COUNTDOWN TO INDO-PAK SUMMIT -I
by B.Raman
Pakistan's mainstream political parties continue to
question the right of Gen.Pervez Musharraf, the self-styled Chief
Executive, to enter into any substantive negotiations with the Government
of India, particularly on Jammu & Kashmir.
Apart from Mrs.Benazir Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan
People's Party (PPP) now living in exile, others too have joined the
chorus of criticism of the Indian Prime Minister, Mr.A.B.Vajpayee, for
inviting the General when he enjoyed no legitimacy in Pakistan. They say
that while they are all for the resumption of the bilateral dialogue at
the official level, they were shocked by the action of Mr.Vajpayee in
inviting the General to New Delhi and by reports of a high-profile
reception being planned for him. A political leader, who has thus
far remained quiet without any comments, is Mr.Nawaz Sharif, living in
exile in Saudi Arabia.
Nawabzada Nasrullah, the leader of the Alliance For the
Restoration of Democracy (ARD), has been quoted as saying: "It is
better not to be a part of such a useless exercise undertaken by the
fourth military adventurist. We are neither interested in holding
talks with the regime on the issue of peace with India nor do we want
India or the world to get the impression that General Musharraf has the
political support for his peace mission."
The ARD members have pointed out that every military
adventurist presents an "olive branch" to India when he is in
power, but sabotages any peace initiative by the elected governments
labeling them as traitors.
Addressing the Friday prayer meeting at a Lahore mosque
on June 8, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the leader of the Jammat-e-Islami (JEI),
claimed that the Indian willingness for a dialogue was an outcome of the
Jehad and urged the General to exhibit strong faith and avoid showing
weakness at New Delhi.
He said that the JEI was not against a
dialogue, but no one could impose a solution upon the Kashmiris which was
against their wishes. He demanded the inclusion of the All Parties
Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in the forthcoming talks and described the
Lahore declaration and the Washington accord signed by Mr.Nawaz Sharif as
symbols of defeat. He warned that if the General tried to impose a
decision against the wishes of the Kashmiri people, the nation would not
forgive him. He added that the talks with India should be
unconditional and be held within the framework of the UN resolutions on
Kashmir.
Referring to the General's recent admonition of the
religious extremist parties, the Qazi said: "Those with a tainted
past could not be allowed to initiate a mud slinging campaign against
others. He advised General Musharraf not to add salt to the injuries
of the relatives of the martyrs by making such irresponsible statements in
order to appease Mr. Vajpayee. He said that the people minting
millions of rupees in defence deals and enjoying a luxurious life out of
the defence budget and building huge mansions for their living should
search their souls before leveling such allegations.
Meanwhile, Gen.Musharraf paid what was
described as a private visit to Lahore on June 11 and sought the support
of Mian Azhar, the leader of the anti-Nawaz faction of the Pakistan Muslim
League (PML), for his forthcoming meeting with the Indian Prime
Minister. Mian Azhar later told Pressmen that
the General had assured him that he would uphold the national interests in
his talks with the Indian leadership. Peace and stability in the region
depended on the solution to the Kashmir dispute and Pakistan seriously
wanted to resolve it, he was reported to have told the Mian.
According to Mian Azhar, he told the
General that political leaders were aware of the sensitivity of the
situation and were averse to any kind of confrontation with the army.
The General, along with Lt.Gen. Mohammed
Aziz, Corps Commander in Lahore, was also reported to have visited Muridke,
the headquarters of the Markaz Dawa Al Irshad and its militant wing, the
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), and appealed to the latter for support. The outcome
of the visit to Muridke is not known.
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet
Secretariat, Govt. of India, and, presently, Director, Institute for
Topical Studies, Chennai. E-Mail: corde@vsnl.com)
