KARACHI, 29 August — One of Pakistan Muslim League’s senior vice presidents, Ejazul Haq feels that time had come for the country’s President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to take to politics much more seriously than he has been doing so far, and form his “own team of political activists” to help him achieve that objective.
Such a suggestion came from him within less than 48 hours of the meeting which Musharraf had with Makhdoom Amin Fahim of the Pakistan People’s Party, and showed beyond doubt that the development, which had taken the people by surprise on Saturday, has been a source of discomfort for the PML as well.
The party, formed because of a split in PML-N, which former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had revived after 40 years, looked upset on yet another count. It was surely not very happy at the prospects of army ending its feud with the PPP, but was equally concerned by the remarks which former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto made about Sharif in her latest interview.
At least two of its key functionaries, Javed Hashmi, who is now the acting chief of the PML-N, and its chief coordinator, Raja Zafarul Haq, have openly expressed themselves against the remarks made by the PPP leader. They want to raise the issue at the Aug. 30 meeting of the country’s main political alliance, called the ARD.
Benazir has accused Sharif of treating her worse than animal, and had gone a step further to condemn the Muslim League leader by saying that she would prefer to choose Musharraf over Sharif if a choice was given to her.
Nawabzada Nasrullah, leading the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, has tried to allay their fears but the friction between Sharif party and the PPP, allies now after being worst enemies for years together, was clearly visible.
However, Ejazul Haq, whose father too was a general in the army, and had ruled the country for eleven years, knew that he will have to play his cards carefully. Instead of criticizing Musharraf, he has tried to suggest a different modus operandi for him. He suggested that Musharraf should enter the political arena formally.
