Issue 59 Vol III, March 15, 2008

E D I T O R I A L

The puzzle of power

THE political circus in Pakistan that began soon after the election results on February 18 goes on and on. The game: the naming of the next prime minister is intertwined in a manner that even Musharraf, the much discredited self appointed president must be laughing. “Look I told anyone who listened that these leaders are least concerned about the fate of the country and end up weaving their cobwebs of power.” He ought to be saying  and much more. Nevertheless, on Pakistan Day President Pervez Musharraf and his rivals and victims; Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif, Former presidential candidates Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmad will be shaking hands during official ceremonies.

President Musharraf will be eating a humble pie when he faces his victims of his eight-year of misrule. It may be a hard decision for the invitees to attend the Pakistan Day Parade in the morning, the national awards distribution ceremony to civil and military recipients and the oath-taking ceremony of the new prime minister and the first batch of the cabinet in the same week. Battle lines too would be drawn the same week. Particularly tough would the reinstallation of sacked judges of the Supreme Court and other courts from which the political class can not escape. The pressure from the lawyers and the public would be such that even if Zardari and Musharraf do their best, they can not escape. American demands may not be met.

Meanwhile, decks have been cleared and the Accountability Court No 3 at Rawalpindi has acquitted Pakistan People's Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in the BMW car reference, the last corruption reference against him, suspending all the previous orders related to the confiscation of his property. The court judgment observed that the alleged involvement of Zardari in importing a BMW car from England and evading the customs duty could not be proved. In the BMW case, Zardari was accused of impersonating as a student and importing a 1993 model armoured luxury vehicle with the intention to evade duties that caused the national exchequer a loss of Rs 10 million.

Asif Ali Zardari has already been cleared in six other cases – Polo ground, ARY Gold, SGS, Cotecna, Ursus Tractors and illegal assets, all filed before 1999.

Clearly there is no stopping for him to be Pakistan’s next prime minister. It is true that all is not well between Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and senior vice-chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who was publicly declared to be the prime ministerial candidate soon after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. They have failed to resolve their differences on the choice of the party’s candidate for the prime minister’s post. And, veteran PPP leader Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani is also determined  to be the nominee of the party. Their ambitions and right to the post apart, both would say a big yes when Zardari’s name is formally announced  in a day or two.

After all in today’s Pakistan there are said to be three As, Allah, America and Ali [Zardari]. America has Okayed his name and said in so many words. And, Allah is always merciful.

This bickering, normal for the politicians in the sub continent should have been avoided taking into view that a fascist military regime is ending and a new dawn of democracy awaits Pakistan.

Good sign is coming together of different parties on one platform not only at the national level, but also at the provincial level. This give and take, essential for the political arrangement can work provided all sides stick to the Murree Declaration. They ought to nip any mischief by the Musharraf camp and his mentors, the Americans which must in the making.

Agenda for Pakistan is to stay peaceful and move towards more secular democratic polity. Start restructuring its worn out institutions; legislature, judiciary and executive and keep army to its designed role and check any drift towards religious and political extremism.

Take one major incident of suicide bombing in Lahore. The death toll has reached 32, while over 150 people are hospital with serious injuries. Although suicide bombings have become a frequent occurrence in Pakistan, the March 11 attack on the Federal Investigation Agency building and the advertising agency in Model Town marks the first time that C-4, a highly-destructive plastic explosive material, has been used in Pakistan. Now American experts are probing what kind of material had been used. Between 60 and 70 kilograms of C-4 were used to destroy the FIA building.

This is indeed one of the most crucial times for Pakistan and neighbours are waiting patiently to see a peaceful Pakistan, ready for healthy relationships.

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