Musharraf to give exile deal details

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, DEC. 19 The Pakistan Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, is expected to address the nation tomorrow to give details of the `exile deal' of his government with the former Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif.

The Musharraf regime has been under attack from all quarters in Pakistan over the deal. It appears that the military had simply not expected such an intense adverse reaction from the public.

In the first two days after Mr. Sharif and his family had left for Saudi Arabia, the media managers of the military tried their best to sell the line that the imprisonment of the former Prime Minister had been converted into exile but there were no takers for this. What has added to the woes of the government is the last minute assertion by Mrs. Kulsoom Nawaz that they were being forced into exile and that they had not entered into any deal with the military regime.

At one stage the media managers advised Gen. Musharraf to make public the details of the `undertaking' given by Mr. Sharif on the dos and don'ts that apply to him and his family as long as they stay in Saudi Arabia. But the idea was dropped like a hot potato amidst indications that the Saudi royal family had sent a clear message that dragging its name into the controversy would not be appreciated.

An address to the nation was the other idea floated.If Gen. Musharraf goes ahead with his broadcast at 20.30 IST, he is certainly not expected to confine his speech to the Sharif episode and may mention other subjects like the accountability process and the recent initiatives related to Kashmir.

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Section  : International
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