All The President’s Men

by Afzal Khan
Islamabad May 24

Musharraf keeps his strangle hold on the governance

Islamabad May20:”We want governance and not just government”, PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari had bravely declared soon after elections. Unfortunately for him, that runs counter to Gen. (R) Pervez Musharraf’s concept of shedding the authority he had usurped in 1999 and has retained much of to date, February 18 elections notwithstanding.

In November 2002 while swearing in Zafrullah Jamali as Prime Minister, Musharraf declared that he was “transferring responsibility” (not power) to his protégé. Thus he ushered in a unique era of a dangerous dichotomy where the person to be held responsible for everything did not exercise any real authority while the one who held all levers of power, was neither responsible nor responsive to anybody.

What we have at present is, in fact, another hybrid structure in which there is further dichotomy within the present dispensation. After initial shock on February 18 that left him in a stupor for some weeks, Musharraf has recouped and appears steadily returning to the driving seat. “The Presidency has energized”, says Musharraf’s inveterate foe, Nawaz Sharif, in utter frustration over the way things have shaped up in recent weeks. Quite often, Musharraf seems to be setting the agenda for the PPP on critical issues with the benign pat from the US. This is seriously compromising PPP’s enlightened interests and diluted the popular mandate.

Some even stabbed and betrayed Benazir & PPP but have regained position of prominence to influence its directionUltimately, not only Mr. Zardari could not get the governance he was craving, he has to concede much of the share in government as well to Musharraf. If there are any doubters they better have a look at the set of suckers surrounding Zardari and the bevy of Musharraf’s courtiers and favourites who fill plum government posts as if nothing has changed and February 18 never happened. Then we have certain appointments in the Prime Minister House for which Mr. Gilani cannot be blamed. The President’s men are all around who rule on his behalf.

The list is long and scary. Tariq Aziz, Nadim Taj, Ataur Rehman, Nasim Ashraf , Abdullah Yousaf, Mohsin Hafiz, Tariq Ikram, Kamal Shah, Qayyum Malik, Hafeez Pirzada, Sharifuddin Pirzada owe their allegiance to Musharraf. Others surrounding Asif, like Rehman Malik, Salman Farooqi, Hussain Haqqani, Babar Awan, Latif Khosa, Farooq Naek and Shaukat Tareen are men of sort of repute, more for opportunism than any sense of loyalty. Some even stabbed and betrayed Benazir and PPP but have regained position of prominence to influence its direction.

Others remain connected with the Army House. Rehman Malik acting on behalf of Tariq Aziz exercised an insidious influence on Ms. Bhutto. He led her to the deadly path of a deal with Musharraf that culminated in her physical elimination. On the eve of the fateful day of her assassination, Gen. Nadim Taj met her to warn she might be killed. But Taj, his boss and Malik did nothing to provide her even a semblance of credible security. Malik was found missing from the scene of murder despite being her chief security adviser. He is now the main link between Asif and Musharraf/Altaf Hussain etc. Almost every sinister move by Musharraf from postponement of by-elections, estrangement of Nawaz Sharif to delivering the MQM to Zardari can be traced

Salman Taseer had a good reference of being in jail during Zia and even suffered torture under Nawaz Sharif till he quit the PPP in mid 1990s and became a bitter critic of Ms. Bhutto. His hatred of Nawaz Sharif has been a common denominator with Musharraf who has chosen him as governor to demolish PML-N, a job for which by nature he is least suited and may well make a hash of it. He joined Musharraf’s caretaker government on the day BB was put under detention in Lahore.

Among those installed in the Prime Minister House without any input from Gilani are Gen. Mehmud Durrani and Manzoor Watoo, till recently senior vice president PML-Q. Ms. Bhutto had her toughest time during visits to Washington when Durrani was Musharraf’s pointman as ambassador there. In February 2006, she and Zardari were supposed to attend the Breakfast Prayer meeting, an international event with President Bush as chief guest. To embarrass her, he led the campaign in US media that the Interpol has issued a Red Warrant to arrest Ms. Bhutto. She addressed a hurriedly-called news conference to tell the world that she was not hiding from arrest. The red warrant notice was removed from Interpol’s web site.

Manzoor Wattoo blackmailed the PPP to become chief minister Punjab in 1993 with only 14 members supporting him after earlier betraying Nawaz Sharif. He has been selected by Musharraf to do the dirty job in Punjab against Sharifs. The Prime Minister House will be the new hub of intrigues and bring bad name to Gilani for no fault of his. It is height of hypocrisy and a cruel joke with the people of Pakistan that he has been named advisor on industries even while everybody knows his real assignment.

There are reports that he may join the PPP where he is sure to instantly get a position of prominence. Considering the kind of people who have established their stranglehold on the party, one is reminded of April 1979. At the time of execution of Bhutto, the PPP Central Committee was crowded by those whom it had routed in 1970 with Yasin Wattoo as its secretary general. Bhutto had gone on hunger strike in protest against shamefully shabby treatment he was getting in his cell. In response to his repeated messages for giving a call to the people to come on the streets, the committee issued a pathetic message:”Janab Chairman, khana kha lein”. (Mr. Chairman please break your fast).

Twentynine years later, things seem to have come full circle. The committed party workers and Benazir loyalists have been sidelined or make a cosmetic presence on the stage as in case of Raza Rabbani and Farhatullah Babar. Not much is heard of Naheed Khan while Haqqani’s spouse occupies the place in Zardari’s court that she enjoyed with BB. Ironically, at home Mrs. Haqqani once replaced her sister.

The ISI is supposed to operate under the Prime Minister but Lt. Gen. Nadim Taj continues to report to Musharraf and do his bidding. Another secret agency, the Military Intelligence (MI) also did the same till recently when the COAS exercised his inherent authority over the outfit to ease out the Musharraf confidante.

The National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) is government’s main think tank where Asif’s pal and famous physician Dr. Asim has replaced the erudite Daniyal Aziz. His office is the regular rendezvous of Tariq Aziz and Rehman Malik for fateful decisions guiding the destiny of this nation.

Mr. Zardari has given preference to the legal advice given by Khosa, Naek, Awan and now Hafeez Pirzada to stall the restoration of deposed judges over scores of eminent jurists and retired chief justices and judges. Attorney-General Qayyum Malik who has outbid the fading Sharifuddin Pirzada as undertaker of Pakistan’s constitution and independent judiciary, looms large over this scheming band which is hell-bent to sustain the Musharraf’s court he reconstituted with his nominees to secure endorsement for all his transgressions of the constitution and rule of law. No wonder, it has perpetuated the judicial crisis to his great comfort and satisfaction.

(To be continued….

Afzal khan/ Islamabad
Islamabad May 24

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