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| 23 May 2004 | Sunday | 03 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 |
Politicians' mixed reaction over re-entry
LAHORE, May 22: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal have expressed divergent views about the restoration of Pakistan's membership of the Commonwealth. ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim insists that there is no democracy in Pakistan
and Commonwealth's decision to re-admit the country to its fold at a time when a serving general is calling the shots "is not justified".
However, MMA acting president Qazi Husain Ahmed welcomed the decision, expressing optimism that democratic rule would be restored when Gen Musharraf took off his uniform by the end of the current year.
Talking to Dawn on Saturday Amin Fahim said if the Commonwealth was to restore Pakistan's membership despite whatever was happening in the country, then there was no need for suspending the same after the military takeover in October 1999.
The ARD chairman had recently written a letter to the Commonwealth secretary-general urging him that the suspension should not be lifted in the prevailing circumstances.
Mr Fahim said now the matter would be taken up at the next meeting of the ARD, scheduled to be held in Islamabad on May 25.
The ARD chairman strongly defended his letter to the Commonwealth secretary-general and the demand made through it.
He said his desire for the restoration of genuine and full democracy manifested the depth of his love for the country.
He said the ARD was more keen in the revival of democracy, not the continued suspension of Pakistan's membership of the group of former British colonies.
Asked if the ARD would like to review its opinion of the democratic credentials of the present government when the European Union, the Commonwealth and all important world fora were according full recognition, Mr Fahim said the world organizations had their own yardsticks to take decisions.
"We can't call a dark night as a bright sunny day", he said of the present political system.
He said the ARD had serious reservations about the elections held in October 2002 and the unfair means by which a minority had been converted into the majority party.
QAZI HUSAIN: Welcoming the Commonwealth's decision, MMA leader Qazi Husain Ahmed said the country was fast returning to the democratic track.
He said President Pervez Musharraf would take off his military uniform by the end of the year, as ordained by the 17th constitutional amendment, after which powers would stand transferred to parliament.
He said Pakistan's membership of the Commonwealth had been suspended because of the grudge of certain countries rather than any principle.
The chief of the religious alliance recalled that on a number of occasions he had told the foreign countries that it was an internal problem of Pakistan as to which political system it should have. He said although the MMA was opposed to a military system, it was equally averse to foreign pressures on the subject.
He alleged that Western countries had double standards on various issues which they kept changing according to their vested interests.
RAJA ZAFAR: PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq said his party did not want to cause any harm to the country though it had solicited support from some world organizations for full restoration of the 1973 Constitution, complete democracy, observance of human rights and freedom of the press.
He said his party also expressed appreciation and gratitude both formally and informally to various international organizations for bringing pressure on the military regime to restore constitutional rule.
Raja Zafarul Haq was of the view that the world organizations had limited success in the achievement of these objectives as the transparency of the electoral process was still not there.
"We did not want the Commonwealth close its doors on Pakistan. But we still want the Commonwealth and the European Union play their role for full restoration of the 1973 Constitution".
He pointed out that the office of the president was with a serving general, which was unheard of in democratic societies.
He made it clear that the ARD would not change its opinion that the country lacked a democratic system, no matter how the international organizations viewed the prevailing system.
International organizations, the PML-N chief said, had their own agenda and interests and they took decisions to achieve their own objectives.
Complaining that these organizations kept changing their yardsticks, Raja Zafarul Haq said at times they cooperated with various governments ignoring their democratic credentials and then they treated them like outcasts on the pretext that their record of human rights was not good.
He said the PML-N would continue its peaceful struggle for achieving its national objectives.
PPP SPOKESMAN: Commenting on the readmission of Pakistan to the Commonwealth, People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar said the decision was not surprising as western countries, taking Gen Musharraf's promise to fight against terror on its face value, wanted to reward his government.
"This is what the Commonwealth has also alluded to while announcing the decision," he added.
Mr Babar said the PPP had written to the Commonwealth against admitting Pakistan as its duty towards democracy in the country. "We wanted to place on record that it is wrong to reward dictatorships. We did it not only for the sake of democracy in Pakistan but also to stop dictators waiting in the wings in other countries from striking," the senator said.
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