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OPINION

Musharraf's quiet strategy for his reelection
M. RAMARAO

While two former prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif are busy cementing their new found alliance to take on President Musharraf, he is quietly consolidating his position to ensure his ‘smooth re-election’ for another term. His plan is to have the re-election by September 2007, if not much earlier. In other words, he wants to deny time and space to his political rivals to put their act together.

Both the News International, the Karachi based daily known for its leanings towards the establishment, and the Daily Times, the Lahore based Left leaning English daily, reported on June 7, as if in tandem, that political managers of President Musharraf have opened ‘back channels’ with Jamiat Ulema –e-Islam of Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

JUI is a major component of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, the alliance of religious parties which the army and the ISI establishment had put together through their back room operations shortly after Nawaz Sharif regime was thrown out in the Musharraf coup.

JUI regularly interacts with the opposition – Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) but that did not prevent the party from supporting President Musharraf on the constitution 17th amendment to let Musharraf continue with his uniform.

Now the establishment wants JUI to support another amendment (constitution 18th amendment) to ‘allow the next general elections under the supervision of the present set up rather than an interim government”. Benazir- Nawaz combine with their charter for democracy (COD) stand for elections under a ‘caretaker neutral’ government. Under the Pak constitution, only an interim government is empowered to hold general elections and members of the interim cabinet can’t participate in the elections.

“If our negotiations (with JUI) make headway, presidential elections — to re-elect President Gen Pervez Musharraf — would be held on or before the completion of his five-year term,” a top leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) was quoted as saying in the News. The report doesn’t identify who the leader was but quotes him as adding “these talks are being held at the highest level of both the political outfits”.

The back channel talks revolve around two key points. First, support of the JUI in presidential election; and two, appointment of care-taker set-ups both at the centre and the provinces before polls are held in 2007.

If the JUI closes ranks with the King’s party as the ruling PML is known, it would be a ‘free walk’ for the PML to establish a two-thirds majority (228) in the National Assembly, the country’s Parliament. Both parties have some 240 plus members and it is enough to get President Gen Musharraf re-elected from the present parliament and the provincial assemblies, which constitute the Electoral College.

Ruling party’s strong man Shujaat Hussain already met and held informal talks with Maulana Fazlur Rehman. The talks were encouraging, it is said, prompting his close aides say confidently, “the presidential election will be held before the new general elections”.

The establishment is bending backwards to sell to the nation that operation re-election is perfectly valid under the Constitution. Why this concern for a document that has not come in the way of rulers in whatever they wanted to do all these years is rather amusing. May be law ministers like Wasi Zafar have a brief to which they cannot say no even politely. So he goes before the media almost on daily basis quoting line and verse to say President General Pervez Musharraf can contest the next presidential election in uniform.

Look at the absurdity of his argument.

“Article 63 (d) of Pakistan Constitution expressly prohibits any government servant holding any other office of profit in the service of Pakistan but it is no longer valid. The 17th Amendment, (a Musharraf contribution) suspended this Article. Disqualification enjoined under Article 63 is only attracted to in the case of the members of parliament. These are not applicable in case of a President (with uniform). There is no other provision in the Constitution that bars a President in uniform from contesting the election, or the existing Parliament to elect the President for another term. Moreover, clause (6) of Article 41 gives blanket cover to the election of the President, as it provides that the validity of the election of the President of Pakistan shall not be called in question before any court or authority”.

The term of the four provincial assemblies (Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and NWFP) and the National Assembly ends in November 2007, roughly the same time as President Musharraf's current five-year term ends. The constitution allows a presidential election two months prior to the expiry of his term or within 90 days after the expiry of assemblies’ term. So, why should our man not get re-elected in September 2007 or much before and why should he wait for new assemblies to take office, Musharraf aides ask.

Benazir – Nawaz combine is not willing to buy this argument. President is morally bound to wait for the new assemblies before seeking a fresh five-year term, they contend as if morality had any relevance to the politics either they preached and practiced themselves or Musharraf is following now. Any how, questions of legality and morality are doctored in Pakistan to suit the ruler, as its tryst with democracy shows. Musharraf legitimised his rule through a referendum, which many observers said was rigged right from the word go. The election that preceded this ‘verdict’ in 2002 to usher in the present parliament and state assemblies were described as flawed by human rights groups and Commonwealth observers.

Obviously, President Musharraf is in a hurry to secure his own future and curtail the privileges of Parliament. He knows the limitations on the shelf life of a military dictator in Pakistan and therefore doesn’t want to take any risks. This is the reason why he is also toying with the idea of curtailing the powers of the army chief. How far the plan will succeed is a moot point.

What is important is the sense of insecurity that is prompting him to create two regional commands each headed by a full general and making the nine corps commanders (Lt Generals) report to them. Divide and rule was the dictum the colonial masters believed and followed. Present day Pak ruler is subscribing to this line through his actions. Because in essence, Pakistan will have three army chiefs and they can never be expected to pose a threat to the big man in the way he had staged a coup by co-opting the corps commanders. This plan begs a question: Does Musharraf want to remain a President for life?

As of now, he wants the world to believe he is a democrat to the core. “I am a committed supporter of democracy and have trust in it. I believe that the army should not rule the state. I have created a democratic system. It enjoys mass backing”, he said in a recent interview. Any comment?


Courtesy : Syndicate Features

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