LONDON, Sept 17: Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon reiterated here on Monday the organisation’s position on the issue of holding two offices by Gen Musharraf and advised the latter to drop one before the next presidential election.
Mr McKinnon was talking to PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif who had called on him to brief him on the matters leading to Nawaz Sharif’s deportation in defiance of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Mr McKinnon, who is reaching Pakistan on Wednesday, assured Mr Shahbaz that he would take up the matter with the president, the prime minister and the foreign minister when he would meet them in Islamabad.
Mr McKinnon is also likely to enquire from the three the govt plans for free, fair and transparent elections and ask how a level playing field is being ensured so as to allow all stake holders to participate.
Mr Shahbaz is said to have expressed his fears that Gen Musharraf wanted to keep the Sharif brothers and other PML-N leaders out of the coming general elections. “He will rig the election,” Mr Shahbaz insisted.
He also referred to the recent notification of the Election Commission and said in violation of the Constitution, the CEC had changed the rules to allow Gen Musharraf to contest election in uniform and from the current assemblies.
“Musharraf has not only failed to appoint an independent chief election commissioner but he is also not likely to set up an interim government of national consensus.”
This meeting assumes great significance in view of the secretary-general’s impending visit to Pakistan on Sept 19 and the forthcoming meeting of the Commonwealth’s ministerial action group in New York on Sept 29, where Pakistan’s political developments will be reviewed.
After the meeting, as he was coming out of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Mr Shahbaz brief media personnel about his discussions with Mr McKinnon.
Mr Shahbaz said that he had infomred the secretary-general that he, his party, and allies had grave concerns regarding the kind of elections that would be held in Pakistan.
He reminded him that “free and fair elections”, as was being repeatedly emphasised by the Commonwealth and the international community, would be the minimum requirement for empowering Pakistan to address the kind of political storm that was brewing inside the country and its neighbourhood in the form of war against terrorism. However the Musharraf government’s blatant disregard for the rule of law, writ of the courts, norms of internationally accepted civilised behaviour had already raised serious doubts about the kind of elections that are being planned for Pakistan.
And now, the sudden unilateral amendment in election rules, made the whole exercise a farce.
Mr Shahbaz pointed out that Pakistan was a key western ally in the war against terrorism; such a protracted long struggle could not succeed without bringing the Pakistani people, political parties, civil society, legal community and judiciary on board. Yet unfortunately the current developments, and the muted response from many western allies, were giving rise to a perception that they were supporting one political entity in Pakistan over others.