ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari are
committed to moving forward jointly for the sixth major success of the
democratic system in the last six years.
Six months ago, Nawaz Sharif hosted a farewell for the outgoing president Asif Ali Zardari at the Prime Minister’s House. Zardari made a brief speech in the presence of the then military leadership and assured Nawaz Sharif that he will not play any dirty political games against the PML-N government for the next five years. He fulfilled his promise. He was standing behind PM Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday in Islamabad to assure his full support for the democratic system against any non-democratic adventure. No doubt, the government sources tried to downplay the tense relations between the civilian and non-civilian forces but Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan admitted this tension publicly a few days ago and it is not a secret why Zardari met Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday.
It was Zardari who announced on December 27, 2013 in Larkana that he would not allow the “billa” to run away from Pakistan. Powerful supporters of Musharraf disliked this statement and they conveyed their displeasure to Zardari through different channels but he never changed his position. At that time, many PPP leaders were expecting that the PML-N government would not dare start a treason trial of former president Pervez Musharraf. When Musharraf’s trial started, these PPP leaders suggested to Zardari that he should stay away from it but Zardari told them that Musharraf’s trial was a must for the rule of law and stability of the system. He told his party leaders that he would not leave Nawaz Sharif alone and in these difficult times all the major political forces must stand behind the democratic government. The Nawaz Sharif government started facing problems from some seen and unseen hands when Musharraf was summoned by the special court in the treason case. Zardari was not ready to play the role of a silent spectator. He called Nawaz Sharif many times and assured him of his support. He came to Rawalpindi and attended the proceedings of a NAB court. He gave a message that a former civilian president was ready to appear in a court but the former military dictator refused to do so. Finally, Musharraf was forced to appear in the special court.
Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari are old political rivals but they resolved their personal differences in the Karachi jail after the 1999 military coup. Zardari met Nawaz Sharif in Saudi Arabia in 2005 and then in England in 2006. It was Zardari who tried to remove misunderstandings between the late Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, which resulted in the signing of the Charter of Democracy in London. Nawaz and Zardari came closer after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007. Nawaz Sharif was not ready to contest the elections after the tragic death of Benazir Bhutto but Zardari convinced him to change his boycott decision. Nawaz Sharif could not contest the elections of 2008 but his party was able to make the government in the Punjab province while Zardari made governments at the Centre and in two provinces. It was their first success. Then Zardari forced Nawaz Sharif to join the federal government with the condition that his government will restore the judges deposed by the Musharraf regime. Both of them announced the impeachment of Musharraf in August 2008 and forced him to resign. It was their second joint success.
Zardari and Nawaz Sharif developed differences over the restoration of the deposed judges but things were settled after the restoration of judges in March 2009. They again collaborated with each other for the third time and made a huge breakthrough for democracy by introducing the 18th Amendment in the Constitution. Ishaq Dar and Raza Rabbani played a vital role in developing a consensus between the two parties. They not only removed the changes made by the Musharraf regime in the Constitution through the 17th Amendment, they also tried to minimise the threat of further military coups by incorporating some new clauses in the Article 6. According to a new clause (2A), introduced in Article 6, any act of treason shall not be validated by any court, including the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Their fourth collaboration came out in the form of the Swat operation. The Punjab government helped the federal government and the KPK government in looking after the IDPs of Swat. Zardari was not happy with Nawaz Sharif when the latter exploited the Memogate scandal by filing a petition in the Supreme Court but Nawaz Sharif realised immediately that the memo was a trap. They resolved their differences once again.
They helped each other the fifth time when Dr. Qadri crippled Islamabad with a few thousand supporters in December 2012 and demanded to delay the elections. Nawaz Sharif invited important political leaders to Lahore and stood behind the Zardari regime. Now Zardari is standing behind Nawaz Sharif against some internal and external players putting pressure on the government to stop the trial of Musharraf.
Delegations of the PPP and the government discussed many issues on Wednesday afternoon but the real issue was discussed when Nawaz Sharif spent some time exclusively with Zardari. They agreed that there was a need for showing political unity for the rule of law without offending any particular institution. Close associates of both Nawaz Sharif and Zardari are concerned that some forces are trying to create misunderstandings between the army chief and the prime minister. They think that some important non-civilian functionaries are near retirement this year and these functionaries are playing a major role in putting pressure on the government in the name of Musharraf trial.
Their actual goal is to get some extension. Other sources say that the media is overestimating the situation. The prime minister is going to attend a passing out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy next week and all rumours will die soon. Nawaz Sharif and Zardari are committed to making history by not bowing down to those who want Musharraf to run away from Pakistan but certainly they have some differences. They differ with each other on some aspects of talks with the Taliban and the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance but both agreed to resolve the small differences as soon as possible for achieving some big political goals.
Six months ago, Nawaz Sharif hosted a farewell for the outgoing president Asif Ali Zardari at the Prime Minister’s House. Zardari made a brief speech in the presence of the then military leadership and assured Nawaz Sharif that he will not play any dirty political games against the PML-N government for the next five years. He fulfilled his promise. He was standing behind PM Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday in Islamabad to assure his full support for the democratic system against any non-democratic adventure. No doubt, the government sources tried to downplay the tense relations between the civilian and non-civilian forces but Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan admitted this tension publicly a few days ago and it is not a secret why Zardari met Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday.
It was Zardari who announced on December 27, 2013 in Larkana that he would not allow the “billa” to run away from Pakistan. Powerful supporters of Musharraf disliked this statement and they conveyed their displeasure to Zardari through different channels but he never changed his position. At that time, many PPP leaders were expecting that the PML-N government would not dare start a treason trial of former president Pervez Musharraf. When Musharraf’s trial started, these PPP leaders suggested to Zardari that he should stay away from it but Zardari told them that Musharraf’s trial was a must for the rule of law and stability of the system. He told his party leaders that he would not leave Nawaz Sharif alone and in these difficult times all the major political forces must stand behind the democratic government. The Nawaz Sharif government started facing problems from some seen and unseen hands when Musharraf was summoned by the special court in the treason case. Zardari was not ready to play the role of a silent spectator. He called Nawaz Sharif many times and assured him of his support. He came to Rawalpindi and attended the proceedings of a NAB court. He gave a message that a former civilian president was ready to appear in a court but the former military dictator refused to do so. Finally, Musharraf was forced to appear in the special court.
Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari are old political rivals but they resolved their personal differences in the Karachi jail after the 1999 military coup. Zardari met Nawaz Sharif in Saudi Arabia in 2005 and then in England in 2006. It was Zardari who tried to remove misunderstandings between the late Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, which resulted in the signing of the Charter of Democracy in London. Nawaz and Zardari came closer after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007. Nawaz Sharif was not ready to contest the elections after the tragic death of Benazir Bhutto but Zardari convinced him to change his boycott decision. Nawaz Sharif could not contest the elections of 2008 but his party was able to make the government in the Punjab province while Zardari made governments at the Centre and in two provinces. It was their first success. Then Zardari forced Nawaz Sharif to join the federal government with the condition that his government will restore the judges deposed by the Musharraf regime. Both of them announced the impeachment of Musharraf in August 2008 and forced him to resign. It was their second joint success.
Zardari and Nawaz Sharif developed differences over the restoration of the deposed judges but things were settled after the restoration of judges in March 2009. They again collaborated with each other for the third time and made a huge breakthrough for democracy by introducing the 18th Amendment in the Constitution. Ishaq Dar and Raza Rabbani played a vital role in developing a consensus between the two parties. They not only removed the changes made by the Musharraf regime in the Constitution through the 17th Amendment, they also tried to minimise the threat of further military coups by incorporating some new clauses in the Article 6. According to a new clause (2A), introduced in Article 6, any act of treason shall not be validated by any court, including the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Their fourth collaboration came out in the form of the Swat operation. The Punjab government helped the federal government and the KPK government in looking after the IDPs of Swat. Zardari was not happy with Nawaz Sharif when the latter exploited the Memogate scandal by filing a petition in the Supreme Court but Nawaz Sharif realised immediately that the memo was a trap. They resolved their differences once again.
They helped each other the fifth time when Dr. Qadri crippled Islamabad with a few thousand supporters in December 2012 and demanded to delay the elections. Nawaz Sharif invited important political leaders to Lahore and stood behind the Zardari regime. Now Zardari is standing behind Nawaz Sharif against some internal and external players putting pressure on the government to stop the trial of Musharraf.
Delegations of the PPP and the government discussed many issues on Wednesday afternoon but the real issue was discussed when Nawaz Sharif spent some time exclusively with Zardari. They agreed that there was a need for showing political unity for the rule of law without offending any particular institution. Close associates of both Nawaz Sharif and Zardari are concerned that some forces are trying to create misunderstandings between the army chief and the prime minister. They think that some important non-civilian functionaries are near retirement this year and these functionaries are playing a major role in putting pressure on the government in the name of Musharraf trial.
Their actual goal is to get some extension. Other sources say that the media is overestimating the situation. The prime minister is going to attend a passing out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy next week and all rumours will die soon. Nawaz Sharif and Zardari are committed to making history by not bowing down to those who want Musharraf to run away from Pakistan but certainly they have some differences. They differ with each other on some aspects of talks with the Taliban and the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance but both agreed to resolve the small differences as soon as possible for achieving some big political goals.
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