Statements, rebuttals a routine for Musharraf Govt.

By Amit Baruah

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 24. Is a `civilian' malaise catching up with the military Government? Retractions, denials and rebuttals are becoming the order of the day for the `disciplined' military Government of General Pervez Musharraf.

In fact, after `important' statements, one has to wait a day or two to see whether a denial would be made.

The Local Government Minister, Mr. Omar Asghar Khan, was quoted as saying in Quetta that local bodies elections, to be held on a non-party basis beginning December 2000, would take place under a system of joint electorates (Dawn, June 22).

Mr. Khan, a former NGO activist and regarded till recently as a leading light of Pakistani civil society, said this decision had been taken in the larger interest of the nation and to dispel the impression that minorities were not part and parcel of the country.

``We have taken this decision in line with the concepts of the Quaid-i-Azam (Muhammad Ali Jinnah) as well as the Islamic principles of universality and equality,'' he was quoted as saying.

The Minister's categorical statement was bound to anger the religious right in Pakistan, which is dead set against any bid to alter the system of separate electorates introduced by Gen. Zia- ul-Haq. It is interesting to note that the separate electorate system was introduced only in the 1970s and not at the time Pakistan was founded.

As it is, the religious parties in Pakistan are puffed up by the success of their campaign in eliciting a retraction from none other than Gen. Musharraf on the procedural change announced on April 21 in the registration of a blasphemy case. With this `success' behind them, the religious parties want to ensure that other parts of their agenda are also implemented.

According to a retraction published in Dawn today, Mr. Omar Asghar Khan had only said in Quetta that the Government had proposed to hold local body elections on the basis of joint electorates. A final decision in this regard would be taken by the Cabinet and the National Security Council, an official statement said.

In yet another statement-and-denial routine, the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) Governor, Mr. Muhammad Shafiq, after clearly announcing a ban on all cable TV networks, `clarified' that the ban amounted only to illegal networks.

Referring to the `ban' and the clarification, The News said in an editorial today: ``Considering that the federal Government is in the process of licensing these operators, the sweeping nature of the announcement had made a retraction quite predictable....in any case, the clarification can neither undo the damage already done nor curb the forces unleashed. Taking a cue from the Governor's earlier statement, zealots stormed the markets in Waziristan and Bannu and seized television sets, video cassettes and players from hotels and restaurants. Thus has another utterly avoidable and potentially explosive controversy been generated.''

Clearly, it is in the interests of the Musharraf Government to lay down a ``look before you leap'' policy to end the possibility of creating confusion. Ending the cycle of statements and denials is in the Government's own interest.

The statements and clarification reflect a fundamental problem in the Government's approach. Does Gen. Musharraf and his team want a moderate Islamic Pakistan or one which plays alone to the tune of fundamentalist forces? The choice, clearly, stares the military Government in the face.

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Section  : International
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