A ‘national’ government?

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Editorial: A ‘national’ government?

President Pervez Musharraf may have been paying the first instalment of the costs for postponing the January 8 elections when he reportedly established indirect contact with the PMLN leader Shehbaz Sharif for inclusion in a “national government to be formed before the elections” which he is thinking of setting up. Mr Sharif could not deny the contact in Islamabad after he was encountered by newsmen outside the house of the well-known go-between Brigadier (Retd) Niaz Ahmad. Mr Ahmed is supposed to have extended the “invitation” to Mr Sharif to which the latter is supposed to have replied that he would first consult his elder brother, the PMLN chief Nawaz Sharif.
The report says there were other key people who met Mr Sharif Jr the same day: the Saudi ambassador and another former bureaucrat with military contacts. There is speculation that he could not have been “surprised” by the persons he was calling on; nor is it possible that his elder brother, Mr Nawaz Sharif, was unaware of it, resting at a place near the capital in freezing Murree.

The notion of a “national government before the elections” clearly means that the caretaker government has lost its credibility and will be of no help in endowing the February 18 elections with legitimacy. Or it could mean that President Pervez Musharraf is casting about for an excuse to postpone the elections again.

The PMLN under Mr Nawaz Sharif has adopted a very aggressive stance vis-à-vis the president and his client party, the PMLQ, for reasons of vendetta as well as sheer electoral strategy after witnessing a clear surge in favour of his party in Punjab. Therefore the president may be feeling a little apprehensive about the ability of his establishment to tilt the polls in favour of the PMLQ without causing anarchy in the country. But, given his past record, he could not have decided to go behind the back of his favoured party, and must have shown them the damaging intelligence reports to convince the Chaudhrys of his “national government” idea. He may have touched base with the Saudis too, who want to see their friend back in government, and then given the green light to his old instructor Brigadier Niaz Ahmed.

Opinion polls are nose-diving for the president and his party, and there is too much noise about pre-rigging among the opposition parties for the establishment to be able to do anything dramatic on February 18. The PMLQ, the party that scored the highest number of seats in the National Assembly, 126, in 2002 is being given less than 50 by pollsters, the rest going to the PPP, who had 81 in 2002 and may cross 100 this time, and the PMLN. The PPP may also have been approached via Mr Amin Fahim in connection with the president’s “national government”. But it is keeping mum for obvious reasons.
Will the Sharifs bite? It seems improbable, given the tough line against the president and the “renegade” PMLQ taken by the top leaders of the party under Mr Nawaz Sharif’s tutelage. Mr Sharif’s pledge to restore the “November 3 judiciary” may also count as an obstacle. The other factor to consider is the certainty of the PPP getting the highest number of seats in parliament. The Sharifs have already conceded this and have proposed a PMLN-PPP coalition government after the 2008 elections. Choosing between the old rival PPP and the new rival PMLQ can only be rendered easy if Mr Nawaz Sharif is dangled the premiership of the country and a complete ouster of the Chaudhrys from the chief ministership of Punjab. However, if the president has a red line on the issue which cannot be crossed then the Sharifs won’t bite.

The PPP seems to have become wise to the moves and has quickly announced that it would form a national government after winning the 2008 elections. The gesture is meant to reassure old opponents that the party is willing to let bygones be bygones and is ready to accommodate them. This would appeal to the ANP and the MQM as well as disarm the PMLQ to some extent. In any case, the rumour has focused public attention once again on the ineffective and biased nature of the caretaker government. And this may compound the difficulties Islamabad is facing in the run-up to the elections. *
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan




With all the uncertainties that are occurring, will Nawaz Sharif agree?

What about our good old Zardari?

 

[mujahideen]

I personally think it is too late for an interm national governemnt, but if the opposition wants a government of national concenses they can form one after the elections. But I doubt this will happen.

 

[Asghar]

There will be no National Government, it wasn't even on the agenda. Plus President Musharraf did not postpone the elections, that was the Election Commission.

 

[Proud to be Pakistani]

I personally think it is too late for an interm national governemnt, but if the opposition wants a government of national concenses they can form one after the elections. But I doubt this will happen.

True that ... this was the best option in the conditions in which Pakistan is at this moment but our political leaders are not going to sit together and think for pakistan. They will watch and create more problems to destablize Musharaf Government to achieve their goals .... SHAME ! on them and our people who want to vote for them