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Musharraf to be sworn in on Thursday

Pervez Musharraf

LAHORE: A day after he returned from his seven-year exile, the former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, drew a hard line against President Pervez Musharraf, questioning his legitimacy and making his party’s participation in the election conditional on a roll-back of the November 3 Emergency and the reinstatement of the sacked Supreme Court judges.

But analysts predicted that his tough stance may change in the face of apparent readiness by Benazir Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, to participate in the election.

“How can you think of holding a free and fair election when you have a puppet judiciary and a handpicked and subservient election commissioner? This is more important than anything else. This is the key. The judiciary of November 3 must be restored,” said Mr. Sharif at a press conference in his Model Town home before leaving to file his nomination papers in the election that he is considering boycotting.

A presidential spokesman was quoted by Dawn News television on Monday saying Gen. Musharraf would be sworn in for his new term on November 29, and the day before would be his last as Army chief, which he will spend at the General Headquarters in a farewell meeting with his formation commanders.

The television said the Army’s Special Security Group would continue to be in charge of Gen. Musharraf’s security.

Mr. Sharif said Gen. Musharraf would not gain legitimacy by stepping down as Army chief. “Taking off his uniform does not mean he is a legitimate President of the country. He would have been the legitimate President if the earlier judiciary was allowed to give its judgment in his favour. If the judgment went in his favour we would have accepted that. Any decision by this judiciary means nothing,” he said.

Mr. Sharif’s decision to file nominations despite his conviction that elections under Emergency cannot be free and fair was reflective of the opposition dilemma over participation in the elections.

The All Parties Democratic Movement, an opposition grouping led by Mr. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (N) but not including the PPP, said on Saturday it would boycott the elections unless Gen. Musharraf lifts the emergency, restores the Constitution and reinstates the judiciary.

Mr. Sharif said the APDM would hold another meeting on Thursday to finalise its strategy. Only the Jamat-e-Ulema Islami has broken ranks with the APDM to declare it will participate in the election.

Ms. Bhutto, who has filed nominations from three places, including her family seat Larkana and a reserved women’s seat in Karachi, said on Sunday the PPP “does not want to boycott the election” but also indicated she had not ruled out discussions with the APDM on a joint boycott.

Ms. Bhutto and Mr. Sharif have spoken several times in the last two weeks about a rainbow coalition of opposition parties with then “one-point agenda” of boycotting elections. Mr. Sharif said on Monday “the only difference” between him and Ms. Bhutto was over the restoration of the judiciary.

The PPP leader wanted “independence of the judiciary,” not quite the same as reinstatement of the sacked judges.

Analysts said the PML (N) and other APDM parties would boycott only if the PPP agreed to do the same. “If they feel PPP is determined to contest, they don’t want to be left out. If the entire opposition decides to boycott, the PML (N) would be in the lead, but if that is not possible, the PML (N) would have no choice but to contest,” said Shafqat Mahmood, a former Senator and Lahore-based political commentator.

Mr. Mahmood said it could also not be ruled that with the return of Mr. Sharif, the PML (N) may feel its chances of doing well in the election have increased, and may want to contest the election. The PPP’s position would give it a good excuse to do so.

Behind the tough talk, Mr. Sharif has given enough indication that he was weighing all options. After his arrival on Sunday, he denied he had done a “deal” to return to the country, and said he would launch a struggle to “against dictatorship to restore democracy and the judiciary.” But he has stopped short of asking Gen. Musharraf to step down. At the press conference, he said he would not serve as Prime Minister under him. At the same time, he did not rule it out entirely, though he added a caveat.

“If the people of Pakistan think me worthy of serving them, then of course I will take up the responsibility with the intention of serving them,” he said, but added “to remove the 17 amendment (Gen. Musharraf’s changes to the Constituion) as early as possible.”

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