The CEC which had no say, but Sanam Bhutto may have

ISLAMABAD: Senior PPP leaders have started to worry about the future of the party as the six-hour long meeting of their CEC last Saturday, a landmark event in many ways, has left them with the gnawing feeling that the party is fighting a losing political battle with the top leadership badly disfigured, tainted and compromised.

A session with PPP leaders from Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad revealed that the outcome of the meeting was more depressing for them as there was hardly any vision or strategy to save the party other than how to save Asif Ali Zardari from the embarrassing situation he has landed in because of his own blunders and wrong doings after the Feb 08 elections.

Although the co-chairman was behaving like a changed person as compared to his attitude and display of arrogance in the previous CEC meetings, what he wanted from the meeting was pre-determined and the proceedings were manipulated to achieve that goal.

His entire focus was to avoid people who would raise questions about his leadership and to allow cronies to dictate the agenda. But some party heavyweights were impossible to avoid and so floor was given to Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Senator Safdar Abbasi, Raza Rabbani but was denied to Nawab Yusuf Talpur. Makhdoom Amin Faheem conveniently had some trouble with his eyes and stayed away from the meeting.

Details of the marathon session emerging slowly indicate that a continuous attempt was made by managers of the meeting to bulldoze the proceedings, but was foiled by party seniors several times.

Zardari, however, succeeded in pushing things and Secretary General Jehangir Badr was asked to brief the media even before the meeting was formally closed. Zardari also quickly obtained a clean chit and laudatory resolutions from uninterested CEC members. At least three senior leaders did not vote for the resolutions.

No serious discussion was held on critical issues to evolve a party strategy as the line had already been decided by the co-chairman. Important points raised by Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, Senator Safdar Abbasi, Sherry Rehman and surprisingly Raza Rabbani were ignored in the final outcome.

The announced decision was not to resign or take any moral high ground, as these three leaders had suggested. It was informally decided to launch a campaign against the SC judgment, though officially it was never mentioned. It was also decided to attack the sections of the media, which were critical of the PPP. Most important was the fact that the CEC was used as a debating club but decisions were being taken by a kitchen cabinet of Mr Zardari and in meetings in small groups going on while the CEC was in session.

How Nawab Yusuf Talpur was cleverly not allowed to speak was interesting. When he registered his protest he was told that the CEC meeting would continue on Monday and he would get his say, but later it was announced that no Monday meeting would be held.

A determined bid was made by Zardari loyalists to stir up the Sindh card. CEC members were surprised when an old guard like Khursheed Shah took a hawkish nationalist line and in emotional tones mentioned the sacrifices by Sindhi leaders saying no more heads would be offered. Experienced PPP leaders could understand in seconds where the line was coming from as Khursheed Shah wants to remain in the cabinet after the expected reshuffle.

Some also remembered that it was the same Khursheed Shah who hardly did anything noticeable when two Sindhi prime ministers, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto were murdered, one judicially the other physically. So they were wondering what he may do now to protest if Zardari was forced through the judicial or political process to resign.

The use of the Sindh card became evident when as soon as Shah finished his high pitched harangue, an attempt was made to let more hardline Sindhi speakers further rub the theme and Zulfikar Mirza was given the floor. But a senior leader protested against the move objecting strongly to the language being used by Shah and the tone which was being set.

It was at this point that Mr Zardari intervened with his remarks that he was the author of ‘Pakistan Khappay’ and he would not become a Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman. Interestingly it was his own friend in Sindh, Pir Mazhar who had first compared the present situation to that in Bangladesh before independence.

Then the floor was given to Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan who took more than 30 minutes. He was serious and balanced and asked the party not to go for a confrontation with the judiciary. But he was just heard and immediately forgotten as loyalists were asked to again drum up the theme of conspiracies and fighting the challenges in a do-or-die battle. Mr Zardari even mentioned he would quit the presidency.

No one interestingly raised the issue of Swiss cases or not one person in the CEC had the courage to ask the co-chairman whether it was right that he had a $60 million account in a Swiss bank and if so how would he justify the money.

It was the privilege of Interior Minister Rehman Malik who made the speech about the judiciary although all hawks had their say one after the other praising Mr Zardari and blaming all others for his present ills.

Sherry Rehman, who had been in the bad books, kept her comments very balanced as she did not want to annoy the high ups, more so because she is again hoping to get back into the Gilani cabinet. But she made some sane points.

The prime minister did not want to speak but he was pushed by leaders to brief the CEC on what was going on. He took most of his time on irrelevant issues and ended his comments but it was Zardari who told him to get up again and talk about the current situation. The president wanted a clear loyalty declaration from his PM. He did that in a vague and ambiguous way, as if to save his job even if it was done at the cost of his co-chairman. “It was typical Multani speak,” a CEC member later commented.

Benazir loyalists were almost grieving at the decision that her second death anniversary will not be observed at Garhi Khuda Buksh and Mr Zardari will not go there on Dec 27. The party has been told to observe the day at district level but those who love BB will go to her grave and pray.

Senior leaders who analysed the CEC meeting later were deeply worried that the strategy adopted by the PPP would harm the party more than it would help. They think Mr Zardari is too badly damaged and his refusal to improve his image would ultimately take him down. They do not think the Sindh card will work and they don’t know who will lead the PPP if Mr Zardari is forced out by the judicial or political challenges he faces.

One consensus among these top PPP leaders was that one person could still save the sinking ship but that person was not interested and too scared to come forward at this time. She is the recluse, Sanam Bhutto, now in London.

Faces of these CEC members glowed when one of them said she could be persuaded to come back and lead the party, even symbolically, if the threat she feared was removed. She fears Mr Zardari and if he was no longer in power she could be persuaded to again make a Bhutto available for the PPP. A high-powered steering committee could then run the party.

Sanam Bhutto could also take Bilawal with her and this combination could work. But all agreed that it was almost an impossible thought at this stage, yet it was something to think about.