As an avowed Musharrafite, I would of course support the good General's elevation to the 'highest' office of state. It would mean at least 5 more years of a strong watchful eye over the distrutful politicians when they are let back into office.
But what is very interesting to note is the apparent support he is picking up from many quarters for his election as President. Benazir's PPP, the remnants of the Nawaz league, Mian Azhar's PML group and others, all coddling up to the General.
Have they accepted that the General is here to stay, and they have to deal with him?
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/
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PML non-committal on Musharraf as president
By Tariq Butt
The Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League (PML) is non-committal on accepting General Pervez Musharraf as president of Pakistan. "We will take a stand after consultation with our party colleagues if Musharraf announces that he wants to become president," PML Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq told The News.
He did not reject straightaway the idea of Musharraf being president that is being broached at different levels and places. "I don't want to talk on this issue as the military government hasn't so far completely opened its cards on this count and left the matter open," Raja Zafar said.
When he was pointed out that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has declared that she can accept Musharraf as president, he said that she takes such decisions without consulting her party colleagues so she can make such announcements.
Raja Zafar desisted from commenting upon his PML rival Mian Azhar's remark that if General Ziaul Haq can become president why cannot Musharraf be elected to this office.
The PML leader said that political parties could work out the modus ope***** and time-frame for holding general elections under a caretaker set-up because any polls held by the military regime would be challengeable and some may dub them as engineered and having been held under pressure. He said that someone could be nominated as head of the civilian caretaker setup to hold the general elections. "By sending different (favourable) signals to the government (after the Supreme Court set aside her conviction), Ms Bhutto is saying to the government not to create more problems for her," Raja Zafar believed.
It is the considered opinion of the legal fraternity that Ms Bhutto's retrial cannot be held in absentia as the law does not provide for it. It is a different story if the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance is amended to provide for trial in absentia. For the time being, trial proceedings against the former Prime Minister have come to a halt for all practical purposes.
Mian Azhar's unequivocal support for Musharraf as President is understandable. There is no doubt anywhere how his League has been put up and how he was made its chief. But it is not precisely known whether his remark supporting Musharraf as President was off the cuff or deliberate, being part of a campaign.
All of sudden and that too after the apex court turned down her conviction Ms Bhutto has shown unprecedented softness towards General Musharraf and is ready to work with him with immense ease. She gives the impression as if she has never had any problem with him.
Ms Bhutto has taken Nawaz Sharif, her ally in the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), on in a harsh tone and made it clear that were she to make a choice between him and Musharraf, she will prefer the general to work with in a governmental arrangement.
Discerning people point out that all what Ms Bhutto is saying after the apex court's decision may not be out of blue. But there are many who think that she is sending clear signals on her own to convey to the military regime that she is ready to accept its terms, as she did in 1988, provided the government halts campaign against her and Asif Zardari.
It will be interesting to see the reaction of her chief political ally ARD President, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, and other component parties of the alliance on the issue of Musharraf becoming president. Most of them are likely to oppose it and differ with Ms Bhutto on this point.
Speculation has it since long that the chief executive is all set to get himself elected as president of Pakistan. The government has been coming out with different clarifications on the issue.
However, it is no longer a speculation after General Musharraf said recently that 'nothing can be ruled out" when he was asked whether he was becoming president. But he is yet to formally announce that he has decided to be the president.
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But what is very interesting to note is the apparent support he is picking up from many quarters for his election as President. Benazir's PPP, the remnants of the Nawaz league, Mian Azhar's PML group and others, all coddling up to the General.
Have they accepted that the General is here to stay, and they have to deal with him?
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/
-------------------
PML non-committal on Musharraf as president
By Tariq Butt
The Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League (PML) is non-committal on accepting General Pervez Musharraf as president of Pakistan. "We will take a stand after consultation with our party colleagues if Musharraf announces that he wants to become president," PML Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq told The News.
He did not reject straightaway the idea of Musharraf being president that is being broached at different levels and places. "I don't want to talk on this issue as the military government hasn't so far completely opened its cards on this count and left the matter open," Raja Zafar said.
When he was pointed out that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has declared that she can accept Musharraf as president, he said that she takes such decisions without consulting her party colleagues so she can make such announcements.
Raja Zafar desisted from commenting upon his PML rival Mian Azhar's remark that if General Ziaul Haq can become president why cannot Musharraf be elected to this office.
The PML leader said that political parties could work out the modus ope***** and time-frame for holding general elections under a caretaker set-up because any polls held by the military regime would be challengeable and some may dub them as engineered and having been held under pressure. He said that someone could be nominated as head of the civilian caretaker setup to hold the general elections. "By sending different (favourable) signals to the government (after the Supreme Court set aside her conviction), Ms Bhutto is saying to the government not to create more problems for her," Raja Zafar believed.
It is the considered opinion of the legal fraternity that Ms Bhutto's retrial cannot be held in absentia as the law does not provide for it. It is a different story if the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance is amended to provide for trial in absentia. For the time being, trial proceedings against the former Prime Minister have come to a halt for all practical purposes.
Mian Azhar's unequivocal support for Musharraf as President is understandable. There is no doubt anywhere how his League has been put up and how he was made its chief. But it is not precisely known whether his remark supporting Musharraf as President was off the cuff or deliberate, being part of a campaign.
All of sudden and that too after the apex court turned down her conviction Ms Bhutto has shown unprecedented softness towards General Musharraf and is ready to work with him with immense ease. She gives the impression as if she has never had any problem with him.
Ms Bhutto has taken Nawaz Sharif, her ally in the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), on in a harsh tone and made it clear that were she to make a choice between him and Musharraf, she will prefer the general to work with in a governmental arrangement.
Discerning people point out that all what Ms Bhutto is saying after the apex court's decision may not be out of blue. But there are many who think that she is sending clear signals on her own to convey to the military regime that she is ready to accept its terms, as she did in 1988, provided the government halts campaign against her and Asif Zardari.
It will be interesting to see the reaction of her chief political ally ARD President, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, and other component parties of the alliance on the issue of Musharraf becoming president. Most of them are likely to oppose it and differ with Ms Bhutto on this point.
Speculation has it since long that the chief executive is all set to get himself elected as president of Pakistan. The government has been coming out with different clarifications on the issue.
However, it is no longer a speculation after General Musharraf said recently that 'nothing can be ruled out" when he was asked whether he was becoming president. But he is yet to formally announce that he has decided to be the president.
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