- ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The
race to form a civilian government to rule Pakistan was wide open on Thursday
after the military postponed the opening of parliament, a move seen as
buying time for allies of President Pervez Musharraf.
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- An anti-military party led by former prime minister Benazir
Bhutto and a hardline Islamic bloc critical of Musharraf's pro-U.S. policies
appeared to have reached a deal at the weekend to cobble together a majority
in the 342-seat National Assembly.
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- But divisions within Bhutto's party over the choice of
firebrand Islamic leader Fazal-ur-Rehman as prime minister and Wednesday's
postponement of parliament's session to next week have made such a coalition
look less likely.
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- Newspapers, commentators and political parties saw the
hand of the army behind the delay, and said Musharraf was creating space
for the pro-military Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-QA) to cobble
together its own coalition.
-
- Dubbed the "king's party" for its perceived
support of the current leadership, the PML-QA won the most seats in the
October 10 election, designed to return the country to civilian rule three
years after Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup. But it fell well
short of the majority needed to rule alone.
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- "Behind all this seems to loom the hovering shadow
of what is called the establishment," wrote the Dawn daily newspaper
in an editorial. "How to find a way for the military to stay on and
yet not give the impression of doing so?"
-
- Musharraf is already under fire from opponents and European
Union observers for rigging the vote in his favor after he banned key opponents
including Bhutto and enhanced his powers.
-
- With the coalition between Bhutto's Pakistan People's
Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) movement of six conservative
Islamic parties under pressure, some analysts are tentatively forecasting
a government of the PPP and PML-QA.
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- "The government may be trying to revive a deal with
the PPP which didn't come through earlier," said Aamer Ahmed Khan,
editor of the leading current affairs magazine Herald.
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- STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
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- Media speculation is rife that Bhutto may accept a coalition
which on paper looks unlikely given her fierce attacks on Musharraf in
the runup to the election.
-
- One carrot the military could dangle before her is a
promise to release her husband Asif Ali Zardari, sentenced last month to
seven years in prison for corruption and abuse of power. Another would
be to allow her to return from self-imposed exile.
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- Zardari appeared in court on Thursday in connection with
cases against him.
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- Bhutto's party dismissed speculation about a behind-the-scenes
deal. "There is no secret deal between the PPP and the military government,"
a statement said. "There will never be. Let there be no doubt or mistake
about it."
-
- The wrangling appears to be yet another facet of the
tug-of-war between the military establishment and civilian elite.
-
- Musharraf has won plaudits at home and abroad for steering
Pakistan through the potentially explosive U.S.-led campaign against the
Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan.
-
- But his decision to back the U.S. war against terror
and crack down on extremist Islamic militant groups was also a factor behind
stunning gains by the MMA in last month's vote, which it fought on a fiercely
anti-U.S. platform.
-
- Rehman is pro-Taliban and Washington may be relieved
to see his chances of the premiership fade as it seeks to pursue al Qaeda
and Taliban operatives in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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- But having the MMA in opposition rather than government
has its own risks for Musharraf and Washington, which is hunting for al
Qaeda and Taliban operatives in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
-
- "If you leave the MMA in opposition for a couple
of years it will consolidate the gains," said Khan. "No matter
what government is formed, it will not last more than two years and will
rule in a state of total confusion."
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