Nawaz, Shahbaz not on the same wavelength

Saturday, December 05, 2009
By By Tariq Butt
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) “hawks” and “doves” are engrossed in a closed-door debate about the party’s firm policy towards President Asif Ali Zardari, insiders say.

PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif has emerged as the “soft-liner”, who wants to give more time to Zardari and doesn’t wish to rock the boat instantly by taking an extremely hawkish view.

On the other hand, insiders portray the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif as hardliners, who peddle an aggressive strategy, saying that they have no hope in an unreliable president, who has over and over again breached his pledges and commitments.

According to informed PML-N leaders, so far the policy followed by Nawaz Sharif is prevailing, as the party is not going for the whole hog against Zardari. It will continue till the time the PML-N chief changes his mind.

They say Nawaz fears derailment of the democratic system to be followed by a chaotic situation if the president is put under too much attack and further pushed to the wall.

“Nawaz Sharif feels that Zardari is already retreating. His view is that since the president is collapsing due to his own follies and idiocy, the PML-N should not become a part of any game plan to bring about his fall,” one insider said.

In the heart of his hearts, the source said, Nawaz Sharif knew when he would come to power by pulling down Zardari, he would also face an aggressive and hurt Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), whose performance in the opposition had always been much better than being in the government. He too would not be allowed to rule in peace as Benazir Bhutto-led PPP had done to him in 1993 when her MNAs had staged the drama of depositing their resignations with the then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, to pave the way for the dismissal of his government two months later.

The source said Nawaz Sharif wanted to avoid the repeat and replay of the vicious cycle of destabilisation of the Nineties after every couple of years of the coming in place of a new government although he too did not have very high hopes from the president. “Nawaz Sharif wants to keep Zardari under pressure but doesn’t wish to take his attack to a level where the president falls,” the insider said adding that the PML-N chief is aware that some elements are misinterpreting his present strategy and dubbing him as friendly opposition, which is not the case.

However, he said, Chaudhry Nisar and Shahbaz Sharif remain too much “committed” against Zardari and hold the view that even a working relationship could not be continued with him because of his track record. It was for this very reason that Chaudhry Nisar even refused to be a part of Nawaz Sharif-led PML-N delegation that recently held talks with the president at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Nawaz Sharif’s recent famous remark in a Geo interview that he would come in the way of removal of the present government was not received well by the hawkish elements, apart from Chaudhry Nisar and Shahbaz Sharif. Not only the president but also several federal ministers were happy over this development. PML-N elements, agreeing with Nawaz Sharif’s strategy, express some kind of hope that President Zardari would not further delay the scrapping of the 17th Amendment, a key demand of the party chief, and accept his other demands.

They say that in order to show that he had good intentions towards Nawaz Sharif, the president should immediately strike down the bar on the two-time former prime minister serving the third term that is now only specific to the PML-N chief. It was also directed against Benazir Bhutto when Pervez Musharraf had imposed it.

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