.
2. The PPP recognizes that protests in the streets lead to a loss of
life, liberty and livelihood even when the protests are peaceful from the
viewpoint of pro-democracy activists. We have only used protests as a last
option when all other doors are closed. Our goal from the outset is to set
the course for a successful transition to democracy and political
marginalization of the anti-people and extremist forces.
3. Keeping in view the above, and the interest of the people of
Pakistan and the civilized world, the PPP has negotiated with the
Musharraf regime the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), which has
recently been promulgated.
4. The NRO and other public declarations is a broad package of
reforms that facilitates the transition to democracy in Pakistan. Its very
preamble acknowledges the abuses that have occurred under dictatorship by
stating that "it is expedient to promote national reconciliation, foster
mutual trust and confidence amongst holders of public office and remove
the vestiges of political vendetta and victimization…and to make the
electoral process more transparent." Due to the untiring efforts of the
PPP towards democracy, the nation has got:
a). A public agreement by General Musharraf before the Supreme Court of
Pakistan to resign his position as Chief of Army Staff and to take his
oath of office as President, should he be reelected, as a civilian.
b) Part of an important electoral reform demanded by political parties
and groups representing the civil society to prevent rigging and vote
counting fraud in subsequent election, by amending laws to provide that
“after consolidation of results, the Returning Officer shall give to such
contesting candidates and their election agents as are present during the
consolidation proceedings, a copy of the result of the count notified to
the Commission immediately against proper receipt and shall also post a
copy thereof to the other candidates and election agents.”
c) Addressing the problem of governmental intimidation undoing the
will of the electorate, as was the case in the General Elections of 2002,
a Parliamentary Committee on Ethics will be created. The Committee will
prevent intimidation of members of the National Assembly and Provincial
Assemblies by the government to cross party lines under coercive threat of
charges and imprisonment on trumped up political charges as has occurred
in the past, most notably in the Assembly elections of 2002.
Furthermore, the Parliamentary Committee on Ethics protecting
Parliamentarians and thereby ensuring the sanctity of the assembly’s
popular mandate, will -- in an extraordinary extension of democracy --
recognize the role in democratic governance of the Opposition. Members of
the Committee on Ethics will be chosen on the recommendation of the Leader
of the House and Leader of the Opposition, with equal representation from
both sides.
d) An agreement by the regime to end unproven from prosecution,
against Parliamentarians of all political parties who were “falsely
involved for political reasons or though political victimization” during
the years prior to 1999 but never convicted. This provision applies to
parliamentarians associated with all major political parties in Pakistan,
including those from the opposition parties such as PML (N) led by Mr
Nawaz Sharif.
4. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto could have secured an arrangement favorable
to herself long ago. Instead she endured exile and a psychological war
campaign while her husband suffered eight and a half years in prison
courageously refusing a personal arrangement for a political principle
(The call to drop politically motivated cases is enshrined in the Charter
of Democracy as well as in the resolutions by the Pakistan Bar
Association, the Alliance for Restroration to Democracy (ARD) and the
major political parties). Mohtarma Bhutto has insisted on measures to
prevent political re-engineering through false cases as well as in future
to prevent horse-trading. The PPP is committed to fight against
corruption through the rule of law.
5. The PPP has upheld its democratic principles in negotiations with
the regime. First and above all, it insists on free, fair and
transparent elections, supervised by a neutral caretaker government and an
independent Election Commission.
6. The PPP continues to insist on a civilian president without
uniform, restoration of the balance of powers between president and prime
minister and article 58-2(b) of the Constitution enabling the President
to undermine the sovereignty of Parliament (which led to the dysfunctional
democracy of the nineties), and an end of the military imposed ban on
two-term priming ministers from running for a third term.
7. The PPP negotiations are not structured around any “power sharing”
concept. The issue of which political party would form the government
will be determined only by the people of Pakistan through a fair general
elections.
8. The PPP believes that transition to democracy, which begins with
the National Reconciliation Ordinance, will take place in a phased
manner. Some critical steps have already been taken, like the arrangement
for the shedding of military uniform. Other key steps on electoral reform,
incorporating the recommendations of The Citizen’s Group on Electoral
Politics, which will insure the transparency and sanctity of the
forthcoming National Assembly and Provincial Assembly elections are still
being discussed.
Are we reconciled?
FS.A.
Qureshir
THE National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) appears to have run into a
storm of protest and derision from the press and civil society.
The criticism primarily is that it will permit politicians to launder
money that they could not account for.
It has, therefore, been labelled with various epithets like
daylight robbery and an abdication of principles on the part of both
Musharraf and the Pakistan People's Party. This is so despite people
having called for national reconciliation for the past few years.
It strikes me that in any system of justice such a law would
be curious. The reason would be that people would ask, why not resolve the
issues through the established judicial system.
The root of the problem is that we do not have a judicial system
that can be trusted by anyone in this country. Traditionally, apart from
a few individual exceptions, this whole system has been carrying out
the dictates of the military in Pakistan. If a civil servant, a judge or
a police officer dared to defy the military, they paid a heavy price.
The list is surprisingly long.
Does anybody remember Justice Safdar Shah who as a sitting judge of the
Supreme Court had to escape to London just because he disagreed with the
then military regime? His analysis that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had
not murdered Nawab Kasuri was legally clear and correct.
Almost 30 years later, instead of Safdar Shah's commemorative
statue standing outside the Supreme Court it is the Sharifuddin Pirzada protégés
who still wield influence within the hallowed portals of the
building.
Many of these gentlemen actually owe their elevation to a system
which has heavily been influenced by individuals like Justice Anwarul Haq
and Justice Nasim Hasan Shah.
I have nothing against those two gentlemen but they
practically admitted judicial murder by calling Bhutto's execution a
political decision. In short, the current judicial system comprises
personnel tainted by Provisional Constitutional Orders that dignified
military rule. This was a factor that the PPP could not reverse in its
short tenures and which Nawaz Sharif as heir to Zia quite enjoyed.
If anyone believes that things have changed they should remember
that the current top law officer of the country, the attorney-general,
is famous not for his legal analysis but for the engaging conversations
he held over the telephone and which found their way to the Internet.
As a sitting judge these conversations with Mr Khalid Anwar, the
law minister at the time, were remarkable for their frank appraisal of
what awaited the PPP leadership in cases before him.People who, therefore,
argue that the cases should be allowed to go to court are
either simplistic or basing their analysis on two false assumptions:
a) that the cases against the PPP leadership are all proven even before
they are heard;
b) that the courts will decide these cases fairly.As far as the second
assumption is concerned when we talk about the judicial system it does not
refer to judges alone. Actually, it means the criminal administration
system which includes the investigating agency (e.g. police, NAB), the
prosecution and the judiciary.
The judges cannot do much if the evidence before them is fixed,
forged or concocted which can easily be done when the state is not
neutral. The investigating agencies in Pakistan are, therefore, replete
with police officers who have emulated our judges in 'pragmatism'. The
hijacking case against Nawaz Sharif was a particularly brilliant example
of incisive investigation.
There were, of course, a minority of police officers who, like
judges, stood up and objected to unfair investigations. They have been
made horrible examples of and their peers do not even whisper their names
for fear that their conscience may be impacted. These were the easiest
prey.
Unlike politicians they do not have a party, lawyers or
independent incomes behind them.
The press hates the police and the effort to dissect an
individual's role behind the uniform requires too much hard work and
investigative journalism. These police officers will die unsung. However,
the impact of the military's manipulation is visible.
At a national level, one either gets police officers who in
situations like May 12 in Karachi avoid confronting killers or act in
reverse in Islamabad where they bully the press and the lawyers. Little
surprise then that the PPP, which has been at the receiving end of this
'justice system' for the past 30 years, wants another way.
So what happens if you have a criminal administration system which your
country's largest political party regards as untrustworthy and unworkable?
In South Africa, Nelson Mandela as the leader of the country's largest
political party, the African National Congress, faced the same
problem about which he was aware.
In the absence of agreed rules of the game during the
anti-Apartheid struggle, both parties had taken measures unpalatable in a
civilised framework. These were crimes with a purpose which had overridden
ordinary law.
The courts dominated by the Apartheid regime's judges would
interpret them according to the system they knew — a system that would
have Nelson Mandela described as a terrorist. A system of reconciliation
under a truth and reconciliation commission was worked out where
crimes committed by both sides were identified and the state declared
amnesty for the majority of them. The ANC was then given effective power
and it has governed reasonably well for a revolutionary party since.
Unfortunately, despite this ordinance, reconciliation between the
PPP and the military does not appear to have occurred. The reason is
that although very much like the Apartheid regime in South Africa,
the military has now come under tremendous international and local
pressure to clean up its act, but unlike the Apartheid regime in South
Africa it has never really decided to give up or share power.
Shorn of its traditional right-wing allies whose patronage
structures are under international investigation the military believes it
can use the PPP as its new front.
The NRO appears to have been negotiated by it with this
intent. Clearly, the military's friends have produced a badly drafted law
without sincerity of political purpose. The constitutional protection and
wide ambit that should have blanketed this law is missing. It is very
likely to be struck down by the judiciary influenced by the military.
The military still appears to believe that if the ordinance fails it
is home and free. This is short-term thinking. The long-term
consequences are unnerving. If PPP does not have the opportunity to
articulate and then implement a radical programme of social reform because
of being stitched up with cases and allegations there will be no good
governance.
The people of Pakistan will have no option but to look at
the right-wing alternatives. These alternatives have neither the will nor
the political vision to implement much-needed reform.The military must buy
into the spirit of the ordinance and let the PPP, if successful at
the ballot, implement a programme of reform like it did in the 1970s. If
the PPP fails, then one can only hope that the dynamic of the failure
will create political parties which can rise to the challenge. People may
be dubious but this is the only political option for the moment.
"Pakistan awaits
Bhutto"
Former prime minister's exile nears end"
FERIC
MARGOLISr
LONDON -- Considering she had just flown in from New York and was about
to launch a political revolution in Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto looked
remarkably relaxed when we met. Since we have known one another for years,
the mood was informal and congenial.
Pakistan's twice former prime minister -- and likely next one -- was
cautiously optimistic.
"The situation in Pakistan is ugly," said Bhutto. Days earlier, many of
her Pakistan Peoples Party supporters had been beaten with bricks by the
police and seriously injured. Pakistan is facing growing violence by
Islamic militants and tribal insurgents.
Last month, Pakistan's first female prime minister revealed to this
column she would return to Pakistan on Oct. 18. At the time, she still
faced serious criminal charges in Pakistan over corruption cases that have
dragged on for years. Bhutto denies any guilt and insists the cases were
political vendettas.
Last week, Bhutto reaffirmed she would depart London on Oct. 17 and
land the next morning in Karachi, the bastion of her political support.
Bhutto vowed she would go ahead even if forces of the military regime
headed by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf tried to arrest her. But the
next day, after weeks of what she termed "stalling" by Musharraf's
U.S.-backed military regime, the corruption charges may have been lifted,
opening the way for her legal return. The fate of Pakistan's other main
political leader, Nawaz Sharif, who was kicked out when he tried to return
recently, remains uncertain.
Musharraf's plummeting domestic support and intensified pressure from
Washington are pushing the reluctant general into a deal with old foe
Bhutto.
"No, not a deal," insists Bhutto, "a constitutional arrangement."
Whatever you call it, barring potential last-minute snags, it seems the
long-anticipated, American-brokered power sharing agreement between
Musharraf and Bhutto is close.
"The army would like to distance itself from the perception it is
running the country," says Bhutto. "The longer military dictatorship
continues, the more we will face violence from extremist groups."
FIGHTING
I asked if the army will fight a national uprising against Musharraf.
"No, the army is highly disciplined. The mainly Punjabi army won't fire
on its own people," she predicted, nor would it split.
This week, Musharraf named a loyal ally, military intelligence chief
Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, as new armed forces commander, and appointed other
loyalists to senior positions. My sources say all were vetted and approved
in advance by Washington.
Musharraf may resign as armed forces commander, but he and Washington
will still pull the military's strings. Since the military is the only
national institution that really works and holds respect, nameplates will
change, but the power will remain in the same hands as now.
Benazir Bhutto, outwardly confident and determined, believes she can
take charge of turbulent Pakistan in time to ward off an internal
explosion or even civil war that would shake South Asia and deprive the
U.S. of a key ally.
But during her previous two terms, she was never fully able to grasp
the reins of power and constantly thwarted by her generals.
This time around, her position is likely to be even weaker and her
powers ill-defined and contested. Musharraf and the Bush administration
hope she will provide democratic window-dressing while the military runs
the show and fights Islamists and tribesmen.
ARMY AND POLITICS
But Bhutto is determined to get the army out of politics. So who will
really be in charge?
And will the Pakistanis accept a new government, hand-crafted by
Washington?
"The military is the problem, not solution," she says. "If there is a
fair vote early next year, our party (PPP) and its allies will win."
High drama awaits Pakistan on Oct. 18 when Benzair crosses the Rubicon.
Don't underestimate her.
As I was leaving London, Benazir Bhutto sent me a message worthy of
Rudyard Kipling: "Our next meeting, if not at the foothills of the Khyber
Pass, then at the shores of the Arabian Sea."
back to top
"Al Qaeda's challenge
and national politics"
Baitullah Mehsud, who pretends to run a Taliban government in South
Waziristan but is actually a warlord serving Al Qaeda, has executed three
soldiers of the Pakistan army and has vowed to kill more of the 250 he
took hostage in September in South Waziristan. The corpses were found with
a letter pinned to them saying, "We will gift three bodies every day".
Mehsud has more troops in his custody, including eight officers who might
be likewise executed in the days to come.
The Pakistan army is fighting a very difficult battle in Waziristan. It is
difficult not only because of the terrain and the hostile tribes involved,
but because it is backed by dwindling political support in the country.
Apart from Ms Benazir Bhutto of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP),
political leaders have avoided a verbal confrontation with Al Qaeda and
the Taliban in the Tribal Areas. Their line of argument is that trouble
among the tribes is linked to Pakistan's strategic slavery of the United
States, and that trouble will cease once Islamabad's link with Washington
is broken.
Not surprisingly, Baitullah Mehsud has threatened suicide attacks against
Ms Bhutto, the PPP chairperson, and said that his suicide-bombers are
waiting in the wings to "welcome" her when she returns to Pakistan. He
said: "We don't accept President General Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto
because they only protect the US interest and see things through its
glasses. They're only acceptable if they wear Pakistani glasses". He is
said to have 35,000 armed men under him and, if he is a Pushtun and an Al
Qaeda lieutenant, he will not settle for anything less than capitulation
from Islamabad.
Most people opposed to the PPP look at Ms Bhutto as a protégée of the
United States. Typically in Pakistani politics, public debates are
inclined to take no account of the temperament of a political party. This
fudging of the ideological distinction is so widespread that many PPP rank
and file in Punjab want their leader to switch off the "liberal" character
of the party and focus on the illegitimacy of General Musharraf. Yet, if
you look at the PPP's voting pattern on human rights bills in parliament,
its liberal credentials seem to outshine the reluctant PMLQ's performance.
Even during its participation at the APDM summit, it accepted reversion to
the 1999 version of the Constitution only if the women's reserved seats
and joint electorates were retained.
Is Ms Bhutto's stance fashioned under American diktat and under pressure
from General Musharraf who "will save her from going to prison" if she
supports him? Most commentators in a highly emotive Pakistani environment
will "simplify" the argument by saying she is being led by the nose by US
President Bush who wants to save his client in power, General Musharraf,
from going under. In this perspective, Ms Bhutto is supposed to have
spoken out about the threat of Talibanisation and Al Qaeda, and supported
General Musharraf's action against Lal Masjid, only to earn the pleasure
of the United States. But the truth is otherwise.
The history of Ms Bhutto's relationship with Al Qaeda is not new. She has
written about it in her book and it is known outside Pakistan that she was
an early target of Al Qaeda simply because, being a woman leader, she
violated the "Islamic" edict subscribed to by Al Qaeda. Indeed, she
revealed some years ago that Osama Bin Laden "contributed" $10 million to
the IJI campaign against her. One should also recall that it was during
the Afghan jihad and, through it, the rise of Al Qaeda and its creed, that
Pakistani clergy reached the dubious consensus that a woman could neither
be leader of Muslim men nor a Muslim country's prime minister. Ms Bhutto
was therefore not wrong in assuming that her party as a liberal force in
Pakistan did not stand a chance in the midst of this point of view.
America or no America, her enemy number one was Al Qaeda and, linked to
it, terrorism in general.
Baitullah Mehsud and many in Pakistan are perhaps greatly put off by the
fact that she has played her cards deftly with President Musharraf, who
will now need support from liberal quarters if he has to prevent the
Pakistan army from retreating from its job of re-establishing the writ of
the state in the Tribal Areas. The PMLQ is not willing to go beyond a
certain level of pragmatism to support a campaign against anything that
smells of religion. The PPP had the option of joining the rightwing
religious consensus in the opposition and then hope to survive after the
triumph of Talibanisation. But Ms Bhutto did not take that option and
finessed most of the national and international power-brokers into backing
her strategy. Therefore, the frightened and confused Pakistani liberal
should take heart from her success; so should the myriad PPP rank and file
who do not understand the real political contest in Pakistan. *
National Article
Summary
FFarhatullah
Baberr
Farhatullah Baber writes in his article published in The News "It is
said that wisdom dawns upon the unwise also but only after damage has been
caused. What did MBB say lately about the IAEA that seems to have let the
cat into the pigeons? At the outset she said that the issue of allowing
IAEA access to Dr AQ Khan was a hypothetical one and did not arise at this
stage.
However, she said her government will cooperate with the IAEA in
questioning those who have acknowledged the role in proliferation of
nuclear technology. What is wrong with it? Has the government itself not
permitted the IAEA to put written questions to Dr AQ Khan, the replies to
which are then forwarded to the UN agency? Has Gen Musharraf not admitted
in his memoirs sharing 'all information' about the nuclear black Mar et
with the international agencies? What must be our central concern
protection of those who proliferated or protection of our nuclear assets?
Protection of nuclear assets demands that Pakistan is perceived as a
responsible state acquiring nuclear technology for its legitimate defence
and economic needs and not for setting up the juma bazaar of nuclear
materials and technology. It is in our interest to cooperate with the UN
watchdog body to disabuse the notion that any government in the past or
any state institution was involved in the nuclear black market.
The protection of our nuclear assets lies in assuring the international
community that ours is not a rogue state that protects the proliferators.
He writes "Gen Musharraf did the right thing in sharing nuclear black
market information with international bodies. But after having informed
the IAEA that 18 tons of nuclear materials were clandestinely shipped out
of Pakistan supposedly by one person, can MBB be faulted for saying that
she will cooperate with the UN in unearthing the black market. Behind
lambasting MBB is the lurking fear that there could be more than just one
skeleton in the cupboard. Behind it also is the doubt that Gen Musharraf's
candid expose of the nuclear black market may not be candid after all. If
we have to protect the nuclear assets there is no alternative to take out
the black market roots, branches and leaves. The logic of this reasoning
will also be accepted like the logic behind the peace process and
disbanding the jihadis before it. One only hopes that its wisdom dawns
before any damage is done."
The Costs of Keeping
Musharraf
Amir Mir
Commandos of the elite Special Security
Group (SSG) had gathered as usual at the mess of the Tarbela Ghazi army
camp, 100 km south of Islamabad. It was the night of September 13, 2007,
and nothing was out of place: the officers sat down for their dinner,
talking shop and cracking jokes. As the evening progressed, an 18-year-old
boy entered the dining hall, mingling with the mess employees. The boy
gingerly walked to the middle of the hall. Heads turned at the crazed cry
of Allah-o-Akbar. Then came a blinding flash and a deafening bang,
followed by three successive explosions as the gas cylinders in the
adjoining kitchen also exploded. The pall of smoke soon lifted to reveal
headless bodies, torn limbs, a chilling death toll of 22 highly trained
commandos of the SSG, to which General Musharraf himself belonged, and
which was specially trained by the US Special Forces for carrying out
covert operations and counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations
across Pakistan, especially in the trouble-ridden tribal belt of Pakistan.
The suicide bomber’s sister, it was later found by the investigation
agencies, was killed during the infamous ‘Operation Silence’ carried out
against militants in the Lal Masjid by the Karar Company of the SSG
Brigade. Two months before suffering 22 casualties in the Tarbela Ghazi
suicide bombing, the elite SSG had lost 10 of its commandos, including a
colonel, during an intense week-long gun battle with the fanatic clerics
and students of the Lal Masjid and its adjacent Jamia Hafsa religious
seminary. The incident is being described by analysts as the biggest
single loss suffered by the SSG during peace and war time since the
creation of Pakistan. Barring the Balochistan insurgency in the 1970s,
Pakistan’s history has never witnessed such a staggering number of
security officials slain in such a short span of time as in the tribal
areas. After suffering such a huge loss, it is not hard to imagine the
disheartening effect on the morale of the elite force commandos, who used
to take pride in their association with the SSG. The catastrophe has
happened at a time when the country is being ruled by the first commando
president – Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf.
These were not the only losses suffered by the once fearless SSG in recent
times. It has suffered severe losses in the Waziristan tribal region as
well. In the second week of September, at least 15 SSG commandos went
missing after being airdropped in the forested Shawal valley in North
Waziristan to carry out a military operation against the Islamic
militants. Their bodies were eventually retrieved through a prayer-leader
in North Waziristan, who urged the militants to hand over the remains of
the soldiers to him.
The Tarbela Ghazi deadly suicide bombing was not an isolated act of
terrorism. From the time Operation Silence was launched against the Lal
Masjid (July 3-10) and hailed as a success, the Pakistan Army has been
racked by suicide bombings, ambushes and abductions. Glancing at the
figures since July 2007, it transpires that 396 people have been killed
and 886 others injured between January 1, 2007 and September 15, 2007 in
36 incidents of suicide bombings across Pakistan. Those killed since the
launching of the operation include 121 military and paramilitary
personnel, 102 policemen and 98 innocent civilians. Between January 1,
2007 and July 3, 2007, before the Lal Masjid operation was launched in
Islamabad, 75 people were killed and 201 injured in 12 incidents of
suicide bombings across Pakistan. After the launching of the Lal Masjid
operation on July 4, a total of 321 people have been killed and 685 others
injured in 24 incidents of suicide bombings all over Pakistan.
Worryingly, the flurry of attacks on the army is no longer confined to the
tribal areas on the Afghan border, where the soldiers and the militants
have been battling it out since 2002, but has had its devastating echo in
and around Islamabad. For instance, twin suicide attacks on September 4
killed at least 33 in the garrison city of Rawalpindi – the first on a bus
belonging to the ISI, the other targeting the car of an army officer. And
to think the ISI’s brief is to track and bust terror networks. The spate
of attacks on the security forces has greatly demoralised the soldiers,
eroded the traditional respect for the army and bolstered the resolve of
the Islamic militants.
The bloody suicide bombing at the Punjab Regiment’s training ground at
Dargai (on November 8, 2006 that killed 42 recruits), the attack by a
suicide bomber riding a car near Miranshah in North Waziristan (on July
14, 2007 that killed 26 soldiers), another suicide bomb attack inside the
Kohat cantonment mosque (on July 19, 2007 that killed 15 military men),
the Kharian Cantonment suicide bombing (on March 29, 2007 that killed
three army soldiers), two suicide bombings targeting two military convoys
at two different places in North Waziristan (on August 24, 2007 that
killed seven soldiers), two more suicide attacks near the GHQ – heart of
the Pakistan Army (on September 4, 2007 that killed 33 people and wounded
66, many of them staffers of the ISI), all point to the hard fact that
Islamic militants carefully select their targets and do much homework to
cause maximum damage to the Pakistan Army.
The spate of suicide bombings is still on, with the most recent target
being the Tarbela Ghazi headquarters of the quick reaction force of the
SSG. That the attack occurred in one of the country’s most secured areas
is shocking. Tarbela is a highly sensitive area because of the location of
the country’s biggest dam, known as the Tarbela Dam or the National Dam.
It was the first ever incident of its kind in Tarbela Ghazi, which is far
away from the troubled tribal areas of Waziristan. Amidst all these
suicide bombings against the security forces, the militant force of
Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan on August 27 took hostage around 300
soldiers of the Pakistan Army in the tribal area of Momi Karam, dominated
by the Mehsud tribe. The soldiers were travelling in a convoy of trucks
when the militants hiding in the surrounding mountains intercepted the
fleet near Wana and took them hostage. The troops did not offer resistance
when challenged by Mehsud’s men, primarily because of their low morale
that is coming under intense scrutiny, though Musharraf has repeatedly
claimed that he is defending Pakistan’s vital national interests by
battling al Qaeda and the Taliban-linked terrorists.
Then there are media reports that hundreds of Pakistani soldiers deployed
in the Waziristan tribal region have refused to fight against the
militants in the area, saying they do not want to fight against their own
people. According to well-placed military sources in Islamabad, those
mediating the release of over 300 soldiers of the army, taken hostage by
the Mehsud militants in South Waziristan, have said the captured soldiers
had actually surrendered voluntarily as they were not ready to fight
against their fellow Muslim brothers. Quoting one of the 26 surrendered
soldiers from the paramilitary Frontier Corps, who were released by the
militants on September 20, a military official was quoted by a foreign
news agency as saying that he did not desert the force because he feared
death. The report said, “He [the military official] actually did so
because he was not sure whether the ongoing fighting in Waziristan was
Islamic or not. The man, who refused to serve in the tribal areas, claimed
that the same query was haunting many other soldiers and the confusion was
stopping them from putting up a tough fight against Islamic militants in
the tribal area.”
Many retired Pakistani generals have already questioned the will of the
soldiers to fight what they believe to be ‘someone else’s war’, chiefly
because they are not convinced of fighting against and killing their own
people. The morale of the army troops deployed in the tribal areas can
further be gauged from the fact that many of them usually avoid wearing
military uniforms nowadays in the tough areas of Swat, Tank, Dera Ismail
Khan, Mohmand, Bajaur, Mir Ali, Miranshah, etc. After suffering the
heaviest casualties ever sustained by the Pakistani security forces during
peacetime, many security personnel in the tribal areas have gone on long
leaves. With the attacks on the security forces now becoming menacing by
the day, it is just a matter of time that anyone, just about anyone,
wearing a military uniform will be attacked. These developments must be
highly disturbing for the army as an institution, which must realise that
the costs of keeping Musharraf in power evidently outweigh the benefits.
US Should
Refrain Helping Musharraf Retain Power
Schaffer
In order to manage the transition in a post-Musharraf
setup and protect America's interest, the United States should refrain
from helping Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to retain his hold on the
power, a former US Ambassador has said.
"At some point the pressures in Pakistan
will lead to a change in government, and the US will have someone else to
work with," a former US ambassador and director of South Asia Program at
the Washington- based Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS),
Teresita Schaffer has said.
"This may take a while, but the trends
inexorably point in this direction. If we hold to our present course, the
United States will be blamed for the failings of the outgoing regime, as
well as for imposing an unpopular government on Pakistan," Schaffer,
former US ambassador to Sri Lanka, said in an article for CSIS -- a
private institution which focusses on International Public Policy issues.
"The United States needs to manage the
transition to an eventual post-Musharraf setup, so as to protect America's
enduring interests in this volatile part of the world."
The US, hoping to keep the army general
firmly in the saddle and anchored to a moderate partner, backed
Musharraf's long-running dialogue with former prime minister Benazir
Bhutto, the former ambassador said.
Although some see a Musharraf-Bhutto deal as
a transition to democracy but the general's temperament and the logic of
his current situation both argue against this, she said.
"Musharraf speaks of 'unity of command' as
hallmark of his leadership. That is hard to reconcile with real sharing of
power," she said.
"After arresting the leadership of (Nawaz)
Sharif's party, would Musharraf and the army allow his other rival to win
a major electoral victory?"
The army general has certainly benefited by
the divisions among his rival political parties, however, she pointed out
that the US will not gain much from its political maneuvering.
"The 'kinder, gentler' government is gone;
Musharraf will now rule by more autocratic methods," she said.
"There are ample indications that major
demonstrations or a judicial decision invalidating his election in uniform
may lead Musharraf to declare the state of emergency Secretary Rice talked
him out of a few weeks ago."
Under the current course of the US
government, the top American priorities -- Pakistan's participation in US'
war against terrorism and its political support in stabilizing Afghanistan
-- will become more of a US war from which a new Pakistan government will
want to dissociate itself to show country's independence, she said.
The army, she said, will welcome the chance
to backout of the "American" operations in the frontier, where they have
lost men and prestige.
"Pakistan will be better able to pursue the
policies that really matter to us if its leaders are free of the taint of
being "Washington's creatures."
Saying that it's not too late for the US to
focus on managing the inevitable transition, Schaffer said, "We will of
course continue to work closely with Musharraf as long as he is in power.
But we should make clear that we will work with anyone who can win a
genuinely free election and will fight against terrorists that threaten
Pakistan's society."
Pakistan and the 'Minus 2
Formula'
Farahnaz Ispahani
As General Pervez Musharraf looks around for ways and means to survive
in
power, there are a number of advisors around him proposing one impractical
solution after another. Among the formulae floating around, courtesy of
our ever-expanding intelligence agencies, is one called 'Minus 2' –a
reference to reviving normal political activity after the exclusion of two
major political figures from Pakistan's politics. The formula, according
to one press report, would replicate the strategy of Bangladesh's
military, which hopes to maintain democratic politics while keeping out
former Prime Ministers, Sheikh Hasina Wajid and Khaleda Zia. The irony is
that Bangladesh's Minus-2 scheme is simply a rehash of the original plot
that General Musharraf set out to implement in Pakistan when he took power
in a 1999 military coup.
The current political crisis in the country is a direct result of the
failed efforts to exclude Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif
from Pakistan's political life. Politics does not operate in neat straight
lines and certainly is never as simple as ordering trained soldiers to
march in single file. Eight years after General Musharraf declared that he
would not let Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif influence the course of events, he
is negotiating with one through emissaries and trying to prevent the other
from returning to the country.
It is amazing that some sections of the Pakistani establishment continue
discussing ideas that are non-starters and have failed in the past to
deliver any result except creating divisions in society. The Minus-2
recipe will fail in Bangladesh just as it has failed in Pakistan and
elsewhere. The barracks' mindset that defines the political ideas of
Pakistani intelligence agencies rests on the assumption that running a
country is simply an administrative challenge. The establishment thinks
that just as the employment of a clerk or a Sepoy ends once he is
dismissed by his superior officers, a politician too should become
irrelevant once he or she is "thrown out" of the political arena by the
country's officers.
The desire of the establishment to reshuffle the country's political
leadership led to the Electoral Bodies Disqualification Act (EBDO) used by
General Ayub Khan in the 1960s. In 1979, General Ziaul Haq went so far as
to execute Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. During the 1990s, dismissal of prime
ministers followed by so-called accountability was the tool of choice.
General Musharraf has tried to force a new set of politicians down the
throats of Pakistanis with his own version of Minus-2, based on the
stratagem of exiling leaders that he and his establishment dislikes.
Ironically, similar designs have been pursued by military-technocrat
regimes in several countries around the world, only to be finally
abandoned in favor of undiluted democracy. Argentina tried to exclude the
populist Peron family and its supporters. Ecuador's military overthrew and
exiled Jose Maria Velasco four times in 38 years only to see him
re-elected to office each time. Turkey's generals disqualified Süleyman
Demirel, Bülent Ecevit and Necmettin Erbakan in 1982, but each one of them
became prime minister once the people were given the right to vote again.
In the current phase of the military-intelligence complex's interpretation
of what is good for Pakistan, the nation has been duped with claims that
the popular leadership of the country cannot deliver. It is argued that
Pakistan will become a stable country only if this leadership is kept out
of the country with the help of tailor-made elections laws, persecution in
the name of accountability and threats of physical harm. The regime did,
indeed, succeed in keeping Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif out of the country and
tried to promote leaders handpicked by generals and bureaucrats. However,
the "new" political leadership that was thus created, reflects the same
ills of Pakistani politics that military rulers and their supporters in
the media tirelessly point towards to justify their schemes of political
re-engineering.
The party created by the establishment to replace the exiled popular
leadership comprised of people who were interested in power but
unconcerned with public service. They were elected only because they had
money and received help from intelligence agencies. The popular leaders
were said to represent personality politics and the National
Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) had spoken of the need for policy-oriented
politics. But what emerged during the last eight years was clan and tribe
based politics at its worst, just as the Ayub and Zia eras had yielded
biradari politics and ethnic divisions.
The façade of political stability created over the last few years was
blown away as soon as the Musharraf regime and its political allies
blundered into suspending the chief justice. Such was the chaos in the
structure so carefully created by the so called "powerful quarters", that
for the first few days even cabinet ministers were afraid of defending the
action of the President on television. The prime minister upon whose
advice the reference against the chief justice was supposedly moved was
hardly visible throughout the ensuing crisis. The reaction of the people
over this ill-advised action was massive and suddenly made the nation
aware that there was something fundamentally wrong with the artificially
created edifice of establishment-guided politics.
Politicians rise and fall not on the basis of the judgments of generals
and bureaucrats, and a country's politics cannot be fundamentally altered
by manipulation alone. Instead of thinking up new ways of excluding
politicians that it cannot defeat in free and fair polls, the Pakistani
establishment should reconcile itself to the fact that leaders can be
changed only through continuance of the political process. Instead of
Minus 2, what Pakistan needs is politics Minus One –the one being the
military-intelligence apparatus that has divided and destabilized Pakistan
for far too long.
Politics of Deals
Mir Jamilur Rahman
The game of enumerating President Musharraf's options is in full swing.
The 'options' so enumerated are based on the premise that Musharraf would
go to any length to retain his presidential office. For instance, his
ongoing dialogue with Benazir Bhutto is put forth as an example of stark
opportunism. President Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto are both being
malignantly accused of overriding national interest for their personal
interest.
President Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto are jointly seeking a way to the
peaceful transfer of power from military to democratic rule. They have yet
to reach a consensus on several issues. Time is running short. Therefore
it is expected that they would soon reach a final decision, most probably
before the arrival of Mian Nawaz Sharif.
The president of the ruling party, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, recently told
an American newspaper that Musharraf's options for staying in power are
becoming bleak. With reference to the petition in the Supreme Court that
has challenged Musharraf's eligibility for re-election, Chaudhry said he
was not optimistic about the president's chances there.
The impending 'deal' between Musharraf and Benazir has unnerved the PML-Q
and its allies. The opponents of the deal cite the wide ideological gulf
that exists between the PPP and the PML-Q as the stumbling block to
reconciliation between the two parties. Minister Ejazul Haq has declared
to resign from the cabinet if such a deal ever saw the light of day. Some
voices from within the ruling party have been raised saying that the PML-Q
would prefer a deal with the PML-N rather than the PPP.
It seems that the PML-Q leadership does not comprehend the issue fully.
President Musharraf is negotiating with Benazir Bhutto not out of love
for the PPP but for securing his re-election. He needs PPP votes in
parliament to amend the constitution suitably so as to make him eligible
to contest the presidential office with or without uniform. The PML-Q
should have the good sense to understand that without Musharraf in the
President House its remains would be scattered to the wind.
The issue of the president's uniform has been blown out of proportion. In
fact, the uniform has usually served as a sobering influence on the
caustic politicians. Moreover, Pakistanis have great fascination with the
army uniform though it is true that they don't fancy it in the same degree
as before. Far back in the fifties, as Altaf Gauhar writes in his
biography of Ayub Khan, the governor-general would summon the
commander-in-chief (Gen Ayub Khan) to Karachi, the then capital, whenever
the government was facing a crisis. The presence of the C-in-C would cool
the tempers of parliament and keep it down until the making of the next
crisis.
Gen Musharraf is not the first military ruler to keep wearing the uniform
while presiding over the country. His three military predecessors –
General Ziaul Haq, General Yahya Khan and Field Marshal Ayub Khan – never
let go their uniforms. President Musharraf has described his uniform as
his second skin. The tradition of uniformed politicians goes far back to
the mid-fifties. While Gen Ayub Khan was a serving C-in-C, he became
defense minister in the cabinet of prime minister Mohammad Ali Bogra.
General Ayub was always properly dressed in the C-in-C regalia whenever he
attended cabinet meetings. No politician is on record having objected to
his presence.
Of Ayub, his biographer, the late Altaf Gauhar, wrote: "He stands out as
the first Muslim ruler in South Asia who tried to put his country on the
modern secular path without renouncing the fundamental principles of
Islam. He tried to persuade his people to recognise the contemporary
compulsions and realities and to respond to the challenge of the modern
age instead of living in the past in the belief that all the problems of
life that they might be called upon to address now or in the future had
already been resolved for them in the light of the Holy Quran and Sunnah.
They could not hope to progress if they continued to cling to the belief
that their salvation lay in adopting the traditional formulations and
solutions, as embodied in the Shariah, the Islamic code of life, and
resisting the lure of any innovation".
This tribute applies to General Musharraf as well. Ayub's biography was
published in 1993, six years before Gen Musharraf appeared on the scene.
It is a pity that Gen Musharraf has waited so long to come to terms with
Benazir and the PPP, a party that is nearest to his philosophy. He has
been instrumental in opening the doors wide open to media freedom.
As for Benazir Bhutto, she has been subjected to insidious attacks for
talking to Gen Musharraf. Some of her opponents have indulged in
scurrilous distortions to defame her and to question her intentions. They
claim she is entering into a deal with President Musharraf to get the
corruption cases against her dropped. To be sure, she and her husband are
facing these cases for the last dozen years. Asif Zardari was incarcerated
for eight long years without ever being convicted for any crime. There
should be an end to this harassment which goes on not only against her but
other politicians. And the Sharif's plan to land in Islamabad soon, on
Sept. 10. The government has said that they may well be arrested. Such an
act will not diminish the popularity of Nawaz Sharif and would only reduce
the government's credibility.
back
to top
Pakistan's Choice
Dr. Javaid Laghari
Published by- Tribune Media
Services, London
Tariq Ali (Comment, August 31) is short-sighted on the political crisis
facing Pakistan. The nation is at the crossroads of choosing between
moderation and extremism, or between democracy and dictatorship. We need a
moderate, developed and peaceful Pakistan for our own security and that of
the region; a stable and democratic Pakistan free of military dictatorship
that will cease to be a haven of terrorism. The war on terror must be won
in Pakistan. And that can only be done through democracy. That is why the
Pakistan Peoples Party, the largest political party in Pakistan, is
involved in negotiations with General Musharraf. The PPP has clearly told
the general that the parliament is supreme. The constitution of Pakistan
does not allow a military president and requires that a civilian president
be legitimately elected by the parliament and provincial assemblies of the
country.
The PPP believes that only through a representative democratic
government improving social conditions and security will the menace of
extremism go away. Security will bring in the economic investment that can
help us reverse the tide of rising poverty and so undermine militancy and
extremism.
back
to top
Bhutto
Represents the Country's Best Hope of Taking its Place Among Democratic
Nations
Roy
Hattersley
I first met Benazir Bhutto when she was in her last year at Oxford .
Wearing a tweed suit and silk headscarf, she looked the perfect Sloane
Ranger. When I last saw her she was the prime minister in the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan . She still wore a headscarf, but the suit had been
replaced by a shalwar kameez . The change of style seemed symbolic.
Between our first and last meeting , I came to the firm conclusion that -
whatever the truth of the allegations that her enemies have made against
her - she represents Pakistan 's best hope of taking its place among the
democratic nations of the free world. I think that still. Someone has to
build a bridge between Islam and what its most devout adherents regard as
the degenerate universe outside its theological boundaries. Bhutto has
always been willing to attempt that daunting task. Last week on Newsnight
she talked about returning home. If she does, the reception that she
receives will demonstrate how far along the road from dictatorship
Pakistan has travelled since it became an independent nation.
One day, almost 20 years ago, I was waiting in Nawaz Sharif's outside
office when a member of his staff told me that our meeting must be
delayed. Courtesy required the prime minister to take his place in
parliament to hear the leader of the opposition make an unexpected
contribution to an important debate. Would I like to sit in the public
gallery until he was free? I took up the offer and listened, with awe and
wonder, as Bhutto attacked the proposal to introduce sharia law into all
of Pakistan . Her speech ended with a bitter attack on the mullahs who
were leading the campaign for what they claimed was true Islamic justice.
Where were they, she asked rhetorically, during the battle for
independence. Whether or not she was right to say that they had always
sided with the imperial Raj , the force of her denunciation sent shivers
down my spine .
The night before I heard her denounce the fundamentalists, Bhutto and I
had both been to dinner with the British ambassador, who was to become
high commissioner when, thanks to her, Pakistan rejoined the Commonwealth.
The head of Pakistan International Airlines, a former air chief marshall ,
was among the guests, and I could not resist the opportunity to ask him a
contentious question. Earlier in the day I had been told - whether
correctly or not I cannot say - that, according to the Qur'an , the sky is
a blue carpet held over the Earth by Allah, and the stars His light which
nothing could obscure. I thought that the idea was much more attractive
than the explanation that I had been taught in schoolboy physics, but I
could see that it might raise problems for devout believers. So, as the
dinner progressed, I raised the subject of pious pilots. How did they deal
with the idea of the carpet in the sky? There was, the airman gravely
replied, no difficulty . "They believe one thing up there and another down
here." Bhutto, in her most serious voice added: "These things can always
be worked out ."
Years later, when Bhutto was prime minister, I saw an example of how
the working out was done. I was due to see her at 10 in the morning, but
the meeting was postponed until after two in the afternoon. When I
explained that I had planned to leave for home shortly after lunch, I was
told that a seat would be found for me on the evening flight. The prime
minister was determined I should visit a police station at which all the
officers were women. Bhutto spoke about it with great eloquence. "Think,"
she said, "about what it demonstrates. Women of authority. Women doing
work traditionally done by men."
I was so impressed that, on the way out to the airport, I jabbered on
about the progress of emancipation to the civil servant whose job it was
to smooth my passage through immigration. Had no male officers objected?
On the contrary, he explained, an all-women police station avoided male
constables suffering the indignity of taking orders from female
inspectors. These things, I thought, can be worked out. There is no one
more likely to work them out than Benazir Bhutto.
Bhutto Vows to Return Home
By Eric Margolis
"I will return to Pakistan between September and December," Benazir
Bhutto told me in an exclusive interview this week.
Pakistan 's former prime minister vowed to leave her exile in Dubai and
go home "with or without an agreement" with Gen. Pervez Musharraf's
military government.
Always controversial and fascinating, Bhutto, the Muslim World's first
female prime minister, is poised to cross the Rubicon. Will she be treated
as a rebel by the Musharraf regime, and thrown into prison , or will the
embattled general bow to his people's demands and co-operate in restoring
civilian-led democracy? Bhutto confirmed she has indeed held rounds of
intensive talks with Musharraf's government, as well as with old political
rival, former PM Nawaz Sharif , who was deposed by Musharraf in a 1999
military coup, and senior U.S. State Department officials.
However, Bhutto denied my suggestion Washington is trying to engineer a
deal to keep key ally Musharraf in power by having Benazir and her
Pakistan 's Peoples Party join his government as junior coalition
partners. "There is no agreement yet. The next two weeks will be crucial,"
she told me.
But clearly, the game's afoot. It is hard to imagine a more exciting
political drama. Benazir , long dismissed as "that girl" by Pakistan 's
powerful army generals, has thrown down the gauntlet to Gen. Musharraf and
his 615,000 soldiers.
Will throngs of her avid supporters seize Karachi Airport to facilitate
her return? Will the army arrest her -- and Nawaz Sharif -- on return?
Will there be mass riots, or will the army split, with younger officers
supporting Bhutto. Reports come to me of growing unrest in the armed
forces over the $1 billion monthly Washington pays Musharraf to "rent"
80,000 of his soldiers to fight rebellious, pro-Taliban Pashtun tribesmen
.
Bhutto's life has been filled with drama. Her flamboyant father, former
PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was deposed and hanged by army leader Gen. Zia
ul-Haq . Her two brothers were murdered, her husband jailed and tortured.
She has been called everything from saintly to corrupt.
This writer has known Bhutto for a long time and was often critical
when she was prime minister. But you really only get to know people when
they face adversity. I have watched Benazir face down every crisis with
coolness and consummate political skill and not give in to self-pity, even
at the darkest times, a few of which I shared with her. She has grown in
character and strength in exile and remains Pakistan 's most popular and
capable political leader. But wouldn't a deal with Musharraf dismay her
followers and sully her own reputation?
"We must deal with reality," she politically answers. Power sharing
with Musharraf , I asked? "We can get along with some generals," comes her
cautiously reply.
Bhutto says she is ready to work with Musharraf and a reinvigorated
parliament to rebuild democracy in Pakistan , a process she calls
"internal reconciliation ." With an eye on her American audience and the
White House, Bhutto adds, " only democracy can undermine terrorism."
She is quite right. Much of what we call "Islamic terrorism" is really
violence directed against dictatorial regimes. But who would be the real
boss in a "power-sharing" deal? Benazir is too smart to be used as a token
prime minister to legitimize Musharraf's regime. He is likely too used to
absolute power to accept constraint by a prime minister and parliament. It
seems a recipe for paralysis or, worse.
Musharraf would do his nation a favor by resigning as military chief
and running in an honest election against Benazir and Nawaz . Democracy is
Pakistan 's only fire exit from the increasingly dangerous tensions and
risk of civil war it now faces.
I asked her how she felt right now. "Excited, tense," she replied.
That also sums up Pakistan 's mood as it waits for the lady supporters
hail as their nation's savior to return and restore democracy.
|