Friday, Jul 05, 2002
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By B. Muralidhar Reddy
The aggressive posturing by the PPP is a clear indication of the wide gap in the perception of the mainstream and religious parties and the military establishment on the issue. Besides, Gen. Musharraf would have to do a lot to win back the confidence of the political forces. The Islamabad Coordination Committee of the PPP which met here was of the view that the manner in which matters of State were being handled by a handful of serving and retired generals was such that the situation would get worse till it leads to a "colossal disaster". What should be a matter of concern to the managers of the Musharraf Government is that the opposition to the political reform package is not confined to the mainstream parties that are locked in a battle of words with the military establishment. The case of former Test cricket-star-turned politician and chief of Tehrik-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, best illustrates the point. Though he backed the Presidential referendum of April 30, he has attacked the proposed package of amendments as "unconstitutional and illegal". He even wondered whether he and his party did the right thing by backing Gen. Musharraf in the referendum. The six-party alliance of religious parties, led by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), which has said that it considers the package "blatantly unconstitutional" indicated that it has no intention of taking part in the consultation process. According to various political parties and sections of the civil society, since the controversial Presidential referendum in April, Gen. Musharraf has begun to resemble the previous military dictators. The only difference, they concede, is the relative freedom given to the media. At its meeting here, the PPP Committee asserted that the "disaster" could be averted if free and fair elections were held, implying that it apprehended "rigging" in the promised elections in October. Representatives of some of the political parties have begun to wonder whether the elections would be held at all. "The new assertiveness of senior functionaries of the Musharraf regime in tackling the situation arising out of infiltration of Al-Qaeda and Taliban activists gives us reason to believe that the build-up on the Al-Qaeda front could be to justify postponement of the October elections,'' a senior leader said. The PPP noted that the massive "disfiguring" of the 1973 Constitution was roundly condemned because the amendments, if implemented, would lead to a crisis that would be no less than the 1971 crisis. "We must avoid it,'' the party said with reference to the circumstances that gave birth to Bangladesh.
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