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Editorial: America and Nawaz Sharif

The US Assistant Secretary of State for
South and Central Asian Affairs, Mr Richard Boucher, met the PMLN leader Mr Nawaz Sharif at the latter’s residence a couple of days ago and discussed matters that clarify American policy on Pakistan as well as Washington’s view of Mr Sharif’s brand of politics. As one of Pakistan’s most popular leaders, whose party happens to be a part of the ruling coalition “from the outside”, Mr Sharif has firmly expressed his position on US policy towards Pakistan, especially as relates to the fate of President Pervez Musharraf and the war on terror. Therefore this can be considered an important meeting.

According to reports leaked by the PMLN, Mr Boucher asked Mr Sharif to avoid a move to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, and allow the President to use his own discretion to leave since his stay in power had become irrelevant. The ongoing “operation” in Khyber Agency also came under discussion and the matter of the sacked judges was apparently touched upon too. Mr Boucher dwelt on the political situation in the region. Mr Sharif responded by deeming President Musharraf’s impeachment essential to the survival of democracy. When he asserted that restoration of the judiciary was at the top of his party’s agenda, Mr Boucher said the sooner the judges’ issue was resolved the better it would be for everyone.

It is being said that Mr Boucher’s visit was aimed at introducing flexibility into the stance of Mr Sharif and his party, as well as to impress upon him that America was willing to spend big money on the economic development of Pakistan but was hampered in its plans by the rising trend of terrorism and the bad law and order situation in Pakistan. To this Mr Sharif produced the stock answer that his party and his supporters reiterate all the time: “Eradication of terrorism and the maintenance of law and order are Pakistan’s domestic concerns and external forces, including the US, should refrain from intervening”.

Pakistan has a political situation in which different groups are trying to force their agenda on the democratic set-up. Everyone has the right to protest, but the argument favoured most by the anti-Musharraf forces — and anti-American ones too — is that the February 2008 elections had “a mandate requiring the removal of President Musharraf”. It is also expected from the PPP that it should offer itself as a burnt offering on the altar of this “presumed” mandate and the deposed judges who will throw Musharraf out upon restoration as well as revive corruption cases against the PPP leader, Mr Asif Ali Zardari.

Mr Sharif knows — as per his adviser and ex-ambassador Mr Tariq Fatemi — that the Americans had planned the return of Ms Benazir Bhutto, armed with an NRO, to Pakistan to rule in tandem with PMLQ, and not the PMLN, after a free and fair general election. So while he likes the idea of flaunting his party as an anti-American force in step with the sentiments of most Pakistanis, he would like the Americans to note his popular PMLN as the party to reckon with when formulating policy on Pakistan. For this, he has put together a lot of support among the masses and civil society of Pakistan.

The PMLN stance, however, has a domestic consequence. The PPP cannot afford to become the sacrificial goat simply to satisfy the PMLN’s passion for the judiciary as a political tool to achieve its objectives. Reference to the so-called “mandate” is simply bad politics. It would have been better had the PMLN and its allies among the lawyers and the APDM indicated a way to get rid of President Musharraf after making sure that the process would not hurt the PPP. So the PPP says the President should quit on his own before it can put together the numbers required in parliament to impeach him.

As for the “subordination” of terrorism to the issue of the judiciary, the world is not with Mr Sharif and his allies. The state has lost whatever writ it had in nearly half the territory of the country. The terrorists with whom Mr Sharif recommends “talks” keep on repeating the vow that they will continue to raid across the Durand Line. The world looks at FATA as the training ground of international groups preparing terrorist attacks in the United States and the European Union. This “world” is composed of those states that absorb all of our exports and can bail us out economically. The PPP tends to agree. And the PPP can’t be toppled from power constitutionally, unless an aggressive dharna is able make it run away and leave the feast of power to the PMLN.

It would, therefore, be wiser for the PMLN to remain allied to the PPP and take advantage from this partnership to rule efficiently in Punjab and guide the country out of its economic troubles. The national economy, alas, sees no value in “principles”, and recommends endless “opportunism” to follow policies beneficial to it. It is finally pragmatism and not passion on the basis of which Pakistan will survive. *

Second Editorial: Azad Kashmir: women versus jihadis

Nearly 50 women travelled 80 km from Athmuqam to an army camp in the Neelum Valley in Azad Kashmir on Tuesday to stage a peaceful protest against the “growing activities of some militant groups” which they feared could harm the truce along the Line of Control (LoC). Their demand was that the military authorities stop the militants from operating in the border areas. They feared that the jihadi militants would cause grave violations of the LoC, after which the Indians would resort to indiscriminate bombing of their houses.

The reply given to the ladies by the assistant commissioner, Neelum Valley, was inadequate. He said that the Indians were merely test-firing on their side of the LoC and that the ladies had just become scared unnecessarily. The women had actually complained of jihadi activity. It may be recalled that the Neelum valley was a scene of death and destruction caused by artillery fire for nearly 14 years until Pakistan and India agreed a ceasefire in Kashmir in November 2003, the year the same women had staged their first rally. There was a time when our army allowed the jihadis to commit crimes on both sides of the LoC. But those days are gone. If they are allowed to repeat their activities again, Pakistan’s policy on Kashmir would be confirmed to the world as being duplicitous. *

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