Why Musharraf Is a Safer Bet for Pakistan

[mujahideen]

Why Musharraf Is a Safer Bet for Pakistan

By Ahmed Quraishi
Islamabad, Pakistan

The fairest election in Pakistan’s history has restored respect for the Pakistani military, transferred the rising burden of governance to politicians, cut Musharraf’s false allies to size, and empowered the coming parliament to guard Pakistan’s strategic interest in the wider region.
It’s a welcome transition. Only two inherent threats to democracy exist now.
The first one stems from disturbing signals coming from politicians that indicate a desire to pursue politics of revenge. This includes the unnecessary digging into the past — Mr. Asif Zardari demanding an ‘apology’ for the judicial trial and hanging of former premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto – from who? – and Mr. Nawaz Sharif demanding the return of a deposed chief justice.
The second inherent threat comes from disturbing secessionist tendencies that may not reflect party lines but were still expressed in indirect ways. The ANP, which is projected to rule NWFP, appears to have closer ties to the Karzai administration in Kabul than to Islamabad. When Pakistan was pro-West during the cold war, ANP was pro-Soviet. And in Punjab and Sindh, Pakistanis were aghast to see PML-Q at one point try to whip up provincialism to counter PPPP’s equally shocking veiled threats of separatism in case of election fraud.
Nationalist Pakistanis were alarmed by the conduct of both parties who later retracted under the force of public opinion — PML-Q apologized openly and PPPP atoned by calling for national unity.
While it has become fashionable to thrash President Musharraf, it is the United States that is in the worst position on the Pakistani chessboard. It’s fascinating to see Washington trying again to prop up Mr. Musharraf when, last year, it tried its best to execute a political coup against him by attempting to replace him with the late Benazir Bhutto.
Now with PPPP falling short of a simple majority by a staggering 86 seats and forced to ally with a nationalist Nawaz Sharif, the Americans must be regretting the day they decided to destabilize the Musharraf administration.
With no party capable of single handedly pushing the US agenda, the Americans are again falling behind Mr. Musharraf as the safest bet. The Presidential Office emerges once again as the only real constant address for US interests in Pakistan and the region. [Mr. Musharraf winked back at Washington, saying US support is still important for Pakistan.]
The one good thing about the new Pakistani parliament is that it is in a position to put up the same kind of opposition to the United States that the Turkish parliament did in the run up to the Iraq invasion. Pakistani legislators, like their Turkish counterparts, are expected to remain sensitive to their voters who are generally angry at US blunders in the region.
At the same time, it is important to mention that no single party achieved a simple majority, let alone an absolute one. It is a ludicrous claim that the entire Pakistani nation voted for specific agendas, like restoring the judges or ousting Musharraf, based on an election where less than half the population voted, in a mandate divided among four or five major parties with different agendas. The majority claimed by the anti-Musharraf parties is really carved out of a minority.
In this case, this result hardly affects the position of President Musharraf. The domestic calls for his resignation in this case are more revenge politics than anything else. The external calls for his resignation, like the one made by US senator Joseph Biden, are better ignored.
Although President Musharraf may not say this publicly, he took a strategic decision to ditch his unfaithful allies in the so called ‘king’s party’ the day he decided to strike a deal with Benazir Bhutto. And for good reason. The PML-Q abandoned Musharraf during all the important crises of the past five years: The A.Q. Khan scandal, the Bugti rebellion, the Red Mosque insurgency, and the ex-chief justice case.
At one point, President Musharraf got so frustrated with the spineless attitude of his allies that he summoned the PML-Q government spokesman and scolded him for not publicly defending the action against Bugti’s rebellion against the State.
President Musharraf has no problem with fluctuating popularity ratings and – by becoming a civilian president – has spared the military unnecessary criticism for tough and unpopular political decisions. He simultaneously understands the concerns of the military and the politicians. If nothing else, this alone makes him a perfect president for the transitional period.
If Mr. Musharraf’s impeachment is a spurious issue, it is not the only one. The question of the restoration of the anti-Musharraf retired judges is another secondary issue that threatens to overshadow the real problems that the winning parties need to focus on.
Some of the winners in the election claim their voters gave them a mandate to pursue these issues. The question is, who is to decide if the PPPP won more votes because of the judges’ issue or because of the sympathy vote after the Bhutto assassination? Who is to decide if PML-N won more seats because of its demand to restore the anti-Musharraf judges or because of the last-minute energy and staple food crises that drowned the ruling PML-Q?
Apart from the genuine calls for an independent judiciary, it is not clear how restoring judges who became politicized and openly vindictive against a sitting president is essential to a functioning democracy. The issue appears to be more a question of settling scores than anything else. A classic case of revenge politics.
Interestingly, some politicians demanding the return of deposed judges are not completely devoid of personal interest.
Take Mr. Nawaz Sharif for example. With one stroke, Mr. Sharif is hoping to get a judge who will remove Musharraf, strike down his disqualification to run for office, and, while at it, remove the ban on third-time premiership. No one can deliver this feat except a judge holding a grudge against President Musharraf.
The only other two names rallying around the dismissed judges, Mr. Aitezaz Ahsan and Mr. Imran Khan, appear more like spoilers than campaigners. They mistakenly chose to boycott the election under the assumption it would be rigged. Now they are trying to blackmail the winning parties with a stark choice: Pay attention to our demands or we will declare you traitors of our cause. Why should the two take part in politics for the next five years when they chose to stay out of the fray?
I feel sorry for the reinvigorated Pakistani civil society because it wants to support genuine democracy and participation but is confused about who to support. The civil society needs to widen its scope of criticism to include, in addition to the sitting President, the rest of the politicians. And it needs to ask all the hard questions.
One question that nobody cared to ask is this: How are we, as Pakistanis, better off by recycling old, tried, tested and failed faces? Why a vibrant nation of 160 million Pakistanis cannot generate new leadership and new faces?

Opinion

 

[moha199]

Becausemost of our people are DUMB and stupid they are like animals you stick them they go the way you want them so as i have said big shepperds stick our people and we go their way the way of 8years jailed person God only help pakistan because they will do everything to destroy it

 

[HAIDER]

Imagine barrel of oil in world market is 110, at its highest price. People accusing him for the increase in price. I know for sure govt still pay millions of dollar in subsidy,just to keep lower the price of oil. When even in US and UK people are badly affected from the price of oil. Its Musharraf effort to "beg" for our nation for 30 million dollar from Saudi govt to purchase oil. And our leader fly in chartered planes or their private and million dollar expensive bullet proof cars for the traveling.

 

[mujahideen]

Sustained economic growth, control of extremism key to country’s future: President

ISLAMABAD, Mar 19 (APP): President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday said that the key to the country’s future and way forward is sustained economic growth and control of extremism. He made these remarks while speaking to the participants of National Defence Course and Armed Forces War Course here at the National Defence University today.

The President said that it is the economic stability and its upsurge that need to be maintained for any kind of influence on security and other issues of national importance.

He said that Pakistan has a geo-strategic relevance which cannot be undermined. However, the geo-strategic location of Pakistan can be developed as a trade and energy corridor which will provide more leverage to Pakistan geo-politically, he added.

While emphasizing the role of media in image building of Pakistan, he said that media should project world wide the economic rise and potential of Pakistan.

The President who dwelt at length on various issues related to national security said that over the last five years, Pakistan has gained economic strength and it must continue the upsurge in that direction.

Emphasizing on energy security imperatives, the President said that our economic growth must match the progress in energy sector so as to maintain a good balance between them.

He also highlighted the importance of food security in view of an overall stress on food commodities world over.

The President said, “we must concentrate on progress in education, health and poverty alleviation as these are the key elements for progress of any nation.”

Talking about the national security, the President said that “Pakistan’s Minimum Deterrence Strategy is must for peace: we shall never compromise on our nuclear programme.”

The President said, “It is the weakness which invites aggression; peace can only be ensured from a position of strength.”

He said that the nation must join hands together to eliminate the scourge of extremism and terrorism.

The President in his address to the participants appreciated their efforts for making the exercise a success.

The senior civil and military leadership attended the Exercise “Marka-e-Baqa”, which is the highmark of the course at National Defence University.

The participants of the course presented National Security Policies. The exercise will continue for 2-3 weeks.

Associated Press Of Pakistan - Sustained economic growth, control of extremism key to country’s future: President

 

[mujahideen]

Good governance required to meet challenges of terrorism and inflation; Musharraf

ISLAMABAD, Mar 19 (APP): President Pervez Musharraf Wednesday said the new government can meet the challenges of terrorism, energy crisis, rising fuel and food prices through good governance and by always keeping “Pakistan First”. Addressing a farewell dinner in honour of the outgoing caretaker government headed by Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro and his 28 member cabinet at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the President said Pakistan now needs to look forward and progress on path of democracy.

“Politicking has to give way to good governance,” the President said and added “I am confident that the new government will consider Pakistan always first and face the challenges it faces.”

He said the economy was on the upsurge and all macro-economic indicators were strong. He cited a recent report by Merrill Lynch that attributed these to healthy economic policies over the past several years.

The President said the country in the past few months has been through a “turmoil”, however stressed that the new government must sustain the economic growth to meet the difficulties it faces.

President Musharraf also pointed at the rising prices of international fuel, edible oil and wheat and said the days of cheap food are now over.

He said the current energy shortage was the fallout of rapid industrialisation and said the growth in the energy sector must match the growth in the national economy.

However he pointed that maintenance of law and order was an important prerequisite to achieve this balance.

“I hope the new government will meet and understand these challenges and move Pakistan forward on the path of progress, peace and prosperity,” he added.

The President also lauded the role of the caretaker government for successfully fulfilling the constitutional obligations in a befitting manner.

“You deserve commendation from the whole nation,” the President said while noting the role of the caretaker governments in the centre and the provinces.

He said the caretaker setup was announced with “noble intentions” to ensure fair play and for transitioning of one government to another.

He expressed his gratitude to the caretaker government, the election commission and all those related for holding free, fair, transparent election in a peaceful manner.

Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro said he felt satisfied on accomplishing the task assigned to it, despite all the challenges that cropped up.

He said under the President’s guidance, his government ensured that development and economic activity remains on target.

He said the electoral process was acknowledged globally and high standards were introduced to bring impartiality and fairness to the process.

“We thank the Almighty Allah that helped us come up to the expectations of the nation,” he said and added that without the teamwork, this task would not have been achieved.

The dinner was attended by Chief Justice, Governors and Chief Ministers, the Services Chiefs and federal secretaries.

Associated Press Of Pakistan - Good governance required to meet challenges of terrorism and inflation; Musharraf

 

[mujahideen]

Presidency open for every party, says Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf has asked Political Parties to solve the issues amicably instead of adopting way of confrontation, adding that, being a Head of state, the door of Awan-e-Sadr are opened for every party.
Awan-e-Sadr is not creating hurdle in formation of Government, he said this while talking to President Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) Chaudhary Shujjat Hussain and Parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Chaudhary Pervez Elahi on Tuesday.

Pakistan, he said, is passing through critical time of its history. All the Political parties are same in his eyes, he said, adding, it is very regrettable that some circles are raising finger on Awan-e-Sadr that it is creating hurdle in formation of Government.

He said he being a President of Pakistan would continue to play his constitutional role. The President said that there would be no delay to call session of the National Assembly for the nomination of Prime Minister.

"I am big supporter of democracy". I had introduced democracy at every level in the country". I have full filled all the pledges which I had made with the nation", the President pointed out.

President Pervez Musharraf said that he want cordial relations with incoming Government. During the meeting, various issues related to overall political situation of the country, parliamentary affairs and judiciary, sources said.

Chaudhary brothers have assured their full cooperation to President Pervez Musharraf.

Pakistan News Service - PakTribune

 

[mujahideen]

Controversy to hurt democracy: Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf has said that any kind of controversy among the democratic institutions would cause great loss to the democratic process.

While speaking at a dinner hosted in his honour by the caretaker federal cabinet, Musharraf said that he desired good working relationship with the new government. He said it is his desire that the newly elected assembly should also complete its five-year tenure like the previous one.

He said that for the first time in the history of Pakistan the defeated party has accepted its defeat with open heart, and regretted that some of the democratic elements were creating impediments in the course of democracy.

The president also hoped that the new government would overcome the issue of inflation and maintain the pace of the economic growth. He also lauded the efficiency of the caretaker government.

On the occasion, Caretaker Prime Minister Muhammadmian Soomro said the government has worked for greater national interests in the most critical of times. He also appreciated the role of the armed forces and Election Commission of Pakistan for holding free, fair and transparent elections.

Controversy to hurt democracy: Musharraf

 

[mujahideen]

New govt should continue ‘Pakistan first’ strategy, says Musharraf

* President says new government must meet challenges of inflation, energy shortage and terrorism

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday that the new government should meet the challenges of terrorism, energy shortage, and rising fuel and food prices through good governance and by keeping “Pakistan first”.

“Politicking has to give way to good governance,” the president said while addressing a farewell dinner for the caretaker cabinet and prime minister. “I am confident that the new government will consider Pakistan always first and counter the challenges it faces.”

He said the parliament should complete its five-year term and democratic institutions should work without any friction or confrontation. “The country will make progress if new leaders looked forward and worked together for development of the country,” he said.

He said the new government had several major issues to tackle and he wanted them to be able to resolve them. “I hope the new government will meet and understand these challenges and move Pakistan forward on the path of progress, peace and prosperity,” he said.

The president said the country had been through “turmoil” in the past few months and the new government must sustain the economic growth to meet the difficulties it faced. He said Pakistan’s macro-economic indicators were strong and the recent shortage of energy was caused by rapid industrial growth. He said growth in the energy sector should match the growth in economy.

He said he had fulfilled all the promises he had made to the nation and added that the elections were free and fair.

“It is for the first time that the parties who lost have accepted their defeat and are ready to play their role as opposition,” he said.

The president also congratulated the new members of the assembly and the new speaker and deputy speaker.

staff report/agencies
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[ashfaque]

I agree that Mushrraf is best bet for Pakistan for current time. But I would like to give you some small example, though its bit funny, still can be effective.

In software industry there is model to gauge the maturity of company, and that is called CMM which ranges from 1 to 5, 1 is least mature and 5 is most matured and self evolving. Now most of least mature companies i.e CMM level 1, mostly depends upon the heroes in project, due to them projects get success and if they gone, total failure too, that makes Project and company highly volatile.

Now, take this in Pakistan's perspective, means currently Pakistan has one hero who can get much needed success, but what if he has gone?? A total chaos!!!! So, Musharraf has huge role to play in Pakistan's development, but a country can not depend upon one person's charisma.

There must be system in place which can become mature in due course of time and should be able to generate needed leaders, also system should evolve a process, in such a manner, even if there in no charismatic hero, process can take care of development.

And this system for a country can be Democracy, that has to be evolved with time, which will give a solid process, under which even a non charismatic leader can give much needed development to country. But this system/process needs time to get mature and people should not expect a charisma in initial phases. But once matured and evolved system will give much stability to country and people will not have to wait for Charismatic person.

In conclusion, Musharraf is charismatic and has great role to play, but Democracy should be given full chance to get evolved and matured.

 

[Interceptor]

^

Why do you post "Ahmed Quraishi" blog news every time he isn't a journalist he just sympathizer of Musharraf Pro i.e. his opinion is baseless because it is a opinion or say Gup Shup nothing more.

 

[Myth_buster_1]

^

Why do you post "Ahmed Quraishi" blog news every time he isn't a journalist he just sympathizer of Musharraf Pro i.e. his opinion is baseless because it is a opinion or say Gup Shup nothing more.

unfortunately most of our Journalist are busy publishing false reports and blaming Musharraf for every issue.
well i can expect such comments from pro PPP, but please with all due respect, where do you see PPP in the future? BB and her father are both dead, and now Mr.10% is gonna lead the contry? as PM?

 

[mujahideen]

Why do you post "Ahmed Quraishi" blog news every time he isn't a journalist he just sympathizer of Musharraf Pro i.e. his opinion is baseless because it is a opinion or say Gup Shup nothing more.

Come on man its good to hear different points of views. I sometimes post things which are against President Musharraf, because I believe the whole scope should be looked at. As far as being a fair journalist is concerned, I think that is a myth. No one can ever be neutral because we all have our own opinions. Now out of all the journalists in Pakistan the one I like the most is Cowasjee who writes for Dawn. I mean I dont agree witht the guy's opinion but he gives an all around view.
Who do you think is the most fair journalists or as a matter a fact the most fair media outlet?

 

[mujahideen]

‘I kept promise to hold fair, peaceful polls’: Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf Thursday said he fulfilled the promise of holding free, fair and peaceful elections and reiterated his commitment to work closely with the new government in view of larger interest of the nation and the country. He said during his separate meetings with the caretaker Sindh Chief Minister, Abdul Qadir Halipota and Federal Minister for Interior, Hamid Nawaz at Presidential Camp Office, Rawalpindi. Matters relating to the politics and the overall law and order in Sindh Province came under discussion during the Sindh CM’s meeting with the President. “I will continue to move on the path of reconciliation for the better future of the nation and the country,” President Pervez Musharraf said. The meeting between the President and the caretaker Federal Minister for Interior, Hamid Nawaz reviewed the law and order in the country. The President said the extremists and terrorists cannot destabilize Pakistan and reiterated his resolve to continue the fight against these elements. He directed for stepping up security for the foreigners present in the country.

Courtesy Geo

 

[mujahideen]

No mention of Musharraf in attack on dictatorship

By Our Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, March 19: Leaders of the parties which plan to form a coalition government at the centre on Wednesday vowed to remove all “vestiges of dictatorship” from the country by restoring the parliament’s sovereignty and making the judiciary independent. On the other hand, opposition lawmakers warned against confrontation.

It was, however, a unique occasion as neither the treasury lawmakers nor opposition leaders made any direct mention of the presidency or President Pervez Musharraf in their speeches to felicitate Dr Fehmida Mirza on her election as speaker.

The new leader of the joint opposition, Chaudhry Parvaiz Elahi, was the first speaker. Without directly hinting at the new coalition’s intention to drastically change the Constitution, he warned against going too far in an “attempt to acquire powers”.

He said that despite the opposition’s acknowledgement of the major parities’ mandate from day one, the PPP-led coalition was trying to subvert the PML-Q’s efforts to form government in Balochistan.

Mr Elahi accused the coalition of having started horse trading.

While felicitating the new speaker, the leader of the opposition said that instead of resorting to the frivolous practice of desk thumping, the opposition would be issue-oriented.

PPP’s Makhdoom Amin Fahim sarcastically remarked about the habit of the party’s co-chairman, Asif Zardari, of “keeping his word”.

Mr Fahim said: “We must focus our attention on ending dictatorship and ushering in democracy, for which all of us should rise above our personal interests and usher in a new era of development in Pakistan.”

PML-N’s Makhdoom Javed Hashmi highlighted the “dictatorial hurdles” in the way of democracy and said that the PPP-PML-N coalition had achieved a two-thirds majority, necessary for “undoing the undesired additions to the 1973 Constitution”.

Terming the newly-elected house the first sovereign house after a long time, he said in the past the parliament had been used for serving the interests of individuals. “This house has to weed out all marks of dictatorship by restoring its prestige as an independent decision-making institution. Its first step will be the restoration of the deposed judiciary.”

He said the revival of the Constitution alone could end uncertainty.

Amid loud desk-thumping, Mr Hashmi called for presentation of the defence budget in parliament.

He said it was time for parliament to take decisions on national issues instead of their being taken in Washington or the GHQ.

Javed Hashmi said he had won his seat for a sixth time, but this time he felt himself “most independent” as it comprised “anti-establishment lawmakers” who derived their powers from an elected parliament.

“The time has come to try and punish people who abrogated the Constitution.”

Asfandyar Wali Khan of the ANP said: “No other institution in the country is superior to this august house. We are determined to support all steps that will strengthen the Constitution and parliament.” Maulana Fazlur Rahman said: “All our decisions should be taken in this house. We must revert to an Islamic, democratic and welfare system.”

Dr Farooq Sattar of the MQM said that by taking part in the election of speaker, the opposition had tried to impress upon the would-be ruling coalition that heavy mandate entailed heavy responsibilities.

Dr Sattar criticised the coalition for the delay in the formation of government as it was impeding the solutions of people’s problems.

An independent MNA, Mian Manzoor Wattoo, came up with a number of proposal for the new speaker. He that the new prime minister should attend the house twice a week to reply to legislators’ queries.

He appealed to the ruling coalition to expand its national reconciliation agenda by encompassing the MQM and the PML-Q in the national government to face the challenges confronting the nation.

He suggested a review of the “war on terror” which, according to him, was “burning our own house”.

The president of his own faction of PPP, Aftab Sherpao, said the lower house should be sovereign and debates should be encouraged.

Raja Parvaiz Ashraf of the PPP paid tribute to Benazir Bhutto for “laying down her life for democracy”.

He said his party had learned the lesson of forgiveness and forgetting the past from the slain party chairperson. “We must proceed on the path of democracy to pay homage to our leader.”

No mention of Musharraf in attack on dictatorship -DAWN - Top Stories; March 20, 2008

 

[mujahideen]

Musharraf asks Shujaat to say goodbye

By Mayed Ali

LAHORE: President Pervez Musharraf has asked Pakistan Muslim League (PML) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to quit the party office as he has ‘lost’ the confidence of majority of party members, The News has learnt.

The president met a selective group of PML leaders in Islamabad on Wednesday after the election to the offices of the speaker and the deputy speaker of the new parliament. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, Mian Manzoor Wattoo, Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri, Faisal Saleh Hayat and a top presidential aide attended the meeting.

This was not the first time the president had ‘told’ the PML president about his unpopularity in the party. The Chaudhrys had met the president twice before this meeting on Wednesday since the party’s dismal performance in the Feb 18 general elections.

Each time, the president sought the rendezvous. However, the president’s engagement with his trusted leaders was sort of a follow-up on secret briefings he had got from his future set of confidants, including Hamid Nasir Chattha, Mian Manzoor Wattoo and Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri on the demerits of continuing with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.

“The people say that you have lost the support of the party,” the president told the Chaudhrys in their earlier meeting. Sources in the party said the Chaudhrys were taken aback by this blunt statement. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain challenged the president’s contention, asking him to convene a meeting of important party leaders so the issue could be ascertained.

The Wednesday’s meeting was the informal outcome of the earlier meetings. Mian Manzoor Wattoo and Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri came out in the open against Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, saying the party had suffered because of poor handling of issues by the cousins. Sources in the party said the Chaudhrys were already expecting such an upheaval with fair-weather friends showing teeth at their weakest hour.

The Chaudhrys, especially the younger, didn’t expect the president would also lose control in this situation at a time when he needed his old buddies for sailing through rough waters ahead. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s instant surprise gradually evaporated once the motive behind the move was focused after the meeting.

Sources in the party said one of the president’s top aides was instrumental in the bid to oust Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. The Chaudhry camp was not comfortable with this act of the president after having stayed with him through thick and thin. The pro-Shujaat bloc believes the president was not only kissing his political supporters goodbye, he was also trying to pass on the blame of all the previous government’s failures to them.

However, sources revealed, Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari and Faisal Saleh Hayat came to the rescue of the PML president with an antidote to Chattha-Wattoo-Kasuri trio’s move for beheading the Chaudhrys.

The former president’s strong arguments in Shujaat’s favour shocked even the defendants. However, this unexpected reinforcement from a strange quarter slightly changed the complexion of the ‘desired outcome’ of the sitting.

The Chaudhrys survived the first shocks on Wednesday. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain still had the slot as President Musharraf saw the participants off. The growing anarchy in the party has its roots in President Musharraf’s changed political realities and priorities. The news of this bombshell had been leaked to specific party cadres deliberately by the beneficiaries of the move. The depleting Chaudhry group believes the president’s handling of the issue had further compromised the position of the party.

Nevertheless, if the president vanishes from the political scene or lives for another five years amidst new political friends, he has put the onus of braving harsh times ahead on the Chaudhrys alone after having let his former PM slip out of the country. The cracks and blame-game in the party was expected in the aftermath of defeat at the electorate. The president’s discomposure was not.

Musharraf asks Shujaat to say goodbye