The loudest whisper in Islamabad is that General Pervez Musharraf wants his handpicked prime minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali to pack up and leave. We understand that General Musharraf would rather that Mr Jamali did so “voluntarily” instead of waiting to be pushed out. Mr Jamali’s original sponsors, the irredeemable Chaudhrys of Gujrat, are also keen to turf him out. But Mr Jamali is dragging his feet and seems faintly defiant. “The time for taking lessons is over”, he said recently. This is the same Mr Jamali who said shortly after he became prime minister that he would definitely avoid the fate of Mohammad Khan Junejo because he would never cross his “Boss” How times and people change despite the best intentions in the world! But what has poor Mr Jamali done to deserve the Heave-Ho?
He certainly hasn’t done enough to endear himself to General Musharraf. Mr Jamali’s lumbering style doesn’t sit well with his Boss’ management gurus who are obsessed with “good governance”. But surely Mr Jamali’s traditional tribal/feudal background was not a closely guarded secret from those who put forward and approved his candidature? In fact, it was one of Mr Jamali’s political virtues that he hailed from a relatively impotent Baloch tribe which had taught its scions the value of flexibility and good public relations for purposes of survival in a rough neighbourhood. General Musharraf wanted a pliant, dependent prime minister and the redoubtable Chaudhrys presented him one. So what are they cribbing about now?
General Musharraf was probably irked by Mr Jamali’s lack of enthusiasm or motivation in helping him bridge the Legal Framework Order divide last year after the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal refused to budge on the issue of the LFO until General Musharraf agreed to say when he would doff his uniform. Indeed, an unfortunate impression may have been created that Mr Jamali secretly sympathised with the MMA’s demands because they gelled with his own ambitions for autonomy from an overbearing president. It is also understandable why Mr Jamali would have wanted some of the trappings of office if not power to bestow patronage on his political supporters and preen himself as befits a prime minister. But this “facility” was constantly trimmed by General Musharraf’s powerful right-hand man, Tariq Aziz. This must have provoked Mr Jamali to complain to his Boss about “interference” from his “handlers” which in turn probably provoked them to start gunning for him.
Against this background, Mr Jamali’s political death wish manifested itself in a cabinet meeting called to discuss the viability of a bill on the National Security Council sought by his Boss. With his cabinet colleagues nervously looking over their shoulders, Mr Jamali proposed to dilute the scope of the NSC and was roundly rebuffed. Tales were carried to the Boss about how someone was getting too big for his Baloch chappals. There was incredulous muttering, conclusions were drawn. As a last ditch shot, Mr Jamali made a desperate bid to seize the secretaryship of the unified Muslim League in order to build a political base for himself. But the wily Chaudhrys were simply too smart for him. Indeed, neither the Chaudhrys nor the Boss was in any mood to allow him even a toehold in their new party, let alone the most important slot in it. The main purpose of unification is to enable the PML to become the sole vehicle for the fulfilment of General Musharraf’s budding plans for the future in which the prime minister may be relegated to the status of a presidentially appointed state functionary as in France. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is merely keeping the top seat warm for General Musharraf and making sure the second slot remains his for the asking – Mushahid Hussain has no popular constituency and can be shoved aside at will. There is no role for the likes of Mr Jamali in this agenda.
So if the time has come for Mr Jamali to bid adieu after the budget session is over, we might ask where General Musharraf intends to take Pakistan before the year is out. The exit of a handpicked PM so soon in the game points to the failure of General Musharraf’s artificially propped-up system. So will he sack everyone and start all over again? Are his evergreen advisors recommending a presidential system a la France with the same degree of blind enthusiasm with which they recommended the pathetic referendum and the failed current dispensation? It must be a tempting proposition: any change that scuttles the MMA will have the approval of the international community, any change that enables General Musharraf to become a directly elected president will empower him enormously and give him longevity, and any change that improves the “performance” of government to “deliver” will endear him to the masses especially since the economy is poised to leap into “self-sustaining” growth.
Has General Musharraf swallowed this idea hook, line and sinker? How will another system be institutionally immune from an assassin’s bullet or bomb? The timing and manner of Mr Jamali’s departure will suggest what the Boss has in mind and what fate lies in store for this hapless country and its wretched people.