External factors may have played role in PML(N) decision
By Asha’ar Rehman
THE inevitable has happened. The All Parties Democratic Alliance has decided to ‘allow’ its components to take part in the polls.
The APDM decision, which may bring the curtain down on an alliance that was created in London in July this year, appears to give the election exercise the stimulus it so badly needs. The electioneering in the country was on hold as everyone waited for the alliance leaders to choose between a boycott and participation in the polls.
Mr Sharif had been saying that there was pressure on him from workers of his party to fight the elections, along with pressure for a boycott from allies such as Jamaat-i-Islami — or at least its head — and Tehreek-i-Insaaf chief Imran Khan. However, the feeling in political circles is that apart from these internal influences, external factors might also have played a part in Mr Sharif finally choosing to remain in the electoral race.
The return of Mr Sharif and some members of his family from a seven-year exile on Nov 25 was thought to have been the result of the pressure from Saudi Arabia. Just two days before the crucial APDM meeting, the Saudi ambassador to Islamabad called on the deposed chief justice of Pakistan, Mr Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, and invited him to perform Haj. It was a clear sign that while Riyadh may have played a part in the return of the Sharifs, it was ready to host anyone who might be creating trouble for President Musharraf.
Ostensibly, Ms Benazir Bhutto and her Pakistan People’s Party had also kept open the boycott option by entering into negotiations with APDM to devise a charter of demands that was to be put before the government as a precondition for taking part in the polls. The APDM-PPP talks hit a snag over differences on the restoration of judges. While the APDM under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif pressed for restoration of anti-PCO judges, the PPP couched it in a more ambiguous, even though theoretically a just, objective of independence of judiciary.
There was speculation that Ms Bhutto was using her contacts with the APDM to raise the stakes and extract more concessions from President Musharraf. The APDM decision on Sunday absolved her of the responsibility of having to ‘ditch’ Mr Sharif with whom she had once agreed on a ‘charter for democracy’. The charter brought the two major political forces in the country together for some time but in recent weeks, the PPP leadership had been accused of violating the document’s letter and spirit by opting to, according to its critics, cut a deal with the Musharraf government.
At the same time, the fact that many, if not all, major political parties in the APDM now look set to contest the polls further isolates the lawyers who have been agitating for restoration of judiciary as it existed on Nov 3.
Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, an important member of Ms Bhutto’s party and a detained leader of the lawyers’ movement, in his capacity as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, has in recent days tried to find a way out of the deadlock by suggesting a last resort step that would allow political parties to take part in the polls without antagonising the lawyers. He has suggested that the candidates for polls be bound by an oath, committing them to restoration of judges after they were returned to the assemblies.
The proposal has generated much debate and has so far failed to find favour with hardline lawyer activists.
Lawyers in Lahore have been categorically saying that it is a matter of principles for them and they would at no cost have anything to do with the elections.
“We called on Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed the other day and he told us that his mind was made up (for a boycott). He said we should try and convince Benazir Bhutto to stay away from the election,” a lawyer told Dawn at the weekend.
As it turned out, Qazi Hussain needed to persuade members of the alliance he was a part of. The lawyers are now on their own in their struggle.
