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Musharraf’s problems galore – Emergency as an Option |
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Harjit Singh
While former Pakistani military rulers opted for martial law to keep their power secure as and when they were overwhelmed by political crises seen as a threat to their rule, President Musharraf, who is facing more problems than any of his predecessors was confronted with, thought of salvaging his position by a less harsher measure – imposition of a state of emergency. But, unlike military dictators like Gen. Ayub Khan and Gen. Yahya Khan, he could not even do this, thanks to timely American intervention. A late night call by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made him reverse his decision, which was said to have been finalised at a series of meetings Musharraf had with his top legal and political advisers as well as intelligence officials a day earlier.
His anxiety to impose emergency hardly needs elaboration. He is coming under pressure both at home and abroad. The US is accusing him of not doing enough to nab the Al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists and every top official, into matters in Washington DC, has said that the US reserves the right to order its forces to cross into Pakistan and strike at terrorist hideouts if it has, what is described as “actionable intelligence”. The Jihadis, already red with rage at the military assault on Lal Masjid, are once gain questioning his policy of clinging to the apron strings of President Bush at a time Washington was threatening to violate Pakistan’s sovereignty to take on the militants there.
At home, his power base has shrunk and his popularity rating is going down. He is no longer being seen as the leader in whose hands the country’s interests are safe. After he sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who has since been reinstated by the Supreme Court, a big defeat for Musharraf who filed a reference against him, and his determination to have himself elected by the present Assemblies, he is being compared with any other power hungry politician who would try to remain in power by hook or crook.
His seeking election as President in uniform would be violative of the Constitution as he has the mandate to hold the Army Chief’s post and the post of the President simultaneously only until the end of this year. He is not sure about the complexion of the next national and provincial Assemblies which constitute the electoral college for President. He could circumvent this problem by resigning as Army chief before the presidential election, but here the problem is that under the Pakistan Constitution, a government servant can seek an elected position only after two years of retirement. Also, the Constitution allows only a civilian to be elected President for a five year term. In the case of President Musharraf, a controversial 17th amendment to the Constitution allowed him to continue as a President in uniform till the end of this year. This amendment is being cited by his aides to contend that he can consequently seek another term without shedding his uniform as long as general elections are held before December 31.
But, Musharraf’s problem is the judicial activism after the restoration of suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Although he will not preside over a bench hearing petitions against Musharraf out of judicial propriety, its impact will be there for all to see. Already last week, a two member bench headed by Justice Chaudhry set free on bail a bitter critic of Gen. Musharraf, belonging to PML headed by Nawaz Sharif, Javed Hashmi. And now, the court has admitted a petition by Shahbaz, brother of Nawaz Sharif, seeking permission for the two brothers to be allowed to return to Pakistan. That a judgement in their favour would come becomes clear from the displeasure Justice Chaudhry expressed when told that the last time the Apex Court gave a green light for their return, Shahbaz was arrested on arrival at Lahore airport, and bundled back to Jeddah where he is living in exile. Of course, President Musharraf can deal with Nawaz Sharif by reopening the corruption cases against him, but it will be seen as another defeat for Musharraf, whose image has already taken a beating. His deal, struck at an unpublicised meeting with PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, is already in the doldrums after her insistence that she cannot compromise on her demand that Musharraf must not don uniform if he seeks re-election.
These developments have boosted the morale of the opposition parties and in these circumstances, driven to the corner, the King’s party, the PML[Q], is unlikely to win the elections on its own which will be a great setback for Gen. Musharraf as he will be called upon to appoint the leader of the majority party in Parliament as Prime Minister. The President and the Prime Minister, with no love lost, will hardly to work in harmony.
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