Prof Ghafoor gave a final ultimatum to the government on June 26 which proved to be a turning point in the talks. It showed how hard-line elements now dominated the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). The next day, as suspected, Hafeez Pirzada refused to meet Prof Ghafoor and receive the amended, but said to be the final, draft by the PNA. Rejecting it he said that he would not accept the draft under an ultimatum and until the PNA withdraws its threat, no negotiations would be held. The next day, the PNA held a meeting of its council at Islamabad and after deliberations on the new development, authorised Mufti Mahmood to sign the amended accord if it was accepted by Bhutto. Otherwise, another meeting would be held to reconsider it.
Some of the PNA leaders expressed shock over the situation and said that if no contact was established between Mufti Mahmood and Bhutto, a new strategy should be evolved; some even suggested resuming the stalled agitation. Soon Bhutto contacted Mufti and asked him to send Prof Ghafoor to Pirzada with the amended draft. This created a hope for the success of the talks. Pirzada received the draft on the morning of June 29.
On June 28, Bhutto addressed a press conference at the National Assembly chambers and spoke about the developments that had taken place during the past two months. He said that the government was prepared to hold fresh elections, and that discussions on finalising the date for the elections and creating a mechanism to hold fair polls were being held.
He made it clear that this was as far as he was willing to go. “The PNA wants more powers for the Implementation Council than what the government itself wields,” he said, followed by a word of warning: “If there is to be an accord it has to be according to the Constitution. If the stalemate continues, things will go beyond the control of all politicians. I will not accept the demand for including the PNA in the government. I don’t care for the power. I am always ready to go back to Larkana. I don’t care whether angels tread here or some Rasputin takes over. And the capitalists should hear that I’ll pull out their skins so badly that their generations will remember it.”
This effectively soured the atmosphere. The Saudi ambassador Riazul Khatib appeared very perturbed as he had worked hard to bring the two parties to the negotiating table. He immediately met Bhutto and advised him to stay composed. This reopened the gate to talks as Bhutto telephoned Mufti and offered to meet him the next day. As both prepared for the talks, Asghar Khan sent a rejoinder to Bhutto’s assertions. Addressing a public meeting at Taxila he said: “Now we demand the resignation of the prime minister.”
Responding to Bhutto’s invitation Mufti Mahmood called on him on the evening of June 29 without any aides. As a result of this meeting, the subcommittee met on June 30 where each member presented his proposals to be discussed by the negotiating teams on July 1. It was decided that this was the teams’ last session and after that only a formal meeting for signing the accord would be held.
On July 1 the PNA negotiating team arrived at the Prime Minister House. In the room where the meeting was to be held they saw a huge screen in one corner. On Mufti’s inquiry Bhutto replied that army commanders were to present their viewpoint. Nawabzada Nasrullah protested, saying the army should not be called in political negotiations and that if they had any views they should come through him (Bhutto). After an exchange of arguments the PNA team agreed to attend the briefing but said that they would not ask any questions. After that Chief of Army Staff Gen Zia, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mohammad Sharif, Chief of Naval Force Admiral Mohammad Sharif and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zulfikar Ali Khan appeared from the adjacent room. Gen Zia, with a bulky file of about 80 pages and some slides, began a briefing which lasted for two hours.
During the briefing, when the COAS began to talk about the political situation Nawabzada asked him to stop talking about politics by saying: “We are not here to listen to a political sermon from you. We know politics very well and if you have finished with explaining the military’s point of view then it is enough.” This created an awkward situation which was reflected in the General’s body language. Bhutto interfered and with his tactful manoeuvring brought the situation to normality. The army chief’s point of view was that while taking any decision about Balochistan the PNA should bear the national interest in mind. He also opposed putting the armed forces under the proposed caretaker council.
Next week: The talks enter a final phase
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