Nawaz Comes
and Goes
September
21, 2007
Nawaz Sharif
took up the Supreme Court’s clearance to
return to Pakistan by flying from London to Islamabad
with hopes of confronting Musharraf and restaking
his claim to political power in Pakistan. But
within a few hours of landing, he was on a flight
to Jeddah, and as of this writing, has not spoken
publicly about the turn of events.
Nawaz Sharif was Prime Minister in 1999 when Musharraf
seized power in a military coup, a coup that was
greeted by relief and joy in the country and among
all the political parties except Nawaz’s.
The PPP handed out sweets in response to the military
coup. Nawaz was then tried for treason and attempted
murder (based on his order that a 747 carrying
Musharraf and several hundred civilians and running
out of fuel be denied landing at Karachi) and
found guilty. He was sentenced to life in prison,
but sent into exile in Saudi Arabia in exchange
for an agreement to stay out of Pakistani politics
and remain in exile for 10 years. Allegedly the
deal was brokered and guaranteed by the Saudis
themselves.
Initially Nawaz abided by the terms, as did the
rest of his family. But politics could not be
abandoned, and he issued statements and appeals
on behalf of his party. He notably signed the
“Charter of Democracy” last year with
Benazir Bhutto, but that understanding now appears
to be a dead letter. His brother attempted to
return from exile a few years back but was immediately
forced onto a plane back to Saudi Arabia.
While prospects for Nawaz looked bleak in 2007,
things got brighter for Benazir. As elections
loomed and the pressure to get reelected President
became more intense, Musharraf looked for options.
With prodding from the US, a Musharraf alliance
with Benazir and the PPP seemed to be in the offing.
Then the disastrous sacking of the Chief Justice
scrambled the picture.
After weeks of severe criticism and protests by
lawyers, Musharraf had to accept the return of
the Chief Justice, and the de facto independence
of the Supreme Court. It now looked even murkier
as to how Musharraf was going to get reelected
President and keep his uniform. Deal-making with
the PPP heated up, but still could not be finalized.
Then the Court ruled that the exile agreement
of Nawaz Sharif was not valid, and he had the
right to return. The prospect of a Nawaz Sharif-led
PML in the next election made everyone nervous,
especially as he would be campaigning against
Musharraf’s rule, while Benazir would be
aligned with Musharraf. An electoral disaster
in which both Musharraf and Benazir lose out to
Nawaz seemed to be possible. At this point, the
politicians in Musharraf’s PML-Q party got
very worried. They refused to make a deal with
Benazir, and some began to send out feelers to
Nawaz to see if they could get back into his good
graces. Musharraf could see the whole thing falling
apart.
Nawaz then gambled on returning immediately to
Pakistan. He flew into the country on Monday September
10, but was immediately arrested on corruption
charges. The government claims he was then offered
the choice of staying in the country to face the
charges, or returning to Saudi Arabia, and he
chose to return. Interestingly, Nawaz himself
has not commented on what happened. His supporters
have gone back to the Supreme Court, but if he
did leave voluntarily, there is nothing the Court
will do about it.
Once back in Saudi, it might be that the Saudis
themselves will force Nawaz to abide by the original
10-year deal. They had publicly urged him not
to return to Pakistan and he rejected their plea.
Now that he is under their control, he might not
be given the chance to leave Saudi again.
For Musharraf and Benazir, this leaves the door
open again to a deal. If Benazir can honestly
show that such a deal means a return to real democratic
rule and an end to military domination, then she
can sell the deal to the public as a necessary
evolutionary step. If however it is perceived
as a self-serving deal to get power, it might
backfire badly. Comments can reach me at Nali@socal.rr.com
