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NEIGHBOURS: PAKISTAN
Civil Lines
In elevating himself to the presidency, Musharraf
wants to present a reformist face. Is it for real?
By Shishir Gupt with Zahid Hussain in Islamabad
and Ishtiaq Ali Mekhri in Karachi
On the morning of
June 20, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee activated his hotline to
General Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan. Apart from saying he was looking
forward to meeting the general at the Agra summit in mid-July, Vajpayee
thanked him for his good wishes for his knee operation earlier in the
month.
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THREE-IN-ONE: Musharraf is now army chief, chief executive and
president
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Vajpayee also did one thing that was surprising:
he addressed Musharraf as "president sahib". The chief executive
of Pakistan pointed out he had not actually become president, ousting
the figurehead called Rafiq Tarar and was being sworn in by the chief
justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court only later in the day.
At one level the self-elevation of Musharraf
to the presidency did mean a change in protocol. When he arrives in Delhi
on July 14, his host will now be President K.R. Narayanan and not Vajpayee,
the official banquet will be hosted at Rashtrapati Bhavan and not at Hyderabad
House, he will no longer "call on" the Indian President but
be "received" by him.
Narayanan, in fact, wrote a letter to Musharraf
offering "my best wishes on your assumption of office of president
of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan". At least in the context of
India, the rehabilitation of Musharraf-who overthrew then prime minister
Nawaz Sharif in October 1999 and subsequently exiled him to Saudi Arabia-was
complete. While Musharraf's ascension to the presidency was more or less
expected, its timing was not lost on his countrymen. Argued political
analyst Riffat Hussain: "The summit may have been one of the factors
in General Musharraf's hasty decision. He wants to meet the Indian leaders
from a more credible position."
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THE
PLAN Musharraf wants an army-backed quasi-democracy.
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Not all countries reacted as charitably to the
new president, who also dissolved the national legislature and four provincial
assemblies. The US criticised the "second coup" and the United
Kingdom was equally sharp. In Pakistan itself, there were protests from
Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party and Sharif's Pakistan Muslim
League. "It is a bad omen for the country," said Zafar Ali Shah,
senior leader of the Muslim League.
Just what was on the general's mind? In October
2002, after all, he is committed as per a Supreme Court ruling to restoring
civilian rule in Pakistan. The promise was iterated in Washington on the
very day Musharraf became president. Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar met
US Secretary of State Colin Powell and left him "encouraged ... with
respect to the preparations that are being made for the election next
year".
A clue to Musharraf's plans may lie in the Provisional
Constitutional Order that accompanied his swearing in as president. In
a move unusual for a military dictator, Musharraf decided that the chief
justice of the Supreme Court would officiate as president should the man
who wears three hats-army chief, chief executive and head of state-be
travelling or indisposed.
This stipulation has been opposed by some of
Musharraf's otherwise supportive subordinates. They feel the de facto
vice-president should also be a man in uniform. Musharraf seems to be
sticking to his guns and on the verge of experimenting with his own version
of guided democracy.
For 27 of its 54 years, Pakistan has been ruled
by the military. Martial law has thrown up presidents like Ayub Khan and
Zia-ul Haq. Musharraf now wants to formalise this relationship. In Islamabad
the perception is that he will seek to write a permanent political role
for the army into the constitution and make it the guarantor of a quasi-democratic
system by October 2002. "The generals," comments Mohammed Waseem,
professor at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University, "don't believe
in transferring power but in sharing it with elected civilian representatives."
Delhi too believes Musharraf is headed in this
direction, that he is keen on a successful meeting with Vajpayee-one that
will restore cricket ties, enhance the frequency of the Delhi-Lahore bus
service and restart the dialogue on eight previously identified issues-to
strengthen himself domestically and project himself as a reformer.
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