The Hindu : International : Rapid change in Pakistan’s political scene

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Saturday, Sep 01, 2007
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International

Rapid change in Pakistan’s political scene

Nirupama Subramanian

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s political scene is changing so rapidly that in a matter of three days, the widespread expectation of an early announcement by President Pervez Musharraf that he would step down as army chief by month-end has faded in the face of opposition from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Q) to the terms of his power-sharing deal with Pakistan People’s Party leader Benazir Bhutto.

President Musharraf’s emissaries are flying back to London for more negotiations with Ms. Bhutto, but all eyes are now on how the government will handle the announced September 10 return of Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif.

Minister of state for Information Tariq Azeem continued to maintain that the government would respect the direction of the Supreme Court asking it to ensure the unhindered return of the Sharif brothers. But ruling party president Chaudhary Shujat Hussain said on Geo television that the Sharif brothers would not return on September 10. In a cryptic comment typical of him, the PML (Q) leader said they should “perform umrah” before returning to Pakistan.

Pilgrims go to Saudi Arabia to perform the umrah, and Mr. Hussain evidently meant that the Sharif brothers should head to that country, which was reportedly a party to a 10-year exile agreement between the former Pakistan Prime Minister and President Musharraf. The Saudi royals are said to be unhappy that by breaking that agreement, Mr. Sharif is dragging them into Pakistan’s political mess.

The government is said to have sent an “SOS” to the Saudi government asking them to use their offices to stop the Sharif brothers from returning. Quoting Foreign Office sources, Dawn TV reported that a special emissary will fly to the kingdom “within the next 24 hours” with a special message from President Musharraf to the Saudi monarch

Meanwhile, a month-end deadline that Ms. Bhutto gave to President Musharraf to make a public announcement that he was ready to relinquish his uniform and take several “confidence-building measures” that the party has demanded as terms for a power sharing deal with has come and gone without anything happening.

Having issued the ultimatum, Ms. Bhutto will now be under pressure to decide her future course of action. Her party central executive is meeting in London on Friday to decide how to proceed next, especially with regard to her own return to Pakistan in the light of Mr. Sharif’s decision to land here early next month.

Negotiations between President Musharraf and Ms. Bhutto stalled after the PML(Q) threw a spanner in the works.

The President held another round of discussions with the PML (Q) on Friday apparently to convince them about his agreement with the PPP. But the party, which provides President Musharraf his political base in Parliament, is adamant that it will not support the lifting of the two-term bar on a Prime Minister, which would allow Ms. Bhutto to hold the office a third time.

Mr. Hussain has said the party has advised President Musharraf not to relinquish the office of army chief as the country needed a strong leader.

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