Zardari’s anger
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The feeling of instability shaking the country has developed into what seems like a full-fledged quake. President Asif Ali Zardari’s extraordinary address at his wife’s death anniversary has left all of us wondering what lies ahead – and quite what Mr Zardari meant in the first place. His fiery attack on forces who he alleged were conspiring against the country and its institutions echoes the words used previously by lawyer Kamal Azfar before the Supreme Court. It is hard to say if this is the result of pre-planning or simply chance. The fact that Mr Zardari chose not to spell out who these forces may be simply adds to the mystery behind his rant. Many of those who witnessed it now must be wondering with more gravity as to the ability of Mr Zardari to head the state. Certainly, the paranoia many close to him say he suffers from seems to be growing by the day. What is more, he appears to be unable to handle the running of the state with anything resembling the poise or maturity expected of the president. His latest outburst will only add to the growing unease with his presence in the highest office of state. Pakistan faces enough problems as it is without complications being created by ramblings that in many ways make very little sense.
We do not quite know who the president’s closest advisers are. But certainly his aides have been unable to offer him wise advice. A major issue for Mr Zardari has been that of his image. His performance at Garhi Khuda Bux did nothing to add positively to it. Indeed the speech may raise more questions than it answers about quite what the president is trying to achieve. What we do know is that new national divisions have been opened up; fingers have been quite unnecessarily pointed and the possibility of all the components making up the system being able to work smoothly together has been further reduced. Yet, the fact is that today Pakistan needs all its institutions to work in harmony. At the moment, as furious debate rages over the contents of the unexpected address we seem to have moved even further away than before from any possibility of smooth sailing. The question that needs to be asked now is if there is any possibility at all of salvaging the situation and avoiding the upheaval that appears to loom ever closer. There have been suggestions that the president, the prime minister, the army chief and perhaps other key players should sit together and thrash out matters. The proposal is a sound one but such a scenario seems unlikely. The wisdom from the presidency that could have brought this about seems missing and this brings us perilously close to calamity with each passing day.
Labels: Governance, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 7:19 PM,
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Zardari’s attack on his unnamed enemies
President Asif Ali Zardari’s speech in Naudero on the second death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto has stirred a countrywide debate over the targets of his hostility. He did not mention in clear words whether it was the Army, the media or the opposition that was threatening democracy. Many, however, see it as a subtle attack on the Army after the reports pouring out of the Presidency suggest Zardari’s growing negativity about the establishment.
In a situation when the Army as an institution has regained its respect and there is absolutely no sign of the military’s attempt to destabilise the democratic set-up, any effort by the president to make key changes in the Army top command would be extremely dangerous for the system. Last year, the government’s abrupt shifting of the ISI under the Interior Ministry was unacceptable to all and sundry, including the media, which resulted into the immediate cancellation of the government’s notification.
Perhaps foreseeing the dangers ahead, different views were being expressed in the media as a reaction to the president’s speech such as, “There are only so many possibilities about where the threat Mr Zardari keeps referring to can come from. With his public comments, Mr Zardari may in fact be alarming the persons in those institutions that they could be the target of impending attacks themselves and, therefore, need to strike before they are struck against. Our advice: put up or shut up. The president is supposed to be a symbol of the federation, a unifying force rather than a hyper-partisan figure fuelling conspiracy theories. More presidential, less political - that’s what the county needs from Mr Zardari.”
Labels: Governance, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 7:13 PM,
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Post-judgement (NRO) politics
Sunday, December 20, 2009
If the post-judgement political situation degenerates into a conflict between the PPP-led government and the opposition spearheaded by the PML-N, Pakistan can return to a highly dangerous internal confrontation. Such a state of affairs will turn the whole effort to check corruption and misuse of state authority into a head-on collision between the government and the opposition
Most political circles are celebrating the Supreme Court judgement on the NRO without realising that it is yet another example of the civilian-political government finding its political future in jeopardy because of extra-parliamentary developments. If the military is not the key player this time, the superior judiciary has relied on its constitutional powers to deny the moral basis to the civilian government, which could be the beginning of the end of the present political arrangements. Parliament is marginal to determining the future of the government or at least that of President Asif Ali Zardari.
Labels: Judiciary, NRO, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 9:19 PM,
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Road to confrontation
The prime minister, by coming out in support of an evidently sinking President Zardari, would seem to have put loyalty ahead of wisdom. Despite the growing signs that power is slipping away from the PPP government as NAB asserts a new-found independence and courts follow the directions chalked out by the SC in its landmark ruling on the NRO, the PM has signalled he could be opting for the path of defiance. By suspending the interior secretary for preventing the defence minister from leaving for China and by refusing to reappoint Tariq Khosa as the DG FIA, Mr Gilani has made it clear that he is not willing to accept the court’s rulings. So, we have here a script for potentially open confrontation. Aspects of this are comic. But the whole thing could end in a terrible tragedy as institutions engage in an ugly clash. We have seen this happen before. The maturity and selflessness that could have averted this is not being seen.
The way out is simple: the president must step down; others in the government who are NRO beneficiaries must follow. Most citizens would favour this approach. The widespread acclaim for the SC ruling has made this quite apparent. The court too is a powerful one and has repeatedly demonstrated that it is not ready to play the role of a rubberstamp. We have then a situation totally different to that which has existed at any time in the past. But the approach taken by the PM suggests we will have only more uncertainty. When he accuses others of acting against the interests of the state, Mr Gilani does not realize that he himself is doing so by failing to respect institutions within it and allow them to perform their role. Indeed neither he, nor the president, seem to recognize the dangers they are exposing their country too. Further instability is the last thing we need at the present time. Yet this is what could lie ahead if the present dangerous dance proceeds without check.
So, who can act as a voice of restraint and wisdom? We have at the helm of the state a man who himself is accused of serious crimes. The role traditionally assigned to the president, as a mediator and as an individual able to help iron out wrinkles in the system, cannot come into play this time. Those who surround him themselves seem to favour battle rather than the use of good sense. The PM too has opted to side with the president’s camp. This may be a decision he may come, in time, to regret. It is to be seen if from within the PPP any voices of wisdom will be heard. Certainly, there are people who realize where we are headed, and that to put on the brakes once the descent down a slippery slope begins is no easy matter. Only if they step in swiftly can further mayhem be warded off and the chances of the democratic order remaining intact raised.
Labels: Judiciary, NRO, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 9:12 PM,
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Zardar's thunderous speech devoid of vision
Thursday, November 26, 2009
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari created history on Wednesday evening when he addressed a public meeting in Karachi by sitting in his fortified Presidential Palace in Islamabad while warning that he was neither scared of death nor afraid of being consigned to gallows. The president used blistering language and it appeared from the tone and tenor of his speech that the policy of reconciliation had been done away with.
Political observers are of the opinion that the tone and tenor of the president did not match the exalted office he was currently holding. The presidential podium has been used to hurling threats and fanning political divide while the office of the president, as a symbol of the Federation, is expected to stay above the political divide. Ever since Asif Zardari has assumed the highest office, the presidential palace has become the hub of petty political activities and wheeling-dealings.
Labels: Media, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 3:39 PM,
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Have a heart, you are the president, Mr Zardari!
WASHINGTON: When an elected head of the state, who is also the head of the largest political party of the country, the Supreme Commander of the country’s armed forces and (at least on papers) the man with his finger on the country’s nuclear button, cannot venture out of his bunker in the presidency, a five-star prison of sorts, and attacks a TV channel, a newspaper editor or a talk show anchor, he must be seriously in trouble or scared to death with insecurity.
Labels: Media, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 3:36 PM,
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How to clean up the bloody mess?
Monday, November 23, 2009
Instead of stabilising the political system, giving a clean and effective government and supporting the Army and security forces to fight the menace of terrorism with full political backing and support, the arrogant and lop-sided governance style of President Zardari has messed up everything. Within a year he has reached the point where everyone is asking and discussing “what after him”. Musharraf took nine years to reach that stage when the Americans dumped him. Zardari was fast. He has now dug into his bunker and is ready to fight. But fight for what? Fight with his own self against his own failures?
Today’s mess is not for the Pakistan Army to clean, as it was 15 months ago. The Army has already played its behind-the-scene role to keep the system going. Today the failure is of the politicians and they should not blame anyone else, as is now becoming a habit in pro-Zardari circles. No one wants to destabilise the system. But the blunders and egocentricities of the PPP leadership is going to do that.
A very mischievous impression is being given that criticism of Zardari, and sidelining him, would mean another attack on Sindhi rights. He should be sidelined because he has failed as a politician and not as a Sindhi. He should pay for his acts of omission and commission, the rampant corruption unleashed all around and the failed policies that he has forced on everybody. All this has nothing to do with Sindh or the Sindhi card.
In fact, all reports from Sindh say people in Larkana and Nawabshah would be more than happy if the tyranny of these newly unleashed feudals is ended. The decades old servants and workers of Mr Bhutto’s ancestral homes would like to come back to their jobs and not live in wilderness any more.
The heavy onus of correcting the situation thus lies on the prime minister and the PPP, or whatever part of the organisation which can come out of the scare spell of the presidency. Gilani is considering many options, including his own resignation if he does not get his way. But right now the centre of power has shifted to his office and the presidency is in a lame-duck mode.
As a starter Gilani can slash his cabinet and remove all the tainted NRO hit ministers, advisers and ambassadors. In one go, he will boost his image and credibility and deliver a fatal blow to the one-man style of governance that has led the PPP into a corner in just two years.
The PM should then move with super speed to get the 17th Amendment repealed, get the competent and popular PPP leaders back into the party fold, take Mian Nawaz Sharif and others on board, even in his cabinet, as in the early days of the coalition. Get a political consensus on major issues, start a dialogue with moderates in the ranks of militants and then lead the country with a focus on ending the miseries of the poor harassed masses and crushing the militancy.
He should keep the president informed and on board if he wants to play along. But it should be clear that the buck would stop at the PM House. If this does not happen and Mr Zardari creates hurdles, plays his dirty tricks, unleashes his ‘Ghairat’ or ‘Izzat’ brigades against the PM, the media, the security establishment or all of them, he would be the one responsible for demolishing the system. No one else should then be blamed.
Labels: Corruption, Governance, Nepotism, NRO, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 4:02 PM,
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Politics of the NRO
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
It appears as if the MQM chief’s stand is a decisive one in the current political situation. This is attested by the fact that following his decision, not only is the NRO dead and buried forever but it also seems to have set the stage for the implementation of the minus-one formula
The other day the MQM supremo Altaf Hussain caused a political tsunami when in a mysterious call made in the dead of the night he announced not to support the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) bill and counselled Zardari to leave the presidency for the sake of democracy and along with his associates face cases in the courts. It left the Zardari government high and dry because it was banking on MQM’s support for the smooth passage of the bill. For President Zardari, Altaf was a Brutus who had stabbed him in the back. Visibly upset by this development, the PPP had negotiations with the MQM in Dubai, which however did not produce the kind of result that the PPP was looking for because though the MQM apparently made a summersault on Zardari’s resignation by claiming that it did not ask for his head, only surrender of the 17th amendment presidential powers, it refused to budge on the NRO. Resultantly, the government withdrew the NRO from parliament and Zardari is now struggling for his political survival. How do we explain the latest theatre in town?
Why has the establishment that had accepted the PPP government after Musharraf’s exit now turned hostile towards it? The explanation for this lies in Zardari’s personality and performance with which the establishment is not satisfied on several counts. First, there is lack of governance and the Zardari government appears to be utterly rudderless. Second, there is rampant corruption in which he and others are allegedly involved. To compound the matter he is not willing to show the door to the latter. Third, he is perceived as America’s man echoing his master’s voice as evidenced by the Kerry-Lugar Bill (KLB), which he tried to promote even though the establishment viewed it as an American instrument to get Pakistan’s nuclear programme capped and the Pakistan army and the ISI controlled. Fourth, the Zardari government has allowed the Americans to get themselves installed in Islamabad, which allows them space to indulge in espionage activities in Pakistan. Finally, Zardari is perceived as being soft on India.
Labels: Governance, NRO, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 8:41 AM,
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Inside story of PPP CEC meeting
ISLAMABAD: In the last fateful meeting of the party central executive committee, the old PPP guards surprisingly compared the present siege-like situation of President Asif Ali Zardari to that of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who during his incarceration days was given similar sugar coated assurances about his survival by his party leaders, just as an ‘all is well and great’ report being given today by all the president’s men.
President Zardari was reportedly told point black by Nawab Yousuf Talpur that these were the similar sycophants who were nowhere to be seen when the time of trial came and ultimately their leader was hanged.
Apparently, Talpur’s bold utterances proved only a harbinger of more to come. According to sources, after a very long time some of the senior party leaders blasted the policies and failures of their own government, and much to their pleasant surprise, they found the president, also the party co-chairman, ready to listen to them uninterrupted and without giving them a put up or shut up call. Some of the senior party leaders were said to be dissatisfied with the briefing given to them on the NRO issue and the government plans to tackle it in the days to come.
Earlier, unlike the past traditions, CEC members were also asked to give approval for the long pending reshuffling of the cabinet. The CEC empowered the president to change the portfolios of the ministers but Mr Zardari hurriedly passed on these powers to PM Yousuf Raza Gilani, who might soon announce the changes in the portfolios of the ministers. One source said, MNA Sherry Rehman and Senator Raza Rabbani were likely to rejoin the cabinet.
Labels: Governance, NRO, Power Politics, PPP
posted @ 8:25 AM,
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Leadership crisis
Thursday, November 12, 2009
No democrat would hold a brief for military dictators. But if a dispassionate analysis is made, one comes to the conclusion that elected leaders are also responsible in equal measure for having brought the country to the present pass.
Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Mian Nawaz Sharif has said at an election rally at Chilas Rest House that the primary reason for all the problems of the country is frequent violations of the Constitution. One would agree with Mian Nawaz Sharif that all organs of the state must work according to the parameters defined in the Constitution and no one should overstep into the other’s domain. He is also right in demanding of President Asif Ali Zardari the annulment of the 17th amendment and withdrawal of 58(2)(b), and it should be done in days and not weeks and months. But Mian sahib has to be reminded that during his second stint as prime minister, PML-N leaders and workers had stormed the apex court. The treatment meted out to then chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah can only be described as despicable. Second, it has to be borne in mind that almost all leaders or parties on the political scene today have at one time or another aided and abetted dictators, despite claiming to be champions of democracy.
Of course, power has its own dynamics; and the key to social dynamics that Marx found in wealth, Freud in sex, Bertrand Russell found in power. It has to be mentioned that Hitler and Mussolini were also elected leaders who were instrumental in the death and destruction of millions of people before and during the Second World War. Arundhati Roy, in her article titled ‘The end of imagination’ wrote: “Fascism is as in the people as it is in the governments. It starts in the drawing rooms, bedrooms and becomes a national psyche.” In Pakistan also we see tendencies of fascism in some religious and even so-called democratic and liberal parties. Their leaders are devoid of clarity of vision and sense of proportion. Paul Johnson, author of several best-selling books, during his lecture delivered on November 1, 2007 said: “In statesmanship, personal self-restraint in the search for and exercise of power is a key lesson to teach.” Unfortunately, Pakistan has not been lucky to have genuine leaders after the demise of the Quaid-i-Azam.
Labels: Leadership, Power Politics
posted @ 10:05 PM,
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PPP Searching for friends
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Suddenly the PPP whose prime minister was elected unanimously by parliament just over 19 months ago finds itself desperately short of friends. In a move that may deliver the PPP a very big blow, the MQM has warned that it could reconsider remaining a part of the setup. The party's leader, in a typically fiery address to a rally in Skardu, has stressed that for him principle is more important than the NRO. It is not quite clear when this turnaround came about, given that initially the MQM had not seemed too concerned over the moral dilemmas the law posed, but the stance taken now puts President Zardari in what is an extremely tight spot indeed. It is this that has compelled him to take rather desperate measures and find some way of retaining the NRO and the protection it offers. For all the government's brave words about revealing the full list of NRO beneficiaries and the denial by several politicians that they are among these, Mr Zardari and his aides are obviously acutely concerned about what an environment stripped of the NRO could bring. Legal opinion varies, but many experts agree that at least some cases against the president and others could be reopened. The idea of the ball being thrown to the courts may not go down with the presidency either.
It is possibly for these reasons that some kind of last ditch effort seems to be on to find friends. The meeting between the president and side-lined PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan is just one manifestation of this. Mr Ahsan has reportedly been offered the post of attorney general or Punjab governor. Perhaps by bringing a respected leader of the lawyers' movement back to the PPP fold, Mr Zardari hopes to regain goodwill and end the state of isolation he finds himself in, with many members of his own party increasingly disgruntled. But the going will not be easy. The chorus of voices demanding the repeal of the 17th Amendment and the undoing of Article 58(2)(B) is rising. The president will almost inevitably find himself a toothless figure, even if he can retain his place at the presidency. The MQM will of course play a key role in this. It is one the party of Altaf Hussain is not unfamiliar with. One question is if its showdown with the president is prompted by other, behind-the-scene players who may be playing a part in the political soap opera that we now see unfolding before our eyes.
Labels: Power Politics, PPP, Zardari
posted @ 9:45 PM,
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Retreat over NRO
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
After a high level meeting of the ruling alliance at the Presidency on Monday, the PPP government has decided not to bring the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to parliament for a vote. This is clearly a reversal but one which could have been avoided had the ruling party consulted its allies beforehand. It is quite apparent that the NRO as a bill was brought to the relevant committee of the National Assembly without making sure that all the numbers needed were in hand.
The withdrawal will not put an end to the “dangers” that the NRO represented to the map of power brought about by the 2008 general elections. After the debacle caused by an aggressive withdrawal of the MQM from the pro-NRO consensus, the next crisis in the offing is the march of the opposition to a no-confidence vote. The PML-N, whose chief is determined to start a Long March on the ordinance, is no longer averse to the thought of a mid-term change, whether through a new general election or through the ‘minus-one’ formula under a ‘national government’, possibly with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in the driving seat.
Labels: NRO, Power Politics, PPP, Zardari
posted @ 7:18 PM,
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President, Army row over KLB persists
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had informed the federal government about their objections to the KLB in early July 2009. The ISI DG wrote a detailed letter to the prime minister and informed him that the bill had objectionable language about Pakistan Army. He also stated that the main target of the KLB was the nuclear programme of Pakistan and the government should not accept any conditionality targeting the nuclear security of Pakistan.
The prime minister sent a copy of the said letter to the president and another to the Pakistani mission in Washington DC through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Pakistani mission in Washington DC gave a detailed response on the objections raised by the ISI DG on August 11, 2009 and assured the government that it will try its best to safeguard national interests.
Next day on August 12, the mission sent an advance copy of the KLB to the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad and the objections raised by the ISI DG were still present in the draft. The army waited for another month. The consolidated text of KLB was sent by the Pakistani mission on September 14, 2009. It repeatedly claimed in its assessments that Ambassador Husain Haqqani had tried his level best to safeguard national interest but not a single objection raised by the ISI DG was removed from the bill till the end of September 2009. The army came out with a press release on the KLB on October 7.
Top US officials have claimed in private conversations with this scribe that Ambassador Haqqani never informed the US Congress or the State Department about the objections of Pakistan Army on the KLB.
Labels: Army, Government, Kerry-Lugar Bill, Power Politics, US Aid, Zardari
posted @ 6:53 PM,
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Has tabling of NRO been deferred?
KARACHI: Notwithstanding the past midnight announcement of a presidential retreat on the NRO, President Asif Ali Zardari still wants Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to redouble his efforts to win parliamentary support for its passage, according to several political and official sources with direct knowledge of deliberations at the Presidency late on Monday night.
“President Zardari only agreed to defer the decision to table the NRO in the National Assembly so that the PPP might get its act together with other coalition partners on this issue,” according to a participant of the meeting.
The prime minister and other coalition partners who met the president had desired that he should forget the NRO in the best interest of democracy, but their plea met a strong resistance from the president.
Labels: Government, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 6:49 PM,
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Zardari after No to NRO
The key indicators now out in the open include the shocking debacle for PPP on the NRO; the somersault of the MQM to oppose the NRO; a direct demand by Mr Altaf Hussain asking President Zardari to resign; the extra confidence in Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to practically take over matters in his own hands; the emergence of Nawaz Sharif from his friendly opposition bunker; the significant stand taken by Fata MPs; the calm and cool but ever persuasive demeanour of the army chief to discuss “matters of national security” with the prime minister (not the president); the nervousness in some camps over the “messages and ideas” Lady Hillary Clinton has taken back to Washington; and the unusual multi-country tour of our ISI chief, starting with Saudi Arabia, which some government spokespersons hilariously described as a visit in which he had taken a message to the Saudi King from President Zardari.
What has already happened is known but what is likely to come is more important. All stakeholders agree, and this I can claim after meeting almost all of them in the last few days in Islamabad and Lahore, that President Asif Ali Zardari will have to either step down with dignity, hand over his presidential powers to the PM through a fast-track constitutional amendments process, or become a figure head and stay within his bunker for as long as he does not create any nuisance.
Some apologists for the presidency have already publicly indicated that Mr Zardari is seriously thinking about this course because that would keep him in the top most position, immune to the unpleasant hardships of defending himself in civil courts, a process he has endured for years, and wait for his time to strike back as a relevant PPP leader, with the active aid and presence of son Bilawal and daughters Bakhtawar and Assefa.
Labels: Government, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 6:45 PM,
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Govt decides not to table NRO in parliament
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
* MQM, ANP, PML-F refuse to support NRO
* Allies ask PPP to tap other means to deal with situation emanating from NRO’s withdrawal
ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday decided against tabling the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance in parliament for approval.
In a statement issued by the Presidency after a high-level meeting of the ruling alliance, President’s Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said, “The meeting endorsed the position taken by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the floor of the House on Monday and decided not to take the NRO to parliament.”
Prime Minister Gilani, JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman, ANP chief Asfandyar Wali and MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar held a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari before the president addressed parliamentarians of the ruling coalition at a dinner meeting. He told them that he had mandated the prime minister to continue consultations with the political parties for a political conciliation.
‘Legal and constitutional’: Sources privy to the meeting told Daily Times that the allied parties asked the Pakistan People’s Party to withdraw the NRO and tap other “legal and constitutional” means to deal with the situation emanating from the withdrawal of the NRO.
They said opposition from some senior party leaders and allies led the government to “go on the back foot” regarding its stance on the NRO as the MQM, the ANP and the PML-Functional had refused to support the legislation during a vote in parliament. The sources said under immense public pressure, the JUI-F was inclined to abstain from voting, leaving the PPP in a dilemma to get the controversial law passed by parliament.
Earlier, addressing the National Assembly, Gilani said, “We have yet to determine what to do (regarding the NRO). We have not brought it to parliament (for approval)... we are considering it and holding consultations with our allies and other friends.” The prime minister said the government would not do anything that could derail the democratic system in the country.
Labels: Government, Power Politics
posted @ 10:19 AM,
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Talks between Zardari and Nawaz Sharif
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Nothing concrete was achieved at the talks held between President Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N Chief Mian Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad. There was no breakthrough on the NRO or any other decision that could be classified as significant. Some media reports suggest that the two men did little more than break bread together. But despite this, the dialogue is immensely significant. It has come at a time when rumour has been rife of change and possible military intervention. A meeting held recently between Mian Shahbaz Sharif and the army chief COAS fuelled talk of conspiracy and various scenarios were drawn up. Some at least watched and waited with bated breath. After all we are familiar with the way such things happen in our country. The Zardari-Nawaz meeting as such creates some sense of calm. It indicates that the two main political forces are not opposed to the idea of working together and sharing ideas on how this can happen. Indeed, the lack of discussion on the NRO is highly intriguing. Nawaz Sharif was expected to press for it to be repealed. That he did not apparently do so indicates he is keen to work with the president and perhaps also willing to let him and his key aides of the hook.
The issues brought up at the meeting included the 17th Amendment. The PML-N chief remains eager for this to be done away with, thus making it possible for him to again take charge as PM. An undoing of the clause would of course also reduce the powers held by the president and help restore the balance towards parliament. It appears that there has been a broad understanding, though possibly no firm commitment, that this will happen. Balochistan, militancy, the need for administrative reform and the need for political cooperation were also discussed. The many voices we hear criticizing politicians are once again describing this meeting as a failure. But it is perhaps unfair to do so. At this juncture, the ability of political parties to avoid falling into traps and to set democratic traditions has become paramount. Over the past few months we have been seeing how easy it is to stumble and fall, and repeat mistakes we have seen made on previous occasions. The indication that the political opposition is aware of the need to avoid this is welcome.
Labels: Constitutional Reforms, Nawaz Sharif, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 1:16 PM,
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President Asif Zardari meets the PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif today (Monday)
Monday, October 26, 2009
LAHORE: When President Asif Zardari meets the PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif today (Monday) (in Islamabad), this is the 11th time when the duo will be sitting across the table since Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in December 2007.
Sources in both the political camps told The News while Asif Zardari might seek Nawaz Sharif’s help during today’s meeting in getting the National Reconciliation Ordinance validated through the Parliament in November; the PML-N was likely to press the president for abolishing all ‘undemocratic’ clauses from the 17th Constitutional Amendment.
These sources said that President Zardari might also seek Sharif’s support in changing the name of NWFP to ‘Pakhtoonkhwa’ in line with the wishes of the ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali. The PML-N has already opposed the change of name for NWFP.
This scribe also heard on the grapevine that the situation in Waziristan and its probable fall-out in the wake of the ongoing army operation in the mountains might also come under discussion along with the harsh conditions incorporated in the Kerry-Lugar Law.
These sources did not rule out the chances that Nawaz Sharif might also touch on former President Pervez Musharraf’s trial issue amidst an air of the ever-increasing mistrust between the leaders of the two largest political parties in the country.
It, however, remains to be seen what president agrees to offer in return to the PML-N for the validation of the NRO amidst reports that MQM is not very supportive towards this issue to the sheer dismay of Zardari.
Labels: Nawaz Sharif, Power Politics, Zardari
posted @ 12:27 PM,
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Power Politics
Friday, October 23, 2009
Kerry-Lugar law’s Muridke clause alienates Army from; NRO-hit presidency; Zardari fall back on Nawaz; ready to give up 17th Amendment powers!
KARACHI: An intense, behind the scenes, strategic and decisive review of the current political situation has begun among major power players, both political and non-political, to quickly decide how to stabilise the situation, seriously threatened by impending questions about the fate of those who benefited from the infamous NRO and are now in top positions of the country.
After detailed background interviews and sessions with most of the stakeholders, it is now becoming clear that unless the present system is cleansed and the major irritants are removed, the desperately needed political stability and the required moral and political support for the on-going civil war-like situation would not be available. This may, and probably already is, seriously hampering the military-cum-security operations against the hit-and-run or hit-and-die terrorists roaming all over the country.
Although the apparent problem is the uncertainty about what would happen to the NRO in parliament and even if passed by a simple majority, what may happen if the Supreme Court strikes down the controversial law ab initio, the issue which is driving everyone crazy is the wide gulf that has emerged between the top civilian and military leadership on how to handle America and the war on terror, denials and clarifications notwithstanding.
Labels: Government, Power Politics
posted @ 10:59 PM,
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Kerry-Lugar Bill: the army’s objections
Does no one understand that they can only be strong if they enjoy the support of the people of Pakistan and, if they do, no army can ‘subvert the judicial and political processes’ in Pakistan?
Many analysts in Pakistan find nothing wrong with the Kerry-Lugar (K-L) Bill. Some feel that Pakistan is so desperately in need of assistance that the bill should be accepted at any cost — preconditions or consequences notwithstanding. The President is firmly behind it; the Prime Minister expressed concerned initially, but soon fell in line behind the president. The opposition seems to consider this a golden opportunity to take on the government on its continued submission to the United States at the cost of our sovereignty, and while prepared to tear the government apart on the issue, is carefully refraining from criticising the US.
However, surprisingly, the army, which has been at pains to establish the principle of civilian supremacy, has not only discussed the subject in its annual corps commanders’ conference, but has thereafter issued a public statement to the effect that it “has concerns...the details of which will be conveyed to the government...Pakistan is a sovereign state and has all the rights to analyse and respond to the threat in accordance with its own national interests...in the considered opinion of the forum, it is parliament that would deliberate on the issue to enable the government to develop a national response.”
Labels: Government, Kerry-Lugar Bill, Power Politics, Relations, US Aid, US Pakistan
posted @ 12:47 AM,
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