•Shahbaz, Nisar meet army chief •Sharif consults political leaders •PM Office begins work on SC commission

ISLAMABAD: The temperatures and the political weather kept most of Islamabad indoors for most of Wednesday.

But it was only after darkness fell that the feverish activities that had kept the ruling party occupied behind closed doors were revealed, making it clear that the government was following sane advice and had not just rolled over in the face of the march, but also continued to take steps to establish a judicial commission to investigate the alleged malpractices in the general elections of 2013.

The prime minister may have been holed up on Constitution Avenue as his administration was lugging containers around, but he was consulting his advisers and ministers.

In addition, he was probably also in touch with his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, who were carrying out an important mission for him.

As the chief minister and the interior minister were holding an all-important meeting in Rawalpindi, the federal government announced that it had sent a request to the Supreme Court to form a commission to investigate the 2013 elections, in line with the elder Sharif’s offer in his televised address the night before.

SC commission

Law Secretary Barrister Zafarullah Khan, in a formal correspondence addressed to Supreme Court Registrar Syed Tahir Shahbaz, said the government had decided to constitute a commission of inquiry consisting of three judges of the Supreme Court.

“Whether the allegations levelled by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman — that the general elections of 2013 were manipulated or influenced by anyone for the benefit of a political party or individuals, have any basis in fact or law, and if so, to fix responsibility thereof,” the law secretary said, explaining the committee’s terms of reference.

He then added that suitable nominations might be sent to the Ministry of Law, identifying the three judges, one of whom is to be the commission’s president.

The Prime Minister’s Office released both the summary prepared by the law ministry for the prime minister and the letter written to the Supreme Court registrar.

In the two documents, dated August 13, the allegations of electoral rigging levelled by the PTI are referred to.

Two days earlier, on Aug 11, PTI Chairman Imran Khan had alleged that ex-chief justice Iftikhar Moham­mad Chaudhry and caretaker Punjab chief minister Najam Sethi had, in connivance with Election Commission officials, helped rig the elections and ensure a victory for the PML-N.

Though the PTI had rejected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s offer and others too had criticised the idea of involving the judiciary in political issues, the government is clearly set in its reconciliatory gesture.

Perhaps this letter was made public while the Sharif junior and Chaudhry Nisar were still in their meeting.

Meeting at Army House

The chief minister is said to have arrived from Lahore on his special aircraft at about 3.45pm. He was received at the airport by the interior minister, after which the two headed for Army House. The two remained there for nearly two hours before leaving for Islamabad at nearly 6pm, where they met the prime minister.

Though Chaudhry Nisar, in his media interaction later, tried to downplay the meeting as a routine affair and hence “not big news”, the rendezvous set tongues wagging about a possible “settlement” between the PML-N government and the military ahead of the PTI long march.

The meeting at Army House, according to a source, took place at the request of Chaudhry Nisar and Shahbaz Sharif.

After meeting the prime minister, the chief minister is said to have left for Lahore, while the interior minister addressed a press conference at Punjab House.

However, before he spoke to the media, the decisions the government seemed to have made in the day started becoming public.

Consultations

After the news of the letter that was sent to the Supreme Court, it was revealed that Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) emir Sirajul Haq had been called by Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and passed a message from the prime minister.

The JI confirmed the telephone call and said that the prime minister sent the message that the government was going to allow the long march and in exchange now Mr Haq had to live up to his side of the bargain by ensuring that the protesters would remain peaceful.

Though this was not immediately confirmed by the government, Dawn learnt later that the prime minister spent most of the day consulting his own as well as other party leaders – he told them that the government had decided to allow the PTI to hold its march provided that the protesters remained peaceful.

The information minister was given the responsibility of getting in touch with other political party leaders and passing on the message.

A government official told Dawn that by early evening, the government had made up its mind but it deliberately delayed the announcement because it was waiting for the Lahore High Court’s judgment on the long march.

The LHC was hearing a petition on the march and announced its decision around eight at night.

A source privy to the government’s plan, however, told Dawn that the government was deliberately keeping its plans for the PTI march vague, so as to throw off party workers and confuse them.

Court order

In his press conference, the interior minister made it clear that while there were differences between the government and the military over the trial of retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, it was inappropriate to drag the army into the prevailing political quagmire.

Talking about the LHC order regarding the ‘Azadi march’, he said the government would implement the order, but then seemingly backtracked and asked the PTI to properly request permission for the march from the district administration. He said the district administration would examine the objectives of the political gathering and see whether they fell within the ambit of the Constitution.

The interior minister was apologetic, asking the people of Islamabad and Lahore to excuse the inconvenience they had faced over the past few days, but that it was all for a good reason.

“I have received 15 security alerts in the last half hour from security agencies regarding the march,” he disclosed.

A government official claimed that multiple teams of law-enforcement agencies will strictly monitor the march and arrest anyone who creates any trouble.

“A contingency plan will remain in place to stop the rally at any point on the GT Road if its leaders and participants don’t behave,” the source said. He claimed that it was being considered that the protesters would be asked to head to Jinnah Stadium in the sports complex, provided the PTI agreed.

PTI’s information secretary Dr Shireen Mazari wasn’t available to comment on the government proposal.

Another official of the PTI, however, told Dawn that the rally’s first stopover in Islamabad will be Zero Point. “We have a moveable stage; therefore, a last minute change of plan will not be an issue.”

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2014