Pakistan News Roundup | A View From Abroad

Contributed by Mehlaqa Samdani, adviser to the PCR Project, CSIS June could prove to be a decisive month for President Musharraf. On June 10th Pakistani lawyers will begin their long march from Multan to Islamabad for the restoration of the judges. They will be accompanied by the PML-N, the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM), other political parties and civil society groups including the ex-servicemen society that consists of 80,000 former members of Pakistan’s armed services. In recent days these groups have upped the ante and have called not only for the judges’ reinstatement, but for Musharraf’s ouster and a public trial under Article 6 of the constitution. Last week as pressure mounted against Musharraf, Pakistan was rife with rumours about his imminent departure. Also a three-hour meeting between the President and the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) led one Pakistani newspaper to speculate that the COAS had persuaded Musharraf to resign and that this could occur within days not weeks. By the end of the week however, Musharraf responded by hosting a dinner reception with Pakistan’s top military brass in attendance, thereby reaffirming his close relationship with General Kayani and his intention to continue as Pakistan’s president. Later Musharraf received a phone call from President Bush who assured the Pakistani president of his unstinting support, further dampening speculations about Musharraf’s plans to resign. In the meantime, the Pakistan People’s Party continued to give mixed signals regarding its intentions viz. a viz. Musharraf. While Party co-chair, Asif Ali Zardari, appeared to distance himself from the President calling him a ‘relic of the past’, the Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani adopted a more conciliatory attitude leaving Pakistanis more confused than ever. It remains to be seen how the upcoming Long March will affect Musharraf’s fate. Violent clashes are expected between paramilitary forces and the protestors since the latter have plans to besiege the Presidency, the Parliament and the Army House, where Musharraf resides. If things get out of control, the army could be called in and martial law declared which would ultimately serve to strengthen Musharraf. If, however, the army feels Musharraf is too destabilizing for the country, it could ask him to step down in return for indemnity for his November 3rd actions.