Musharraf's plan
Photo: AFP
Ref: USA being misunderstood on Pakistan. This refers to the press conference of President Musharraf on November 11 which was widely telecast live in India also. Though Musharraf sounded quite convincing about defending his various actions regarding imposition of emergency, disciplining judiciary, fighting terrorism & fundamentalism etc but he is evidently preparing himself to commit blunders as far as his political /constitutional moves are concerned. Musharraf ought to keep the following in mind while deciding his future course of action. (1) He will dig his own grave if he formally gives up his main martial constituency and tries to depend mainly on the civilian constituency in order to become a so-called civilian president. (2)- Even the USA & its democratic allies have come out against (i) Musharraf's continuation as army chief and (ii) martial law (emergency). (3)- As for lifting the emergency, Musharraf is absolutely right when he says that given the present circumstances of Pakistan, emergency is good not only for the restoration of normalcy (law & order) but also for the promotion of democracy. The only thing Musharraf ought to do is the following in order to reasonably address the concerns of the USA & its allies in particular and of international community in general regarding free & fair functioning and conduct of democracy & the coming January general elections in Pakistan:- Musharraf ought to allow all the registered political parties (of Benazir, Nawaz, Imran Khan etc ) not only to take part in free and fair elections but also to campaign and take part in political activities freely and fairly. Musharraf need not follow the beaten track of either full military rule or full democracy (republic). Rather, given the history and present situation of Pakistan, Musharraf ought to prefer diarchy with joint martial and civilian rule, where the president (supported by the armed forces) will take care of military affairs, security of the country, foreign affairs, human rights etc. Whereas the elected civilian prime minister, chief ministers etc will take care of all the civil matters.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments