ISLAMABAD, 28 February 2008 — Pakistani opposition parties vowed yesterday to banish the military from politics.
At a show-of-strength gathering attended by National Assembly members-elect, they also called on President Pervez Musharraf to immediately summon Parliament so they can show they have the majority needed to choose the next prime minister.
While Musharraf did not take part in the Feb. 18 parliamentary elections, the main party that backs him suffered heavy losses. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto won the most seats but not enough to form a government on its own.
The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) of another former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, came second and the two parties are in talks, along with a smaller third group, on a coalition government that could force Musharraf from power.
Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir’s widower who now leads the PPP, said the opposition should work together to end the supremacy of the military-led establishment.
“I think the homage to my ... wife would be that we unite together, we take democracy, we take power for Parliament and once and for all, finish the establishment,” Zardari told the meeting.
Benazir was assassinated on Dec. 27 in a gun and bomb attack blamed on Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Sharif assured Zardari that his party would extend full support to him, although he did not say his party would accept Cabinet posts. Some senior officials in Sharif’s party have said it might support the PPP, but not serve in the government.
“We must see that we have a long-lasting democracy in this country and abandon the role of the army and the military in the politics of Pakistan forever,” Sharif said. “This is what we should be striving for.”
Sharif said the opposition parties would end up with two-thirds of National Assembly seats and he called on Musharraf to call the session as soon as the Election Commission issues official results. It is expected to declare results by Saturday.
“We are not prepared to wait for a single more day for the assembly to be convened,” he said.
Sharif, at the outset of the meeting, demanded immediate impeachment of Musharraf although the three parties — PPP, PML-N and ANP — may not have the two-thirds majority to impeach him.
Sharif agreed to work with a PPP-led coalition but said his ministers would not take oath of office from Musharraf.
Sharif claimed that three parties had 173 deputies, saying that was enough to impeach the president. But he did not take into account the strength in the upper house where the majority of senators do not belong to these three parties.
Sharif also demanded reinstatement of all judges who were either sacked or did not take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order.
Zardari did not mention Musharraf, but Sharif said the people had sent him a message on election day.
Musharraf has rejected opposition calls to resign and has said he was ready to work with whoever becomes prime minister.
Confrontation between the president and a hostile Parliament in nuclear-armed Pakistan could prolong instability, which allies fear could distract attention from the battle against rising militant violence.
Benazir and Sharif were archrivals in the 1990s when they both ruled as prime minister twice, but they became allies in opposition to Musharraf.
Neither Zardari not Sharif contested elections and a senior PPP leader, Makhdoom Amin Faheem, is expected to be nominated for the post of prime minister.
Magsi New Balochistan Governor
President Pervez Musharraf appointed Nawab Zulfikar Magsi as the governor of Balochistan. Magsi was the chief minister of Balochistan during 1993-96 when Benazir was the prime minister.
Observers say Magsi’s appointment could mean an improvement in relations between Zardari and the president.
Magsi’s uncle Yousaf Magsi was a Balochistan provincial minister during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s tenure in the 1970s.
Independent MPs Join PML-N
A number of elected members from Punjab have joined the PML-N.
Those who joined the party included Masood Lali, Chaudhry Javed Ahmad, Muhammad Feroze Joiya, Asif Saeed, Syed Ali Raza, Moin Watto, Ali Abbas Khokhar, Malik Karam Ellahi Bindyal, Malik Waris Kallo and Malik Muhammad Asif.
PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif thanked the members for joining the party.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed said the All Parties Democratic Movement was ready to help the new government restore judges. — With input from agencies
