The demands laid out in the news report below give you a fair indication of the ruling class’s mentality. Ms Bhutto is very clever to emphasize on the uniform issue and the President’s election from new assemblies. There are however, certain demands which are highlighted in bold that are not being given much importance by the media which is focusing solely on Gen. Musharraf. We must not forget that here is a ‘leader’ who wants:
‘indemnity to governments which ruled between 1988 and 2000…removal of the law which bars people held guilty in absentia from contesting elections, lifting of the ban on prime ministers to contest for the third time…’
All I can sense here is a selfish desire to rule without the rule of law of applying to her. It seems like the Constitution is in no way an impediment to her. If she can contest the elections for a third time then why can’t Gen. Musharraf run for elections in uniform from the present assemblies? After all, both situations require a couple of constitutional amendments?
I don’t know why but it seems like the media is playing its part in playing down all this.
From DAWN.com
LONDON, Aug 28: Pakistan People’s Party chairperson Benazir Bhutto is understood to have made it clear to the high-powered government emissaries who met her here on Monday that her party would not enter into any deal in which there was a place for a president in military uniform.
Sources said Ms Bhutto told the government side that her party’s parliamentarians would resign if Gen Musharraf attempted to get himself elected president in uniform from the present assemblies.
The PPP would, however, not resign from the assemblies if Gen Musharraf were to contest the election from the present assemblies after leaving his military post but would boycott the proceedings.
She is said to have offered to vote for the president if he were to offer himself for election without uniform by the new assemblies after the next general elections.
It is understood that the PPP chairperson has offered a package of counter-proposals to Gen Musharraf’s emissaries and given the government until Thursday to make public the points of the package which are acceptable to it.
The package is understood to seek a number of simultaneous moves from the government, including doffing of military uniform by the president, amendment to lift the bar on a civilian Musharraf contesting elections, indemnity to governments which ruled between 1988 and 2000, restoration of the Constitution to its position of Oct 11, 1999, removal of the law which bars people held guilty in absentia from contesting elections, lifting of the ban on prime ministers to contest for the third time, withdrawal of presidential powers to dissolve the assemblies and restoration of powers to the prime minister to appoint governors.
She has proposed that before the general elections a government of national consensus should be formed at the centre and in the provinces with one-third representation of the PPP and the rest for other parties. She is also said to have demanded suspension of the district and tehsil nazims during the election period.
Meanwhile, PPP information secretary Sherry Rehman has issued a press release in which the party appears to be attempting to reassure the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) that it will not negotiate with anyone to oust another elected government, as committed in the Charter of Democracy, “and any negotiations it is engaged in are only to obtain conditions for a return to civilian parliamentary democracy”.
It said the PPP leadership was not seeking any arrangement whereby it would vote for a military dictator.
By M. Ziauddin
You have got it right, blogger.
Wily politicians, left and right — those elitists! The reason why democracy has never really taken root in Pakistan. If the very basis of going to polls is based on such shallow premise, you can visualise Pakistan, two, three years down the line.
It will be the same story. Corpulent, scheming politicians, drunk with power, crawling to the MIGHTY America, status quo with India on Kashmir, trouble with the high-headed tribals, Shiite’s and Sunni’s still slogging it out and when the military can take it no more, there will be another coup. Mohtarma will fly to one of her European chalets, make-up boxes in hand.
I wish none of it happens but I worry, it may.
Sameer