08-28-2008, 02:15 PM
[center]<b><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>REVIEW & OUTLOOK : Pakistan's Priorities</span></b>[/center]
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA
August 27, 2008
Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N) resigned from the governing coalition Monday, the same day that Asif Ali Zardari's ruling Pakistan People's Party outlawed the Taliban and vowed to fight terror harder. That's all you need to know about the priorities of the two parties.
<b>Mr. Sharif, a former prime minister, has always favored dialogue over military action against Pakistan's militants. His alliance with the PPP was based on expediency, not a meeting of minds. After February elections, he agreed to support the PPP's Prime Minister pick in exchange for control over his home state of Punjab. Both parties wanted to oust then-President Pervez Musharraf. Last week, they did so.
Now that's done, Mr. Sharif is showing his true colors. He resigned from the governing coalition Monday in protest over the treatment of judges fired by Mr. Musharraf last year. Mr. Sharif wants the judges -- including Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry -- restored immediately, as the PPP promised in March. He says the government is backtracking. Mr. Sharif is, in effect, setting himself up as a political martyr for democracy.
This is misleading at best. The PPP is likely to restore most of the judges to their former seats. The PPP is worried most about the restoration of one judge : Mr. Chaudhry. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>The former activist chief justice is a highly politicized figure, given his leading role in last year's protests, which eventually brought down the Musharraf government.</span></b>
There are personal interests at work here, too. Mr. Chaudhry harbors no love for Mr. Musharraf, and might take action to roll back the former President's executive order that pardoned crimes of politicians -- including Mr. Zardari. Mr. Sharif might also expect Mr. Chaudhry to clear away legal barriers for a third run at prime minister. The best solution here is to appoint a non-partisan chief justice.
Regardless, now is not the time to haggle over one judge. On Thursday, 67 people were killed by suicide bombers outside a weapons factory near Islamabad. Since then, more than 50 people have died in clashes in the Swat valley. Yesterday, the U.S.'s top diplomat in Peshawar narrowly escaped an assassination attempt outside her home.
Mr. Sharif says he doesn't want to topple the government, and he probably won't, for now. The PPP is drawing support from smaller parties to keep its ruling majority. But it can't afford to let Mr. Sharif guide the debate on the country's priorities. The PPP needs to make clear that without security, there will be no such thing as a democratic Pakistan.
<b>Comments :</b> Zardari being the US "Lapdog", the US State Dapartment is doing its best to discredit Nawaz Sharif and Ex-Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry so that Zardari can be kept in the Islamabad Gaddi.
I look forward to "Interesting Times"!
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->