Thaw between Musharraf, Nawaz camps

LONDON: The dramatic arrival of Shahbaz Sharif in London after two months, followed by the expected arrival of Brig (retd) Niaz here in the next couple of days, ahead of President Musharraf’s official trip to the UK, has triggered strong hopes that finally a ceasefire is on the cards between the Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif camps.

The timing of Shahbaz and Brig Niaz’s visits to the town, shortly before Musharraf’s arrival in a few days, is not being treated as a mere coincidence. Sources in the PML-N rule out any secret meeting between Musharraf and Shahbaz in London, but many think that Brig Niaz, the mutual friend of the two opposing sides, might help them exchange messages to further bridge the gap in the next couple of weeks. Significantly, according to these sources, Musharraf would be reaching London on Friday evening, the beginning of the weekend in London and might have nothing official to do here at least for two days till Monday. Many insiders believe that during these two “off days”, Musharraf will have a lot of time to discuss all issues of “reconciliation” with the Sharif brothers by sitting with his top aides like Brig Niaz and the rest. Shahbaz is expected to stay in London for a few days as he says he is here for a medical check-up. But, his meeting with Brig Niaz in Islamabad has led many to believe that something was cooking in the camps of both Musharraf and Nawaz. The very dramatic statement of Nawaz in Pakistan that a government of national consensus should be formed has also surprised many as it is argued that just a few days ago Nawaz was busy in putting pressure on the regime to hold elections in the country. But, after meeting with Brig Niaz, even Shahbaz Sharif emphasised the importance of a national government just before taking a flight to London on Wednesday. It has now become clear that the Sharif brothers were more interested in the formation of a national government in Islamabad, though Nawaz Sharif has always qualified it with the removal of Musharraf from the scene.

In the political and diplomatic circles, unlike an uncompromising Nawaz, Shahbaz has always been considered a more pragmatic politician, who believed in doing the politics of “ground realities” unlike his elder brother, who was not ready to move and shake hands with Musharraf despite many past efforts by different friendly countries and mutual friends. Nawaz also never allowed his younger brother to use his “pragmatic” skills to deal with Musharraf, and this uncompromising attitude, according to many, delayed the arrival of the Sharif family in Pakistan and their active participation in the elections. Sources said the Musharraf camp was simultaneously working on two strategies to deal with Nawaz to bring him in line. First, Nawaz was being put under pressure from the old Arab friends, who had rescued him when he was jailed in the Attock Fort. After return of Nawaz to Pakistan, these Arab sources are in a better position to convince him to show the required flexibility towards Musharraf.

On a parallel track, Musharraf is using Brig Niaz, for whom the Sharif brothers have a lot of respect and admiration because of his past favours to the family. It is believed that any delay in the elections, whether a national government is formed or not, will help the PML-N and other parties to absorb the PPP sympathy wave.

It is also significant that Nawaz Sharif is now talking about delaying the elections, under a new election commission, at least until his APDM partners, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Imran Khan and Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who have boycotted the polls, can make their way back into the process. Online adds:

Shahbaz on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of holding a meeting with Musharraf in Britain. Talking to journalists in London, the PML-N president stressed that no one was safe in Pakistan, adding that security provided to Nawaz Sharif was not satisfactory. In the prevailing circumstances, polls cannot be held in a free, fair and transparent manner, Shahbaz said. He said the PML-N wanted national reconciliation and national consensus in the country. He said that during his meeting with British officials he would assert pressure on them to play a role in ensuring that the upcoming polls were held in a free and fair manner.


http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/Jan08/17/02.htm