Saeed Minhas
islamabad– Be it politics or executive orders everything is emanating these days from the rejuvenated Supreme Court of Pakistan dwarfing the already confined writ of President Gen. Musharraf and his hand-picked coalition government on the country’s affairs.
Pegged back by the unprecedented movement of lawyers and one after the other decisions of the Supreme Court annihilating the government, how Gen. Musharraf is going to tackle all this is everybody’s guess. His moderation and compact structure of command and control is not only being challenged by the Supreme Court but even by his mentor and a long standing admirer, President Bush and the United States, who continues to add salt to his bleeding wounds.
First the linking of aid to development in war on terrorism and then the statements of the presidential candidates targeting Muslims and Pakistan are considered by many as a message for the under-attack General.
There is a minor but meaningful adjustment in the publicly issued official messages from US for the General as US continues to show support for all acts of ‘Pakistan’ to counter the threat of terrorism as against singing the old mantra of ‘support for Musharraf’. For the past one week or so Gen. Musharraf has tried to first come to terms with the changing political scenario and the first ever series of serious blows to his otherwise smooth and flourishing rule of the past eight years.
Since he is well aware of the abilities and capabilities of Q Leaguers therefore the first thing he is doing these days is distancing himself from some federal ministers and even the prime minister. Likes of Sheikh Rashid, Sher Afghan, Aftab Sherpao, Tariq Azeem, Durrani and many others have to wait for their turn to see (perhaps to gauge the mood of) their ‘leader’.
President’s move to take the role of spokesman from Durrani and Co. and hand it over to the policy and discipline bound DG ISPR and Rashid Qureshi is just his way of fortifying his immediate surroundings and streamlining the messages from the Presidency. And as our moles suggest that the president is aware of the situation and perhaps knows very well the writing on the wall but being a fighter by nature, he would like to fight it out all the way till the end.
In this war of nerves, sources claim that President is very much alive to the situation and is using his cards to the best of his abilities. His kitchen cabinet including but not limited to Tariq Aziz is busy meeting with the Arab rulers and US mentors to fascinate Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif through people like former finance minister Ishaq Dar, Redcow’s chief and Qatar Royal Family’s chubby Saifur Rehman.
He is using all his trusted men to come out and respond in kind to Americans besides selling them the old recipe of mullah’s power and safety of strategic interests. Foreign affairs committee of the House, foreign minister,
Presidential spokesman Rashid Qureshi and even the General himself has to ask the US to review its policy of linking the aid to development in war on terrorism to avoid any negative impact on bilateral relations of the two countries. But as the saying goes who cares, Americans, though not officially but through all other means including public surveys and presidential candidates are preparing the mind of all and sundry for a change.
Officially US administration has defended and even appreciated Pakistan’s role in the faltering war on terrorism but general public does not differentiate between official and non-official news coming from American media, all they know is that if America is doing all these things it means an end for Musharraf. But the irony is that it’s not only US or peer pressure which is being endured by Musharraf it’s also the advancement of judiciary which is more bothersome for the uniformed President.
Many observers predict another clash between the judiciary and the presidency incase the issue of uniform is not resolved through political means. Federal cabinet has approved the proposal to get Gen. Musharraf elected through the present assemblies but owing to some internal differences the cabinet has not concluded that whether president would be elected with or without uniform.
Chaudhary Shujaat and other members of his band-wagon have now started feeling the pinch of the judiciary and therefore asked the President to doff the uniform but continue as president. Faithfuls have also been pointed out in the hierarchy of the forces and Maulana Fazalur Rehman has been asked to convey this message to everyone that President is being given a safe exit passage. Meeting of the corps commanders with the president is also seen as a major development in this regard because any political deal has to come through the commanders so that any possibility of a revolt is taken care of.
When Benazir Bhutto continue to up her ante and demands, President has to deal with all these things and time for him is of great essence because as per constitution of the country, no matter how battered it stands after all the amendments, his elections have to be held between 15 August and 15 October. His current term ends on November 15.
Now everything hinges on the possibility of President doffing his uniform to avoid another confrontation with the judiciary and if that goes on smoothly with the help of PPP, MMA and FATA representatives, then the country might see general elections as well; otherwise the possibility of general election seems remote, commented sources in the know of things. General elections have to be held by January 15 and for this a caretaker set up has to be in office soon after the elections of the President. Amidst all ifs and buts, next couple of weeks is likely to lead us to a change, be it elected or selected but it is likely to be within the ambit of the constitution.