Musharraf becomes President

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 20. In a swift operation ahead of the crucial summit meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Pakistan military ruler and Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, today donned the mantle of the President of the country.

The pace of events in the last 24 hours was so fast that the representatives of political and religious parties were struck dumb, struggling to understand the implications of the move which reminded them of the October, 1999 coup. Whatever the implications and repercussions of the latest developments on the domestic front, it is a clear signal to the world in general and India in particular, that Gen. Musharraf has come to stay.

The only difference between October, 1999 and today was that while the latter caught everyone unawares, Gen. Musharraf becoming President did not exactly come as a surprise. That he would become the President was well-known to everyone who mattered in Pakistani society but nobody anticipated the timing.

Even the occupant of Aiwan-e-Sadr (official residence of the President), Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, perhaps did not expect to be out so soon. Significantly, Mr. Tarar was conspicuous by his absence at the swearing-in of Gen. Musharraf, having left earlier for Lahore - his hometown.

Several hours after the swearing-in, it was not clear if it meant a switch-over from parliamentary to the presidential form of system. Over the last several weeks, Gen. Musharraf had talked of the need for balancing the powers between the offices of President and Prime Minister under the Constitution. He argued that unbridled powers in the hands of the Prime Minister meant authoritarian tendencies and autocratic rule.

The General's brief comments after the ceremony did not help clarify matters. He assured the nation (the leaders of political parties) that there was no change in his Government's plans to hold elections before October, 2002 as per the Supreme Court orders. He justified his becoming the President as in the ``national interest'' and said he had always held national interest as supreme.

Parties raise doubts

Representatives of political parties, however, raised several questions on the military regime's modus operandi in installing Gen. Musharraf as President. Parliament alone had the powers to amend the Constitution, they said and pointed to the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court on the limitations of the military regime in carrying out amendments to the Constitution.

The Chief Justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Irshad Hassan Khan, administered the oath of office and secrecy to Gen. Musharraf at the Darbar Hall in the Presidential Palace. The General's ministerial colleagues, the three service chiefs and the diplomatic corps based in Islamabad were present.

The operation for the anointment of Gen. Musharraf appears to have started on Tuesday. Of course, the legal managers of the military establishment were working on several scripts in the last few weeks to find ways to install Gen. Musharraf as the President. The managers were busy throughout Tuesday night working out the modalities for the appointment, according to a section of the press. At least one English daily, The News, published the news as the lead story.

Crucial amendments

A Cabinet meeting presided over by Gen. Musharraf earlier in the day set the ball rolling. The Cabinet adopted two crucial amendments to the Provincial Constitutional Order (PCO), under which the military is governing. The first amendment says the person holding the office of President (Mr. Tarar) shall cease to hold the office with immediate effect on the proclamation of the Emergency (Amendment) Order, 2001.

The second amendment relates to the dissolution of the National and the four Provincial Assemblies that stand suspended in the wake of the dismissal of the Nawaz Sharif Government on the night of October 12, 1999. It also says that the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Senate (Upper House) and the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the National and Provincial Assemblies shall also cease to hold office with immediate effect.

In a way, with one stroke of the pen, the Cabinet not only removed Mr. Tarar from office but dashed the hopes of the legislators of the suspended Assemblies on revival of the Houses. The splinter group of the Pakistan Muslim League (Like Minded Group) was born a few months ago on the hope of a revival of the Assemblies.

The Chief Executive did come out with an explanation for Mr. Tarar's ouster, saying with the dissolution of the Assemblies, the office of President, elected by the Assemblies, became untenable.

Three posts

The press statement said the Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, was assuming the office of President and would continue to hold the office of Chief Executive. It was silent on whether Gen. Musharraf would continue as the Chief of the Army Staff.

The military government's chief spokesman, Maj. Gen. Rashid Quereshi, told The Hindu that Gen. Musharraf would continue to be the COAS. In other words he would hold the posts of President, Chief Executive and Army Chief.

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