ISLAMABAD: It turned out to be a perfect weekend for the ruling PPP. With the heat gone and the city experiencing drizzle, PPP leaders breathed fresh air and walked taller after the Supreme Court on Friday vindicated the party’s two-decade-old stance that the 1990 general elections were staged by the then establishment.
At a hurriedly called press conference at the PM Secretariat, a beaming Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf lauded the SC ruling on Air Martial (retd) Asghar Khan’s petition and termed it a great victory for the PPP which, he said, was a target of the then establishment.
“Since 1990 general elections when the public funds were used to snatch victory from the PPP, late Benazir Bhutto had been saying that the establishment had stolen elections from us, and today her claim has been proven to be true through the apex court judgment. As a result, we stand vindicated,” he said.
Without naming former prime minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, who allegedly was one of the recipients of the funds distributed by the ISI among politicians of the then Islami Jamhoori Ittihad (IJI), Mr Ashraf said the government would implement the court ruling earnestly and bring all the accused to book.
“I don’t want to speculate at this moment. Let the law take its course, but as chief executive of the country, I fully assure people that each and ever penny misused in 1990 general elections will be taken back,” the prime minister said.
“Those who talk about high moral grounds, supremacy of the Constitution and true democracy should not only voluntarily return the money they received but also apologise to people for committing a great crime against the country.” Mr Ashraf said the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had been asked to determine which politician took how much money from the ISI and to follow the court decision in letter and spirit.
About former army chief Gen (retd) Aslam Beg and former ISI director general Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani, he said that only after going through the detailed judgment and seeking legal advice, the government would decide about action to be taken against them.
When asked if the GHQ would reinstate them to face court martial proceedings as was done in the NLC case in which three generals had been reinstated to face charges, the prime minister said: “It wasn’t the matter of one or two persons, but the entire population of the country whose mandate was stolen to favor those whom the then establishment wanted to bring to power, thus they deserve due punishment.”
He was apparently referring to the IJI which had formed the government with Nawaz Sharif as prime minister. But despite repeated questions, Prime Minister Ashraf avoided naming any politician of the IJI.
PML-N’s spokesman Senator Mushahidullah Khan reiterated his party’s stand that its leaders had not received any money from the ISI. “The PML-N fully respects the court and will extend every possible help to the FIA in its investigation as directed by the court. Mere mentioning of names by someone doesn’t prove that the PML-N leaders have taken money,” he added.
Abida Hussain, former federal minister and ambassador to the US who was part of the IJI and named one of the recipients of the funds, neither confirmed nor denied the allegation. She only said: “I don’t want to comment.”
PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain who was a key IJI leader told a TV channel that an officer nominated by Gen Aslam Beg had approached him but he refused to take the money.
Salman Akram Raja, who represented Asghar Khan in the case, told Dawn that no documentary evidence was available because all payments were made in cash. But he said contemporaneous evidence could become a powerful tool in the case.
“If two persons through affidavits confirm that somebody has received money then it will be difficult for the court to refuse the evidence,” he said, adding that besides Gen Durrani, Brig (retd) Hamid Saeed, the then MI chief in Sindh, had also provided evidence that the money had been given to the politicians.
But Salman Raja said a lot would depend on investigation by the FIA.
According to political observers, the PPP would use the judgment to create political heat against its main opposition -- PML-N.
“On the face of it, the court ruling looks symbolic, but if the PPP leadership decides to use it as a morale boasting victory and turn the tables on its main adversary, the PML-N, the judgment will definitely figure prominently in the run-up to the general elections,” said a political commentator.
Our reporter in Karachi adds: Sindh Minister for Information Sharjeel Inam Memon has said the Supreme Court verdict has proved that the Pakistan People’s Party was the real winner of the 1990 elections, but was defeated by rigging.
He said in a statement that the verdict also stated that money was provided unconstitutionally for the victory of a certain party and that party was IJI, adding that Mian Nawaz Sharif was then head of the IJI.
