Meesaq-e-Pakistan: PML-N’s olive branch to PPP -by Muhammad Akram
Related Article: Arshad Mahmood’s column on Nawaz Sharif’s Meesaq-e-Pakistan and Mubarik Haider’s response
Nawaz Sharif now wants a “Meesaq-e-Pakistan”
PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s proposal for 10 years political accord with the name of Misaq-e-Pakistan is an olive branch to the PPP government so as to enable the later to complete five years in the office, informed PML-N sources told Daily Times on Tuesday.
The sources said the PML-N chief was ready to meet President Asif Ali Zardari soon after seeing that tangible development had been made on the matter with the support of the PPP. The sources said the PML-N leadership was of the considered view that it could co-exit with PPP better than joining hands with the ‘unscrupulous and non-trustworthy’ Muslim Leagues including those who had formed an alliance and those chose to stay away from it after first joining the establishment-sponsored PML bandwagon with Pir of Pagara made to sit on the steering wheel.
An important PML-N MNA from Lahore confided with this scribe that the party leadership wanted the PPP to stay in power as long as it could manages, since the party did not see itself capable enough of steering the country out of the crisis it was confronting with. “Let the PPP government clear the mess of terrorism, bad economy, unemployment and high inflation,” the PML-N MNA quoted Nawaz Sharif as saying. “No government can survive six months in the office under the prevalent conditions,” the MNA quoted his leader’s observations about the current state of affairs of the country. The MNA said the PML-N chief was of the view that no political party, including the PML-N, would like to assume power at the moment as people would throw it out in six months as it will be unable to solve the mountain of problems being confronted by the country.
The sources said the PML-N chief believed that the civil-military relations were haunting the PPP government like any political government in the past. The party wanted to solve this all-important issue at the earliest with the help of PPP for a smooth sailing of the present and future democratic governments. However, said the sources, the PML-N chief believed that no political party, including the PML-N could ‘bell the cat’ on the matter alone.
The sources said the PML-N though had initiated an intense debate on Misaq-e-Pakistan with an intent to solve the matter of civil-military relations once for all yet it find the issue complicated since the constitution did not permit engaging the men in khakis on the matter. On the other hand, the sources said, the brazen violations of the constitution by military generals demand an amicable solution of the problem which was persisting despite an elected government and the opposition averse to mingling of armed forces and intelligence agencies in politics, by having all including the armed forces of the country on board. The sources said the PML-N also wanted the judiciary part of deliberations on Misaq-e-Pakistan, but failed to see a modus operandi as to how to include it in the process keeping in view its constitutional nature like that of the armed forces.
On the other hand, the sources in the PPP said PML-N had not yet sent a formal offer for dialogue on Misaq-e-Pakistan though it had complete knowledge of the move the PML-N chief was working on for quite some time now. The sources said the PPP welcomed the move if made to it officially by the PML-N and would like to come out with a political response to it. The sources said ‘on the face of it the Misaq-e-Pakistan proposal appeared to be a no-confidence on the PPP-led coalition government but if issues like curtailing or doing away with the political role of intelligence agencies and the demarcation yet again of the constitutional conduct of the armed forces and the judiciary were concerned, the PPP could see the proposal worth paying attention and would give a suitable response after deliberating upon its details.
Source: Daily Times
Notwithstanding the malice of PML-N,if any, behind reformulation of an accord for governing pakistan, it is widely felt that time is now ripe to draw workable scheme of power for two reasons;
1. in post musharaf time, facing the practical day to day chellenges, pakistani elite is now more able to understand vitality of assigned orbits. Reasons for wake up can be judicial is hyperactivity but, parliamentary handicappes, militry’s chellenge of taliban, civil executive authority is shrinked even more.
2. foreign friends are also for the first time keen to know who actualy rules pakistan and they never want it be Taliban etc. i feel its about pakistan itself not because of afghanistan or other neighbouring regions.
Globaly constitutions are the accords that envisage the scheme of governance but in objective conditions of pakistan constitution is a utility with legal & Islamic implications i mean ammendment in constitution can be challenged or can be disliked in championships of democracy but about Charter of Democracy none objected.
However civil beurocracy since Naqvi’s NRB has steadily been undermined on national scene which in no way has benefited the country, so in new governance accord C.beurocracy is also to be given role.
Lastly i suggest it may not be called Meesaq-e-Pakistan rather “Zabta-e-Iqtadar” is appropriate, WHY ? for the reasons best known to ‘Mangoo Taangay wala’ in New Constitution of Saadat Hasan Manto.