Tough times for Musharraf

Azam Khalil
President General Pervez Musharraf is not used to a hostile political environment; his years in office since he booted out Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup have been pretty easy. In fact he was catapulted on the international stage when he chose to support the Americans in what they call "their war on terror," this has now degenerated into a designed campaign against Muslim countries and the religion of Islam.

Politics was never a cup of tea for the Pakistani general who believed and pursued simple solutions for complex problems. He was innocent up against trained crooks. After the passage of so many years he has not learned much. The initiative touted for the settlement of the Kashmir problem with India failed to make any headway because there was never any support from the major powers that matter in today's world. Then came the proposition to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians. This proposal was snubbed by the Israeli leadership and found no tangible support among the Arab world.

Musharraf also wanted to play an active role within the OIC and came up with some "good" proposals that would strengthen the voice of the Muslim countries. Again all his efforts resulted in frustration because many Muslim countries are ruled by persons who are lackeys of the US administration and were not prepared to annoy their American masters. The Pakistani foreign office that was to assist Musharraf in these initiatives is known by the nick name of the foreigners' office.

While playing in the international arena Musharraf repeated the mistake that was committed by late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and that was to allow his domestic support to erode. This has now put the president in a tight corner and with each passing day the odds are stacking up against him so that his difficulties will increase and in the end it will become almost impossible for him to come out or even survive politically. Musharraf has no one to blame except himself for the present crisis situation that has enveloped the country and his future.

The president made several political mistakes by compromising on principles and closing his doors on mainstream political elements. The result was a single vote government with ministers who were better in jail than in cabinet denting the credibility of the president. Now again by delaying an understanding with the PPP to the last minute, the president has squandered the chance to gain some of the lost ground in the slippery field of politics.

The method now chosen has once again raised more questions than the answers available for the "understanding" struck with Benazir Bhutto. The direction taken by the president was known to many when the president asked Hasan Waseem Afzal to make Benazir "comfortable" just before some of the courts hearing the cases of the ex-prime minister were about to adjudicate on them. The crunch came when the forty odd paged new reference that was to be filed before an accountability court in Islamabad was stopped on the intervention of the president.

In case Musharraf had reached an understanding with Benazir and to a certain extent Nawaz Sharif somewhere in 2006 or early 2007, he could have won some concessions that cannot be obtained by the president at this stage. Another important issue was the lack of teamwork by the PML-Q that was following a classic example, "Every man for himself and God for us all."

The president was right to be annoyed with the entire PML-Q leadership when he admonished them for leaving him in the lurch whenever a testing political situation arose in the country. Here too the policy of dithering and not cutting political deadwood cost the president dearly.

The choice he made in appointing Shaukat Aziz as prime minister was incorrect because the entire political leadership considers him to be an outsider with no stakes. The policy of the prime minister to try to pin down Punjab's chief minister as a competitor and not carry him along as an important team member also took a heavy political toll that has hurt the president as the disintegration of the king's party suggests.

The preparation and handling of the reference against the chief justice was yet another example of the ineptitude and criminal misconduct on the part of some government functionaries, but again no heads rolled landing all the muck on the president.

The most serious drawback for the president continues to be his team of media managers who can rightly be called media mis-managers. No serious effort was made by any of them to spin the damage back into control. Much could have been done on the issue of suicide bombings by releasing evidence as to what forces were behind the campaign to destabilise and malign Pakistan. Perhaps papers given by the government to General Abizaid of the United States should be released to prove the level of foreign involvement and the conduct of the American government.

Musharraf has come under attack by the Americans at a very bad time; the American president has signed a legal proposal that is outright hostility towards this country. Senior US administration officials along with presidential hopefuls were openly issuing threats of military intervention in Pakistan. One of them has demanded the bombing of Islam's holy places; some may call this sheer madness. However, this clearly shows the mindset of American politicians both Republican and Democratic.

So what should be the response of the Pakistani government? The least Musharraf can do is to take the entire nation into confidence and in case the politicians refuse to sit with him, he should come on TV and address the people of this country. He must tell them the truth.

For the present any political understanding with the PPP or PML (N) would be in national interest because any weakening of the army as an institution is detrimental for the country. In case the present trend is not arrested, it will not only make the enemies of the country strong but could subsequently damage the integrity of the country. The country requires reconciliation and not confrontation.

Another area that needs to proceed with utmost care is that of the judiciary, the judges one hopes will not allow any adventurism on the part of the politicians who may try to misuse the glory and independence of the judiciary for short-sighted benefits. The lawyers and the judges have won a great and deserving victory for their institution, they must now consolidate what they have won and not get carried away otherwise a new and unsavoury situation might emerge that will be in nobody's interest.

Musharraf must also keep an eye on history and do everything possible to create and leave a legacy for which he can be proud afterwards. He must remember that one day will come when the president leaves the scene, this is a critical balance and all decisions that are made by him today will have great repercussions for the entire country. Given that the president has no sound political advice coming to him, his decisions are going to be tough. The next few weeks will show whether he rises to meet these challenges.



The writer is a Lahore based columnist. Email: zarnatta@hotmail.com


http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=67598

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