17 September 2004	Friday	01 Shaban 1425

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LAHORE, Sept 16: Former governor Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar proposed on Thursday that President Pervez Musharraf should launch a process of national reconciliation by allowing Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to return home with honour and dignity.

At a news conference here, he said the general should do away with his military uniform, hold fresh elections and hand over power to the elected representatives. The president, he said, should stay at the helm but give the executive power to civilian leadership.

In response to a question, he said in fresh elections a majority of seats would be won by parties led by the two former prime ministers. But, he assessed, at present the two leaders were unable to launch a potent movement against the present setup.

Khar, a PPP leader hated by many others in the party, said the MMA's planned movement could plunge the country into anarchy. The religious alliance would not be able to win the election, he believed.

The former governor alleged that the armed forces had been politicized and the civil society de-politicized over the past few years. As a result, he said, leaders dominating the scene at present did not have the kind of acumen their predecessors had a few decades ago.

The image of the armed forces, he said, was also seriously dented. In his opinion, Gen Musharraf had grown in popularity in the United States and European countries but his graph at home had nosedived. In such a situation, he said, political stability could not be expected.

Khar said the situation had deteriorated over the years to such an extent that people had started wondering if the country was being led to a presidential or a unitary form of government.

In response to a question, the PPP leader said Gen Musharraf was so vulnerable that he could not lead the life of a common man. He said the general derived his power from the army and it was probably for this reason that he did not want to part with his uniform.

Khar said the country needed a stable system which would be possible only with an understanding between the armed forces and politicians. The two sides should make a deal for co-existence for at least a decade, he suggested. He said the federation faced a serious threat and if the situation was allowed to slip out of hands, bloodshed would become inevitable.