The Hindu : Differences among anti-Musharraf parties

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 08, 2002

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International

Differences among anti-Musharraf parties

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Nov. 7. Differences have widened among the anti-Musharraf parties following the decision of the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, to postpone the inaugural session of the newly-constituted National Assembly ``by about a week''.

Within hours after the postponement, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), a major constituent of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), accused the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led by the former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, of playing a ``double game'' and held it responsible for the present political ``deadlock''.

Implied in the sharp statements of the JI leaders was the charge that behind the closed doors the PPP was negotiating a ``deal'' with the military government and it had teamed up with the religious parties only to strengthen its own bargaining position.

The terms and conditions set by the PPP for joining hands with the religious parties are partly responsible for the outburst of the JI. In return for its support to the Prime Ministerial nominee, Fazlur Rehman, the PPP is believed to have demanded the post of Speaker.

Of course, the PPP vehemently denied the charges levelled by the JI leaders and reports in a section of the press about the so-called ``secret negotiations'' between the military regime and Asif Ali Zardari, husband of Benazir Bhutto. Mr. Zardari, who is in jail for the last six years and is currently in a hospital here for treatment, has been actively engaged in negotiations with various players in the power game.

The PPP is faced with a dilemma in joining hands with the religious parties as it has serious differences particularly on the foreign policy front. Unlike the MMA, the PPP is a vocal supporter of the U.S. role in the region and, particularly its war against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

Besides, Mrs. Bhutto always looked to the United States, irrespective of which party is in power in Washington, for intervention in the internal affairs of the country. In the context of Pakistani politics, it is said that without the consent of Allah, Army and America nothing is possible.

Mrs. Bhutto is currently in Washington in a bid to persuade the senior functionaries in the Bush Administration to prevail upon Gen. Musharraf to be ``even-handed'' in his approach towards political leaders. She wants a guarantee that she would not be arrested on her return to Pakistan. Mrs. Bhutto also believes that her husband is a ``prisoner of conscience'' as he has already spent more than six years without conviction in a single case.

In a way, the PPP was exactly not unhappy when Gen. Musharraf chose to postpone the inaugural session of the National Assembly. The PPP Parliamentarians leader, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, defended the decision today by saying that November 8 was only a tentative date for convening of the Assembly and there was no notification for the session.

A day before the decision to postpone the Assembly session, a section of the media, particularly the electronic media reported that Mr. Fahim had sought postponement of the session. Strangely Mr. Fahim was unavailable for several hours and later he maintained that he had made a ``passing comment'' on the subject.

Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), a conglomerate of 14 odd parties opposed to Musharraf policies and the MMA, finds itself in a quandary over the attitude of the PPP. The ARD chief, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, who has been engaged in hectic political parleys to cobble together a government opposed to Musharraf regime today went to the extent of saying that the ARD would take serious note of any party going against the line of the Alliance.

The MMA said that it blamed the military government and the PPP for the present deadlock in the formation of Government. Not convening the National Assembly session was the actual crisis, the MMA central leader and nominee for the NA speaker's slot, Liaquat Baloch, told reporters here.

He believed that the deadlock was artificial and could be handled by invoking the relevant constitutional clauses and NA's rules of business. Solving various issues about the future government outside the House was a good option, but delaying the session for the sake of it was based on malafide intentions, he said.

He also criticised the PPP president for talking ``loosely'' about delaying the session. The PML-Q (King's party) leader, Chaudhry Shujaat Husain, had endorsed Mr. Fahim's views as the government had got a chance to use the electronic media for propagating that two major players in the power politics had wanted the session put off, he said.

Mr. Baloch equally blamed the PPP for creating the deadlock by not adopting a clear policy on certain issues.

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Differences among anti-Musharraf parties