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Pakistan drama

The early appearance of cracks in Pakistan’s ruling coalition is a disappointment for those who rejoiced over the resounding victory of democracy in the February 2008 general election. Nawaz Sharif’s decision to withdraw his Pakistan Muslim League (N) from the cabinet was an apparent consequence of the government’s failure to restore, by his deadline of May 12, the judges who were dismissed by President Pervez Musharraf in the 2007 emergency. Underlying the differences on this issue between the PML(N) and the Pakistan People’s Party, the leader of the coalition, was a fundamental disagreement over how to deal with the unpopular dictator. The PML(N) viewed the reinstatement of the judges as part of its wider strategy to oust him from the presidency. On the other hand, PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari has been reluctant to head into a confrontation with President Musharraf. The reasons for this can only be speculated upon, but what is evident is that the PPP wanted to make the reinstatement a part of a larger constitutional package that would have clipped the wings of the restored judiciary. The PML(N) took the position that restoring the judges through constitutional amendments would bestow an unacceptable legality on General Musharraf’s actions during the emergency. For Mr. Sharif, who made the restoration of the judges the main plank of his party’s election campaign and set himself a deadline to achieve this, there was little scope for compromise.

Considering that the issue of the judiciary has been at the heart of Pakistan’s political turmoil since March 2007, Mr. Sharif has improved his political standing by emerging as a man of his word. Mr. Zardari’s lack of enthusiasm for keeping a promise the two leaders jointly made to the nation through the March 8 Murree Declaration puts his party at a political disadvantage. Nor have the PPP’s moves to cushion a possible break-up of the coalition by reaching out to sections of the PML (Q), the ‘King’s party,’ enhanced its image. It is encouraging that both Mr. Sharif and Mr. Zardari have kept a window open for a reconciliation of their differences. The PML(N) has not withdrawn from the coalition and the PPP has signalled its keenness to persuade Mr. Sharif’s party back into the government. In the long-term interests of democracy in Pakistan, it is imperative that both parties set aside their narrow political interests and speedily craft a formula to untangle the judges’ issue. The drama, featuring a dictator versus a hyperactive ex-Chief Justice championed by the bar, might appear overblown to the external world — but what is clear is that Pakistan cannot move ahead unless there is a denouement.

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