PPP deliberately ignored Nawaz on Zardaris bid for presidency
Sunday, August 24, 2008
By Tariq Butt
ISLAMABAD: The PPP will go ahead with the election of its presidential nominee, Asif Ali Zardari, regardless of the PML-N position, senior party leaders said on Saturday.
Even before the meeting of our four-member delegation with Nawaz Sharif in Lahore on Saturday, we knew it well that the PML-N support will not be forthcoming for Zardaris bid to become the president, a top PPP leader told The News. At the same time, a senior PML-N leader said the question of support of his party to the presidential contestant of the PPP did not arise because we have been only informed about the PPPs decision to elect Zardari as the president without consulting us, and that too belatedly. This is in violation of the written agreements between the two parties on the restoration of the deposed judges and the kind of the president to be elected after Pervez Musharrafs ouster.
He said it was clear that the PML-N would not vote for the presidential contestant of the PPP unless the nominee met the agreed parameters. However, if the judges are restored by Monday (tomorrow), the situation can be radically different and the PML-N may extend its support to the PPP representative, he indicated.
The PML-N leader said the effort of the PPP to take his party on board at the eleventh hour was mere eyewash when Zardari had already taken his decision about the presidency. He said the PML-N was aware of the motive behind the sponsored support for Zardaris presidency from different tiers of the PPP.
On the other hand, a PPP leader declared: We dont care about another deadline given by Nawaz Sharif to reinstate the judges before the filing of nomination papers for the presidential election.
The cut off date to file the candidacy papers by the PPPs unbeatable presidential candidate and other contestants will expire before a promised resolution providing for the restoration of the deposed judges could be approved, if at all it was tabled and passed by the National Assembly.
Twelve noon August 26 is the deadline to submit the nomination papers.
According to the original plan, the resolution was to be tabled in the National Assembly on Aug 25 and after its passage following a two-day debate on it, the judges were to be restored on Wednesday (August 27).
The schedule for the presidential election has been deliberately devised in a way to create a situation where the move to bring back the deposed judges and the presidential election have been closely linked.
As a well-considered policy, Zardari has imposed a timeline on Nawaz Sharif to accept him or his nominee for the presidency even before the deadline, fixed by the PML-N chief for the reinstatement of the deposed judges, expires.
The scheme is that if Nawaz Sharif refuses to support Zardari as the presidential candidate (he has already declined to accept him), no resolution will be moved in the National Assembly for the restoration of the deposed judges.
By putting him forward as the presidential candidate and announcing the tight schedule of the election, Zardari has given a blunt message to Nawaz to decide to keep the alliance with him or say goodbye to him. The answer from the PML-N leader is that he is not in a position to keep the coalition intact.
The ruling alliance, as far as the relationship between the PML-N and the PPP is concerned, is dead for all practical purposes and its formal obituary would be read on Monday (tomorrow).
The deposed judges, especially deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, will attract considerable criticism from a number of PPP lawmakers if the resolution seeking their restoration came up for debate in the National Assembly next week, coalition leaders fear and said the chances of moving the motion had vanished in view of the fast-changing situation, particularly the PPP-PML-N ties.
The PPP hardliners, who are contemptuous of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, have sharpened their teeth to attack him and other aggressive deposed judges in the days to come.
There is no doubt left anywhere now that these judges would not be restored. However, some of them may be reappointed by the government as an effort was made before the impeachment plan was unfolded.
PPP insiders said with Zardari or his trusted nominee becoming the president, the hidden agenda of the PML-N to pull down the federal government in the next six months or so by constantly maligning it would be foiled. They said in the presence of a powerful presidency, Nawaz Sharif would not be able to pave the way for another general elections as early as he wanted.
Even if the PML-N succeeds in executing its plan and Nawaz Sharif becomes the prime minister as a result of fresh polls, the PPP president, armed with the existing discretionary powers, including the dissolution of the National Assembly and the dismissal of the government, would be there to check him in all respects, the PPP leaders said.
With the PPP man all set to become the president, even a slight chance to scrap the 17th Amendment has become non-existent. The PPP would be able to have a dominant president only if all the discretionary powers vested in the Aiwan-e-Sadr remain in place.
