June 15, 1977 brought a much-needed feeling of optimism with it. The talks ended with both parties reaching an accord in principle, and a subcommittee was assigned the task of sorting out the practical details. The first meeting of this subcommittee was held the very next day at the office of Hafeez Pirzada.

The issues that needed finalisation now included evolving a code of conduct for the press, release of newsmen, a similar code for holding elections, amendments in the Army Act, dissolution of the federal and provincial governments, formation of the caretaker governments and end to emergency, besides a few other issues. As the talks proceeded many issues had to be deferred as, according to Pirzada, decisions could not be taken without Bhutto’s approval, who was about to leave the country for a few days.

While Pirzada and Prof Ghafoor were trying to sort out the details of the accord, Bhutto told the National Assembly about the talks and the decision of holding new elections. He termed the re-election a painful event which he had accepted in the larger interest of the country.

Bhutto had also decided to visit five friendly countries — Saudi Arabia, Libya, UAE, Kuwait and Iran — perhaps to discuss the developments in Pakistan, and to thank them for supporting the talks process. However, this caused some anxiety in the political atmosphere at home, especially among the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) ranks. Bhutto left on June 17, causing a serious dent in the process that had painfully reached a consensus to avoid an otherwise dreadful end.

In Saudi Arabia, Bhutto thanked the Saudi monarch, King Khalid, for his interest in resolving the political crisis. He said that he was there neither to blame the PNA leadership nor to avoid his responsibilities; he also said that both the Soviet Union and the United States interfered in Pakistan’s internal affairs. The Saudi visit was quite re-assuring for him, and he went on to visit Libya, Iran, the UAE and Kuwait and met their leaders, who wished him well and assured their support.

Back home, trouble was brewing. At the subcommittee’s meeting on June 17, Pirzada refused to finalise the issue of Constitutional guarantees covering the accord, and the constitution of the Implementation Council, saying that he could not do it without Bhutto’s approval. Likewise, he did not confirm the release of some protesters who, he claimed, were involved in heinous crimes. At this juncture Professor Ghafoor Ahmad decided not to hold further talks till Bhutto’s return; however, he decided to continue with other issues to keep the process alive.

For this purpose, he presented a draft of amendments to the elections rules prepared by the PNA’s legal experts and approved by the PNA council. The eight-point draft dealt with the electoral procedure, conduct of election staff and other related issues.

This draft reminded Pirzada of the 13 points which had been approved by the negotiating teams before Bhutto’s departure. These included, among other things, the release of all persons who were arrested during the elections, and the provision of equal time to parties on radio and television.

Before Bhutto’s return another round of talks were held by the subcommittee on June 20 which also ended inconclusively. The same day the PNA held its meeting and decided that the uncertainty must be brought to an end. To this end they decided to resume talks as soon as Bhutto returned and reach a decision as quickly as possible. Professor Ghafoor also complained about Hafeez Pirzada’s statements in Lahore and other places, claiming that they had been detrimental to the negotiating process.

In the subcommittee’s meeting, the PNA representative raised the question of constitutional guarantees for the accord; as according to the legal team of the PNA, the accord had no legal cover without such guarantees.

It was even said that without proper guarantees Bhutto could go back on his words. The PNA wanted a clause to be added to the Constitution to legalise the accord. To this Pirzada stuck to his stance that he needed Bhutto’s approval. This infuriated Prof Ghafoor who walked out of the meeting saying: “No further talks are possible with you. We’ll only talk to Mr Bhutto whenever he returns.”

Meanwhile, the issue regarding holding elections in Azad Kashmir, as raised in the accord, also gained momentum. When the discussion to the effect between Kausar Niazi and Sardar Abdul Qayyum was in the final stages, Pirzada’s approach became a sore point. At a press conference Sardar Qayyum claimed that Pirzada was sabotaging the talks.

As the mood darkened, Bhutto was in Kuwait readying to board a flight back to Pakistan, where a deadlock awaited him.

Next week: ‘Take it or leave it’.

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