October 7, 2007
PPP Hardliners See Poll Boycott
as Saving Grace
Islamabad
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) decision to boycott the
presidential election is being seen in political analysts here as a
saving grace for party hardliners opposed to their chairperson
Benazir Bhutto's power-sharing deal with President Pervez Musharraf.
These hardliners "wanted to give an impression that there had not
been a complete sell-out", Dawn reported Sunday.
The party took the decision to boycott the poll on Saturday morning
after long-drawn discussions for two days.
"The party leadership had failed to take a decision about
participating, or otherwise, in the presidential election due to a
clear division in the parliamentary group seen during two rounds of
meeting on Friday," the newspaper said.
Quoting sources in the party, it said a "small but important group"
of hardliners, critical of Bhutto's understanding with Musharraf in
return for withdrawing corruption cases against her and other party
activists, had "strongly opposed the idea of taking part in the
election".
According to the sources, "strong protests" by party leaders Aitzaz
Ahsan and Mian Raza Rabbani during the parliamentary group's
meetings "led to the decision to abstain".
The two PPP stalwarts felt the party had "committed a mistake" in
not joining other opposition lawmakers in resigning from the
national and provincial assemblies "and, thereby, had provided
legitimacy to Gen. Musharraf's election".
Ahsan termed the amnesty-granting National Reconciliation Ordinance
(NRO) "a weak piece of legislation" and told the party MPs "that it
could easily be quashed" by the courts.
The two PPP leaders, according to the sources, said that Musharraf
was "today the most unpopular person in the country and by providing
him legitimacy at this crucial time, the party was strengthening his
hands and making him powerful".
The sources said that PPP secretary general Pervez Ashraf and
Senator Safdar Abbasi were leading the group of the legislators who
wanted to participate in the polling.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz contends that the government
has not made a deal with the PPP and that the NRO had been
promulgated "as a result of an understanding which would not end the
role of the National Accountability Bureau".
Addressing a news conference in his Parliament House chamber
Saturday soon after the result of the presidential poll was
unofficially announced, Aziz maintained the poll outcome had proved
that "lawmakers of the ruling party were very well disciplined and
doubts created about them were misplaced".
"We have not entered into any deal with any party and its proof is
that we will contest the (general) elections from the platform of
(the ruling coalition) and this will not be expanded," the prime
minister contended.
Answering a question about the NRO, Aziz said that no criminal case
would be withdrawn without the recommendation of the review boards
to be set up in federal and provincial capitals.
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