ISLAMABAD, 5 March 2005 — As the government and the Pakistan People’s Party-Parliamentarians are fast heading toward a settlement, Benazir Bhutto has finally agreed to the government’s demand that she will not contest the next general elections provided they are held in 2006; and she is allowed to return to the country and run the election campaign.
‘The ball is now in the government’s court,’ commented a source when asked about the latest situation with regard to government-PPP-P rapprochement.
Benazir has given her consent that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will be acceptable to her party as head of the interim set-up ahead of general elections.
Sources said that in response to PPP-P’s demand of holding elections before 2007, the government had made it conditional with PPP-P Chairperson Benazir Bhutto not contesting the polls.
“The party chairperson has finally decided not to contest the upcoming elections if the same are held in March 2006. But, she, in return, has sought a guarantee from the government about her safe return to the country,” the sources said. “Benazir has agreed to face cases against her, but she wants a guarantee that she should not be arrested on her arrival in the country,” the sources added.
Under the 17th Amendment, Benazir cannot become prime minister for a third term, unless the same is done away with, which the government is not ready to do at the moment.
As per sources, the government-PPP-P talks are going on to settle modalities regarding the interim set-up. The government had asked Benazir to nominate either Amin Fahim or Zardari as caretaker prime minister.
But, Benazir sent the ball in the government’s court, saying the party had no objection if Shaukat Aziz headed the interim set-up — a clever move by Benazir that has impressed the think tank in the US, brokering a deal between the two sides.
The sources said Benazir Bhutto had also told the government that PPP-P would not settle terms with it separately, ignoring former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Nawaz should also be allowed to play a role in the national politics, she had reportedly been pleading before former secretary to the president Tariq Aziz and the then ISI chief, who had been visiting her in Dubai in the recent past.
