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Such
a development was the consummation of several months of political
agitation and legal contestation between the establishment and the
spontaneous movement for constitutionalism, the rule of law and
democracy, that had emerged in the wake of the March 9, 2007 virtual
dismissal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry by President
Musharraf. The democratic forces won the day and many of us began to
believe that Pakistan has finally made a decisive break with its
directionless politics.
It
is important to figure out who is responsible for the current
crisis. I don't think there should be any doubt that the PPP-PML-N
alliance was based on a principled commitment to restore all the
judges that had been deposed when Musharraf imposed the emergency on
Nov 3, 2007. Of course, Nawaz Sharif was crystal clear on this
matter while many from the PPP also came out categorically in favour
of the restitution of the deposed judges, but Zardari remained
circumspect and spoke in vague terms about it.
His
conduct in general since Ms Bhutto's tragic death has been most
intriguing. As soon as he took over the helm of affairs a whole
bunch of sycophants began to sing his praise as a great healer,
visionary and statesman.
We
will never know exactly what was agreed between Zardari and Nawaz
Sharif but the Murree Declaration did include an explicit commitment
to restore all the deposed judges back to their positions. Since
then rounds and rounds of negotiations have led nowhere on evolving
a mechanism to realise this commitment.
Zardari's
objection to restoring the judges is that when he was imprisoned
they never considered his prayers about his innocence and also did
not grant his request to attend the funeral of a nephew. Therefore,
he does not have any reason to put his faith in such judges. Now,
this is a perfectly valid standpoint if it is consist with his stand
on related issues.
How
come he has been so keen to seek rapprochement with the MQM and its
fugitive leader Altaf Husain? The judges may be guilty of not
looking upon his case with sympathy but anybody who knows Pakistan
even superficially would be aware of the fact that the MQM was
created by the ISI with a specific purpose to weaken the PPP. The
violence that ravaged Karachi and other places in Sindh during the
1990s is all too well known and does not need elaboration. And many
have accused that party of also being directly involved in the
violence of May 12, 2007.
It
is obvious that Zardari practices selective reconciliation and
adjustment in his political moves. There was absolutely no reason
ever to believe that he was not buried neck-deep in massive
corruption and irregularities. That President Musharraf let him get
off the hook by dropping all charges against him through
presidential fiat, all for the sake of stability and consolidation
of democracy, is an argument that can make sense only to the Bush
administration.
However,
to be very honest the deal had originally been brokered by the
United States between Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf. However, one can
really question if after her assassination such a deal is relevant
any more. Already before her death Ms Bhutto had identified three
men in Musharraf's close circle allegedly planning her murder. When
that actually transpired, the same view was expressed by some of her
party stalwarts. They rejected the government's story that Taliban
leader Baitullah Mahsud had ordered her assassination. They even
asked for a UN investigation of her assassination.
Till
such time that Zardari makes an unequivocal statement to the effect
that he no longer doubts the establishment's theory of the Taliban
being the culprits in her murder there can be no moral basis for
getting cosy with Musharraf. It is totally callous and immoral to be
bound by a deal that has become meaningless after Ms Bhutto's
assassination. To most of us it was very clear that during his long
detention in Pakistan Zardari had entered into some deal with the
establishment that would benefit him as long as he toed their line
when the occasion demanded.
It
is not possible that all the corruption charges against him were
false or inculpating evidence could not be found to prove him
guilty. Had the government really wanted to punish him they would
have invented evidence as they have done in other cases too. After
all, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's trial and subsequent execution was
carried out on very questionable grounds and evidence, which now
even one of the judges who took part in it, admits.
On
the other hand, one cannot help noticing that Nawaz Sharif has shown
greater political sagacity by deciding to withdraw from the
coalition, but not to bring it down. The PML-N will continue to
support it from the outside. In the longer run Sharif will stand to
gain from holding his ground. However, a future elected government
formed entirely by Sharif can be a disaster of another sort. He has
the guts and pugnacity to assume a defiant posture vis-à-vis the
military establishment, but in the past has also abused his
parliamentary majority to try to impose an undemocratic regime
founded on dogmas.
A
PPP-PML-N coalition government would have been the best guarantee
against extremism of one sort or another, but now that hope has been
dashed. It is another sad day in Pakistan's long history of sad
days. But in the most immediate period, the thing to worry about is
that the rumour that Zardari is planning to get himself elected to
the National Assembly through a bye-election with a view to becoming
prime minister no longer seems far-fetched.
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