LAHORE, Nov 13: Gen Pervez Musharraf’s declaration that he will remain president even after the general election next year has not surprised anybody. Once he had started emulating the late Gen Ziaul Haq it did not take people long to conclude what the general’s plans for the future were.
So far, Gen Musharraf has religiously followed Gen Haq and done what the late general had done. His future course of action would, probably, be no different.
Gen Zia, for example, had dissolved the assemblies, held the 1973 constitution in abeyance, promulgated a provisional constitution order and become president after the retirement of the then president Fazle Elahi Chaudhry. Gen Musharraf has already done all these.
Interestingly, Gen Haq, too, had benefited from the situation in Afghanistan.
The US and its allies had supported Gen Haq for standing up to the Soviet Union, just as they are now supporting Gen Musharraf and praising his choice of allies in its war against terrorism.
President Bush, whose predecessor Bill Clinton had refused to be photographed with Gen Musharraf during his brief visit to Islamabad in March last year, has already described Gen Musharraf as a strong leader and supported his policies.
It can hardly be a coincidence that Gen Musharraf has made his announcement in the United States, where he has been so extravagantly praised for his role in the Afghanistan war.
Gen Zia, it may be recalled, had held a referendum in December 1984 on whether he should remain president for a period of five years, beginning from the day an elected parliament took oath.
The result of the referendum was made a part of the constitutional package the new parliament had to approve besides indemnifying all acts of the martial law regime.
The two generals have had the same adviser on constitutional affairs. It is, however, not clear whether Gen Musharraf would be elected under the constitution or seek an extension in his presidential term through a similar referendum.
Under the amended constitution, the Senate, the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies elect the president. Should the general so choose, there cannot be much opposition to his election as president.
It was before June 20, the day he became president and dissolved the assemblies, that Mian Muhammad Azhar, the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) president had told reporters his party would have no objection to the army chief taking over as head of state.
He had even argued that there was nothing wrong in Gen Musharraf’s retaining the office of the chief of army staff, at the same time.
An important party leader told Dawn on Monday the PML(QA) would support Gen Musharraf in the event of a presidential election.
There is little possibility of the Pakistan People’s Party offering any resistance. PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, too, had said before June 20 that if Gen Musharraf wanted to become president, he should ‘contact us’. The party was clearly willing to lend him support.
To be able to obtain some concessions for its chairperson, the PPP will apparently have to cooperate with the general.
The Pakistan Awami Tehrik, which is already defending all Gen Musharraf’s policies, will also be willing to support him irrespective of its strength in the parliament.
Former prime minister’s Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League will, certainly, oppose Gen Musharraf’s plans. The general, however, is certainly not banking on its support.
The Grand Democratic Alliance, too, will stand on the side of Gen Musharraf.
There will be many other parties willing to support the general in return for ‘political crumbs’.