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Thursday,
July 18, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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A VIEW FROM PAKISTAN Accomplices of
Omar file appeal Pervez
asks India to be sincere Kashmir
violence worries Bush USA clears
sale of cargo planes to Pakistan |
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A VIEW FROM PAKISTAN General Pervez Musharraf is pushing ahead with his agenda of political reforms while the protest plans of the main opposition front, the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), against the proposed constitutional amendments have met with little success. A package of constitutional amendments and electoral rules was made public last week. On July 14, Musharraf announced a second package, which combined with the earlier one, would alter some of the defining features of Pakistan’s Constitution. The latest set of proposals empowers the President to make appointments in his discretion on a number of key military and civilian posts. The seven high-ranking officers in the armed forces to be nominated by him include the chief of joint staff committee, chiefs of army, navy and air force as well as vice-chiefs of the three services. The President will also appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Auditor-General of Pakistan (AGP), Chairman, Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) and Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Importantly, the President has been given discretionary powers in the matter of appointments. In the case of the Chief Election Commissioner and Federal Public Service Commission Chairman, the President is required to ascertain the views of the Leader of the House and of the Opposition, but this is no more than an empty gesture as he is not bound by their advice. Instead of restoring the promised balance of power, avowedly upset by the constitutional amendments brought in by Nawaz Sharif, the pendulum has now swung in the other direction, that is, making the President all powerful. The first package of reforms had attempted to institutionalise the role of the army in politics through the creation of the National Security Council (NSC) as a constitutional body. While it is being introduced as ‘a non-executive consultative forum’, the fact that on the recommendation the army-dominated body the President would dismiss the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the National Assembly, would underline the role for which it is in fact being created. Among the subjects the Security Council is authorised to take up is the ‘integrity and security of the state.’ The term is broad enough to allow the Security Council to keep the Prime Minister under constant pressure. The Security Council will act as the super parliament for while it can recommend — in effect order — the dismissal of the federal legislature, there is absolutely no check on its authority. It has the attributes of a sovereign for none can suspend, remove or impeach it. All the major parties have rejected the two packages along with the new electoral laws. The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) has decided to mobilise public opinion against the proposed constitutional amendments. But few people came to attend its latest meeting in Multan on July 12, which was disrupted by the police. The alliance has now announced that it would hold rallies in Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Karachi. The other day, lawyers’ associations also observed a partial strike all over Punjab against the amendments. However, as Bhutto and Sharif have preferred not to risk their freedom by returning to Pakistan, there is little likelihood of the opposition front putting up in their absence an impressive show to force the government to withdraw or considerably modify the package. The elections are to be held in less than three months from now and unless the parties abide by the electoral rules, which among other things require intra-party polls, they do not qualify for participation in the general election. There is little unanimity of views over the issue among the opposition alliances. The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal comprising religious parties has accepted the electoral laws ‘under protest.’ The ARD is still not clear whether to contest elections on Musharraf’s terms or to boycott them. The two main opposition parties — Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) — do not want to replace their top leaders as required under the new law while at the same time they would not like to repeat the mistake committed by the MRD (Movement for Restoration of Democracy) in 1985 when it boycotted the elections and a whole new breed of politicians appeared on the political map. The military government is capitalising on the double-mindedness that prevails among the major political parties. By secretly negotiating with one party, then with another, the military government wants to keep its political opponents engaged and inactive till the time when it would be too late for them to prepare for the elections or to effectively boycott them. Earlier, General Musharraf’s interlocutors kept Ms Benazir Bhutto engaged but broke the talks earlier this year. Now the regime is currently holding secret negotiations with Nawaz Sharif. The outcome will influence the future shape of politics. If Nawaz makes another compromise with the military rulers, he risks losing his grip on the party and the sympathy vote. If he does not, his absence from Pakistan may lead to demoralising of his party’ cadres and large-scale defections to other faction of the Muslim League allied with the military regime. On the other hand, Ms Benazir Bhutto has announced that she would return to Pakistan near October elections once the elections schedule is announced. She cannot stand in the elections for being a convict in a corruption case, but her arrest may energise her cadres and bolster the chances of her party at the hustings. In any case, Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif will have to work out a political strategy for a scenario in which their parties may have considerable strength in Parliament but they will sit outside Parliament and the party. This is what the establishment had planned from day one. |
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Accomplices of Omar file appeal Karachi, July 17 “We submitted an appeal in the Sindh High Court today against the judgement of the trial court,” defence lawyer Rai Bashir told reporters outside the court in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province. “We have said to the court that there is not even a single piece of evidence against the appellants to prove the offences in which they have been convicted. Hence, the judgement is liable to be set aside,” he added. Salman Saquib, Fahad Nasim and Sheikh Adil were found guilty by an anti-terrorism court on July 15 of helping Sheikh Omar kidnap and murder the Wall Street Journal correspondent. An appeal against Sheikh Omar’s conviction would be filed later in the week, his lawyer Mohsin Imam said yesterday.
HYDERABAD (PAKISTAN): The Central Prison here, where Sheikh Omar was sentenced to death and his three accomplices given life imprisonment, has received a letter threatening the entire staff with dire consequences. “If any harm came to the commander Sheikh Omar or other ‘mujahideen’, the entire jail staff, particularly the superintendent, will face the consequences,” the letter drafted in Urdu said. Referring to Salman Saqib, Fahad Nasim and Sheikh Adil as “mujahideen”, the sender of the letter identifying himself as “Changez Khan — the commander”, said the jail officials would be hanged at the same gallows and in the same ward if Sheikh Omar was hanged, the Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday. A jail official, requesting anonymity, said the letter was received with the usual mail and posted from the General Post Office, Hyderabad. It has been sent to officials for necessary action, he added.
AFP, PTI |
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Pervez asks India to be sincere
Islamabad, July 17 These were the two main observations made by President Pervez Musharraf when he attended on Tuesday the inauguration of the 10- day-long war game Sabit Qada-II conducted at the National Defence College, according to a report in The News. The exercise is meant to evaluate the professional preparedness of the forces in case of a conflict. His specific point was that Pakistan must maintain the defence superiority through this kind of peacetime training on a continuous basis. General Musharraf further stated that the country was capable of delivering a “telling blow to anyone who dared to challenge its sovereignty and territorial integrity.” “The deployment of Indian troops along the border has brought out chinks in their armour,” he said, adding that which were quite useful in formulating various options. The process of preparation and training of various formations was now culminating in the war game in which Pakistan navy and air force are also participating, the newspaper added. No sincerity, no progress. This was the message General Musharraf delivered to India while asking the latter to demonstrate sincerity in resolving the Kashmir issue. He also said that “I did assure the whole world there is nothing happening on the LoC,” answering a question on New Delhi’s allegation on an interview published in the latest issue of the Time magazine, said The News. Pakistan was awaiting a response from India, he told reporters. “If they don’t want to de-escalate, they can remain on the border. We are quite happy,” he added. Asked what was needed for progress on the Kashmir front, he replied that “nothing is going to happen if there is no sincerity. We are killing each other every day. So what nonsense is this that there is no issue? And that is where, I would say, the USA comes in. American involvement must be there.” Responding to a query on another subject, General Musharraf said the proposed amendments in the constitution were meant to ensure the essence of democracy “where the people govern and the government is for the betterment of the people”.
ANI |
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Kashmir
violence worries Bush Washington, July 17 Asked about the latest terrorist attack in Kashmir in which 28 people were slain, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said Mr Bush “continues to be deeply concerned about the violence in Kashmir”. “The President, as you know, has been working very hard with quite a bit of success, along with other members of his administration and the international community, to reduce the amount of tension between India and Pakistan over this disputed area.”.
UNI |
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USA clears sale of cargo planes
to Pakistan Washington, July 17 The Congress has 30 days to block the sale, although such a move is considered unlikely. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales, yesterday said that the proposed weapons deal would contribute to US national security by improving the security of “a friendly country which has been and continues to be an important force for economic progress in South Asia.’’
Reuters |
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