Musharraf prepares to storm Pakistan politics

Former president and ex-chief of Pakistan Army Pervez Musharraf has secured himself a launchpad for his return to the country from his exile in London a political party which is founded with the desire of bringing about "a great change". "We are happy. There is still a lot of work to do, but we have
the concept, the objectives and the will," asserted retired General Rashid Qureshi, who was the military and presidential spokesperson for Musharraf and is now one of the "masterminds" behind the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).

The APML emulates the name of the historical Muslim party that played a decisive role in the independence of Pakistan in 1947, after decades of struggle for freedom from the dominion of British Empire.

The official launch of the party took place quietly in the southern metropolis of Karachi in June where its leaders announced that the party wants to be for "all Pakistanis" without distinction of religion, ethnicity or social class.

"The people of Pakistan are tired of the government's incompetence. It is time for a great change," Qureshi told EFE, and affirmed that the party "has already been registered" and hopes to establish headquarters in all the big cities and provincial councils.

According to a party source, the party has organised various events in other important places of Pakistan like Lahore and the region of Gilgit-Baltistan, since its launch in Karachi.

Some of its leaders are currently in Dubai to meet Musharraf and design a strategy for the new formation.

The source also revealed that this month there could be a launch of the party in London, but added that the final decision is yet to be taken and that it depends on the political situation in Pakistan.

The most notable thing about the new party is that its existence might be the preamble to the come back to the country of retired General Musharraf, who according to Qureshi "would return soon" to Pakistan to head the organisation and to contest the next elections.

"The date (of the return) is not yet decided. We keep informing him of the situation here. When he returns we'll tell the people in advance," said the spokesperson, who added that the APML "is working to guarantee his security".

After nearly nine years in power, which he gained following a bloodless coup d'état, Musharraf found himself forced to give up the presidency of Pakistan in August 2008 to avoid the process of impeachment against him by parliament.

The former president stayed in the country for a while away from the front line but found himself hounded by a number of his old enemies among the political groups, the judiciary and civil society on account of his past manoeuvres when in power.

This made him leave Pakistan and go for pilgrimage to Makkah, and later serve as speaker at various conferences in the Middle East, Europe and the US, till he settled down in Britain.

Sources from different parties including the one that supported his mandate, the Muslim League-Q, showed their concern on whether the former general would dare to return in the present circumstances; while Musharraf has already announced that he would contest in the "next elections".

In a recent video-conference, complete with a Pakistani flag, a bunch of red flowers, a thick book about Michelangelo and a collection of Mozart discs, he announced his decision to return to politics and was confident of obtaining the nation's support.

His hope comes from the renewed rage that he has awakened through internet: his virtual page on Facebook, for example, has a significant figure of 218,071 followers, and that of the APML has added more than 1,500 in a few days.

"You are actually a real leader. We need you here," writes an internet user in support of his return, among other comments.

Not very pleased with the prospect, the influential Pakistani daily "Dawn" expressed its doubts in a recent editorial whether "the self-proclaimed conquest of cyber-space really coincides with the reality" of an underdeveloped country.

"Musharraf has to be prepared to face possible judicial charges against him if he returns to Pakistan," said the newspaper.

A Western diplomatic source described it as being a "positive" thing that a new political party led by Musharraf has been founded in a country which, after all, is considered a democracy.

"Obviously it is very likely that he would become de facto president and (his figure) represents a rupture in the democratic system, which has experienced frequent alterations in Pakistan," said the source.

Spokesperson Qureshi admitted that some parties are hostile to Musharraf despite not being able to present "solid" accusations, and defended that the former general "is even more popular with the lower classes".

India, Pak should build on progress made in any area: Qureshi

India and Pakistan should build on any "positive development" in any issue including Kashmir and look at ways to make progress where it has not been achieved, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said.

He, however, trashed former President Pervez Musharraf's four-point formula for resolving the Kashmir issue, saying it was "his thinking" which did not have the endorsement of Parliament or Cabinet.

"We will not like to ignore anything. We will not like to ignore any development or any positive development that has taken place between India and Pakistan," Qureshi told PTI in an interview here.

He was responding when asked to comment on India's emphasis that there was a need to "reaffirm" the progress made through "complex negotiations and dialogue through patient and unsung effort" whether in the composite dialogue or back channel diplomacy.

"Any issue, whether it is Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, Water, any issue where progress can be made, should be made. Where it hasn't been made, we should look at ways and means how to make progress. Where progress has been made, let us build on it further," Qureshi said in a wide-ranging interaction.

He will be having talks with External Affairs Minister SM Krishna in Islamabad on July 15 to discuss ways to reduce trust deficit and improve ties.

Asked whether his government endorses the four-point formula floated by Musharraf in December 2006 to resolve Kashmir issue, the Foreign Minister said, "The four-point formula that Gen Musharraf made then was his thinking. It was being done through quiet back-channel diplomacy."

The formula envisaged softening of Line of Control (LoC), self-governance, phased withdrawal of troops from entire Jammu and Kashmir and joint supervision by India and Pakistan.

"We are a democracy, Parliament has to own them, Parliament has to endorse them, Cabinet has to discuss them," the Foreign Minister said, adding these proposals were "neither discussed by Cabinet, nor endorsed by Parliament. So, as democrats, there are certain Parliamentary procedures that we have to fulfill."

Nawaz Sharif blames government for mismanagement in scathing attack

Islamabad: Former premier Nawaz Sharif launched a bitter attack on the government Tuesday, blaming it for economic mismanagement, rampant corrupt ion and confrontation with the judiciary.

Addressing a news conference in Lahore after a high-level meeting of his main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), he said his party would not remain a “silent spectator” and would play its role for containing the overall deterioration without upsetting the democratic system.

He demanded a thorough debate in the parliament on the conditions prevailing in the country in order to evolve a national strategy to reverse the drift into chaos.

Sharif once again denounced what he called attempts by the government to “buy loyalties of lawyers” and turn them against the judiciary by doling out financial grants to bars in Punjab province and other areas through its law minister. A number of bar associations had refused such handouts, he said and praised their stand recalling the struggle waged by the lawyer community and the PML-N that led to the restoration of the independent judiciary in March last year.

He said since the transition from dictatorship to democratic rule after the February 2008 general election, his party had taken care that the system was not destabilized, though it had to face criticism that it was acting as a friendly opposition to the Pakistan People's Party government.

“The economy is going down the drain and the situation in the country is rapidly deteriorating because of misrule and corruption. We cannot watch this deterioration silently; the direction has to be changed,” he said.

Sharif said courts in France have concluded that the Agosta submarine deal with Pakistan during the PPP government had involvement kickbacks. He said it was not difficult to pinpoint culprits and demanded that necessary action be taken.

He said when his party was in power the country's economy was flourishing, the value of Pakistani rupee was more than the Indian currency and the country did not have to beg loans from others.

The opposition leader's onslaught came amid ongoing tussle between the executive and the judiciary and emerging prospect of many federal and provincial lawmakers losing their seats as a result of a scandal over alleged fake educational degrees of parliamentarians.

Around 10 legislators belonging to PML-N, PPP and PML-Q have already quit in the wake of proceedings in courts on challenges to authenticity of their degrees they had furnished to contest the 2008 elections when graduation was a pre-requisite for participation in parliamentary polls.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is currently engaged in a process to verify degrees of hundreds of legislators, following a Supreme Court order to the Election Commission to initiate action against lawmakers whose degrees were found to be spurious.

Political analysts say if a large number of lawmakers stood disqualified such a situation could warrant holding of fresh elections instead of filling vacant seats through by-polls. The two-year old government has dismissed suggestions of mid-term elections.

Asked at his news conference about PML-N stance over the issue, Sharif said his party was watching the developing situation and would take a decision at the appropriate time.

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