Some commentators think that the recent publication of a photograph showing Mr Nawaz Sharif with COAS General Abdul Waheed has “rattled the government”, “resulted in a pall of doom and gloom in Islamabad” and given Mr Sharif “a new lease of life”. A single photograph, we are informed, has “changed the political situation” because General Waheed’s meeting with Mr Sharif is supposed to signal restiveness within the army. Coming on the heels of Mr Moeen Qureshi’s recent advocacy of a “national consensus government”, this event is thought to imply that the clock has started to tick for Benazir Bhutto. Is this analysis correct?
In the past, when Mr Sharif sought meetings with General Waheed, the request was politely declined without any reference to Islamabad. This time, however, the army chief thought it appropriate to sound out the government. Islamabad’s response, we understand, was favourable. That is why the government, far from being “rattled”, has taken the event in its stride. What needs to be explained, however, is this: why did General Waheed think it a good idea to meet with Mr Sharif at this time and why did the government concur with his view?
For some time now, GHQ has been unhappy that the government and opposition are unable to speak with one voice over a number of national security issues — nuclear programme, sectarianism, drugs, Kashmir, military assistance — which impinge upon US-Pak relations. Although Ms Bhutto has consistently sold GHQ’s views on all these issues to Washington, some of Mr Sharif’s recent utterances (“We have the bomb”, “The army once toyed with the idea of smuggling drugs”, “We are supporting the jihad in Kashmir militarily”, etc) have seriously hurt Pakistan’s cause. GHQ wants such irresponsible outbursts to end so that Ms Bhutto can forcefully present Pakistan’s unanimous point of view in Washington next month.
Ms Bhutto’s crucial Washington trip comes when the US State Department is leaning on Congress to amend the Pressler amendment or seek a partial one time waiver and the Pentagon is hoping to activate the Joint Consultative Group in order to service some US-Pak military contracts. Therefore a meeting between General Waheed and Mr Sharif on the eve of Ms Bhutto’s departure — in which the necessity of formulating a national viewpoint over the country’s security concerns was stressed by the army chief — is all to the good.
If Mr Sharif, in turn, drew the army chief’s attention to the government’s “victimisation” of the opposition, what is wrong with that? General Waheed knows that it takes two to tango. A more responsible opposition — one which is prepared to give up its policy of ousting Ms Bhutto “at any cost” — is needed as much as a secure and stable government. If General Waheed can quitely and gently help both sides to agree on the “rules of the game” — something which Ms Bhutto has long advocated but which Mr Sharif has so far spurned — we should all welcome his meeting with the leader of the opposition without reading too many untoward “signals” in it.
Mr Sharif’s considered response to Ms Bhutto’s pre-Eid letter is proof that his meeting with General Waheed ended on a beneficial note for the country. In his letter, Mr Sharif agrees that the government and opposition should cooperate with each other over national security related issues. He also accepts the fact that the country is going through a difficult transition during which both sides need to engage in a constructive dialogue. This is a far cry from the “hard” position adopted by Mr Sharif in recent months when he flatly rejected the idea of any dialogue with Ms Bhutto.
In this context, Chaudhry Shujaat’s new stance also merits comment. Long seen as a PML(N) “hawk” bent upon confrontation with the government, Chaudhry Sahib is now advocating conciliation in the larger “national” interest. Those who suspect that perhaps imprisonment doesn’t agree with him are wrong. The Gujrat Chaudhries don’t get cowed down by such pressures. If Chaudhry Shujaat is talking sensibly, it is because he too, like Mr Sharif, is a patriotic man who knows when it is time to put the national interest above party politics.
Ms Bhutto should not misread the current situation and squander the gains resulting from General Waheed’s meeting with Mr Sharif. While the opposition pauses to re-assess its policies, the government shouldn’t think that Mr Sharif and Chaudhry Shujaat have become “pliable” only because General Naseerullah Babar has “softened” them up appropriately. Reasonableness, however belated, should not be construed as a sign of weakness. The opposition should be treated honourably and fairly, otherwise General Waheed may find himself, in time to come, under real pressure to send out some genuinely ominous “signals”.
The ball is therefore in Ms Bhutto’s court. If she wants a good US trip, she needs to break the ice and invite the opposition for serious reconciliation talks. At the very least, the government should be able to initiate confidence building measures between the two sides by halting its victimisation campaign against leaders of the opposition.