Grand Coalition by Parties of Last 2 Deposed Prime Ministers

Benazir Bhutto's "Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West" (Harper Collins 2008) is available at your local library or from Amazon.com for $17.54 + shipping.
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johnkarls
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Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:43 pm

Grand Coalition by Parties of Last 2 Deposed Prime Ministers

Post by johnkarls »

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Editorial Note - I apologize for relying so heavily on the Wall St. Journal, but after publishing a negative book review of Benazir Bhutto's new book, the NY Times has given scant coverage to the Pakistani Parliamentary Election!!! Moreover, two of the items from the Wall St. Journal (its book review and the analysis of the Pakistani election) were provided by the two experts interviewed by MacNeil-Lehrer on December 27th, the date of Benazir's assassination -- so they have Jim Lehrer's "seal of approval"!!!

*****
Pakistan Opposition Parties
Agree to Form Government
By ZAHID HUSSAIN
February 21, 2008 1:34 p.m. - Wall St. Journal On-Line

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's two main political parties said they planned to form a new government, bringing together the supporters of two former prime ministers in a coalition that could further isolate President Pervez Musharraf.

At a late evening press conference, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, widower of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, said their parties had agreed on a common agenda. Their agreement to form a government marks a historic moment for the South Asian nation of 165 million, which for the last nine years has been under military rule but is transitioning to a civilian democracy.

The new government holds the promise of uniting Pakistan's two newly dominant political parties -- Mr. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Ms. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party -- in an alliance representing Pakistan's secular, pro-democracy populace at a time when the nation is battling an increasingly violent insurgency against Islamist extremists.

It also will have a dominant position in the new Parliament, since together the parties hold just shy of 60% of the seats. "We intend to strengthen Pakistan together," Mr. Zardari said.

But it may also prove to be a fractious coalition. Mr. Sharif when he was prime minister in the past pursued policies that were tilted toward appeasing Pakistan's more fundamentalist Islamic elements. The PPP has favored a more secular, pro-western approach. There also are several issues which the parties may disagree over when it gets down the details of governance.

In any case, it is expected to make life even more difficult for Mr. Musharraf, who was re-elected to another five-term as president by an electoral college late last year. His current unpopularity was reflected in the drubbing of his chief supporters in Parliament, another faction of the Pakistan Muslim League called the PML (Q). Mr. Musharraf earlier this week vowed to stay in power and said he would help in the transition to democracy any way he could.

Still, with just less than 60% of the vote, the planned new government doesn't automatically have the two-thirds majority needed to impeach Mr. Musharraf even though Mr. Sharif has continued to call for his ouster. Mr. Musharraf also, at least for now, has sufficient support in the Senate to block any such move; elections for the Senate don't happen until early next year.

A key issue for the new government will be how -- or whether -- they tackle the issue of reinstating Supreme Court and other judges that were sacked by Mr. Musharraf's government when the president declared a state of emergency in November.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Sharif, addressing a protest rally in Islamabad, demanded the immediate reinstatement of former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges.

Thousands of lawyers demanding restoration of the sacked judges clashed Thursday with police in several Pakistani cities. Mr. Chaudhry has been under house arrest since Nov. 3.

Mr. Musharraf has said it was no longer legally possible to restore the former judiciary. Since the sacking of judges in November, the Supreme Court has been filled with jurists picked by Mr. Musharraf's government.

Mr. Zardari, the PPP leader has kept his position vague on the issue of restoring the judges. During the state of emergency, Mr. Musharraf passed ordinances that pardoned Mr. Zardari and others of any crimes they may have committed before the 1999 coup -- moves that could be closely scrutinized if the former judges are restored to office. At their press conference, Mr. Sharif said only that "In principle there's no disagreement on restoration of the judiciary." But he added that such a move would be pursued through Parliamentary processes.

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