The Hindu : New political alliances ahead of Pak. polls

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 15, 2002

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International

New political alliances ahead of Pak. polls

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD AUG. 14. With general elections less than two months away and the schedule expected to be announced anytime now, it is the season for `silly' political alliances. They have no ideology, only a goal.

And so was born the Grand National Alliance (GNA), consisting of a rag-tag of political parties considered close to the military establishment; and an understanding between the Pakistan People's Party of Parliamentarians (PPPP), a sibling of the PPP, and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the largest religious party in the country. But the new-born alliances could be no more a `gentleman's agreement' as under the new rule, the Election Commission recognises only those groups which applied for registration before August 12. So they cannot contest under the same banner and symbol.

An alliance between the PPP led by the former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, and the JI was unthinkable just a few weeks ago. After all, the JI was known to be an ardent admirer and supporter of all the previous military regimes in the country. But the Musharraf regime has been an exception.

It was the staunch opposition to the Musharraf Government that has drawn together these parties which have different ideologies. The spat between the JI chief, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, and the President, Pervez Musharraf, has been known for over two years now. The u-turns in the foreign and defence policies forced on the Musharraf regime by the September 11 events have only widened the gulf between the JI and the military government.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim, chairman of the People's Parliamentarians Group (PPG), met the JI and the two reached a consensus on creating an atmosphere of `national reconciliation'. Both declared that they had agreed to protect the 1973 Constitution against amendments and to create an atmosphere of democratic reconciliation on the basis of fundamental rights and objective resolution. They, however, denied that they had discussed seat adjustments.

The adjectives used by the two leaders hide more than what they reveal. The Pakistan Muslim League (QA) and the National Alliance (NA) agreed to form the GNA and field joint candidates for election to the national and provincial assemblies. All the parties in the National Alliance (NA) such as the PML-QA, the Millat Party (MP), the National People's Party (NPP), the Sindh Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the NAP inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote `national solidarity' and to strengthen the political system.

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