Rense.com



Pakistan Coalition Chase
Is Blown Wide Open
By Mike Collett-White
11-7-2


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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
"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.
 
"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.
 
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
 
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.
 
Zardari appeared in court on Thursday in connection with cases against him.
 
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.
 
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."
 
Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.





MainPage
http://www.rense.com


This Site Served by TheHostPros