KARACHI, Sept 12: With less than a month left for exercising the right of franchise, major political parties and groups have stepped up consultations, amid lacklustre election campaign to frustrate the regime’s thrust for the validation of its constitutional package by the future parliament, sources said.
While the parties are focusing on seat adjustments in different areas, their major concern is also to build up public pressure on the regime to concede parliament’s sovereignty, as the regime was not allowing them to mobilize public opinion in favour of their agenda.
They believe that restrictions on rallies and highly controlled corner and pubic meetings is part of the regime’s game of keeping the opposition in disarray.
They believe that building up pressure before elections would not only help in mobilising support for their agenda, but they are of the view that by doing so, they might compel the regime to concede more rights to the people.
A meeting between Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani, chief of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), and the People’s Party Parliamentarians’ Makhdoom Amin Fahim on Thursday was part of this exercise, said the sources.
There is a general anxiety in the anti-regime groups to evolve a constellation of parties who vow not to validate constitutional amendments of the military regime in the next elected parliament, they said.
The effort now is to polarise the society between those who oppose military regime’s amendments and those who believe in the parliament’s sovereignty.
One of the possibilities is that all political parties, including those who openly support the regime, would be invited to unite on one point agenda to make the parliament sovereign and to block the regime’s move for sweeping powers to the President and an underdog parliament.
Perhaps the political forces, opposed to the military rule, have picked up courage form reports emanating from western sources in which Gen. Musharraf has indicated that perhaps he might take off the military fatigue after the October elections.
Since the PPP is keen on making the continuation of military rule and contentious election an issue, in which it has the support of a vast segment of PML(N), it is keen that those forces which are supportive of this agenda should not only be visibly seen during the election campaign, in confronting those who support the regime, but also agree on the cut away point for frustrating such forces in the parliament.
The effort for an anti-regime platform has become more pronounced as the government remains adamant on keeping Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif out of political dispensation.
Their main concern is how to make the prime minister really independent and powerful in running the affairs of the government.
The MMA has also vowed to uphold sovereignty of the parliament and has criticised the absolute discretionary powers given to the president through revival of Article 58-(2) B and creation of the National Security Council.
According to sources, Shah Ahmed Noorani, who left for Islamabad in the evening, expressed grave concern over these government measures and said there would be no compromise on 58(2)B and the NSC. He also expressed concern over powers acquired by the president.
But in view of the difficulties being faced by the parties in seat adjustments, owing to local vested interests, evolution of such a platform seems to be an uphill task owing to paucity of time.
Much would depend on PPP-PML(N) understanding in Punjab where anti-PPP sentiments, within the PML(N) ranks are being exploited by the pro-regime parties.