By IANS
Islamabad : The much-speculated ‘deal’ between Pakistan’s military ruler Pervez Musharraf and exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has been “finalised, in all details”, says Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
The statements being made by Bhutto in various interviews from the US are “political gimmicks”, Ahmed was quoted in Dawn newspaper as saying Tuesday. The ‘deal’, he said, was worked out when the two met in Abu Dhabi last month.
Ahmed’s contention should be read in the light of various reports on political moves being made to cement adjustments among the likely coalescing parties, right down to the level of nominees for National Assembly seats, political analysts said.
Considered close to Musharraf, Ahmed figures in a probable list of nominees of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid (PML-Q)) that Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will not oppose during the parliamentary elections, despite his record of being an old Bhutto-baiter.
This is because of his “close contacts” within the Pakistan Army, Daily Times said in another report.
Also on this list, prepared as part of “confidence-building measures”, are other top PML-Q leaders, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri in Kasur, former National Assembly speaker Hamid Nasir Chattha in Gujranwala and former Punjab chief minister Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo in Okara, the paper said quoting unnamed “highly placed” sources.
However, the agreement will come into force only if the PPP and the government finalise a power-sharing deal.
Izhar Amrohvi, PPP parliamentary secretary, said: “There are things in the pipeline, but nothing is yet final as regards the PPP not fielding candidates against some Leaguers.”
Any ‘deal’ between Musharraf and Bhutto would envisage the latter becoming the prime minister – after a waiver is enacted to revoke the existing law and allow her a third term.
However, according to Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, at present leader of the opposition and part of the rightwing conglomerate Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), was a ‘hot candidate’ for premiership.
Ahmed said Rahman had the advantage “because of his proximity with the PML-Nawaz and his claims of being able to resolve the issues relating to Afghanistan, tribal insurgency and extremism.”
The minister also claims to have read the deal under which Nawaz Sharif, the other exiled former premier, left for Saudi Arabia a few months after being ousted by Musharraf in 1999.
While other family members, Ahmed claimed, had signed the deal before boarding the aircraft that took them to Jeddah, Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother Shahbaz Sharif had signed it at the airport.
The Sharif brothers have moved the Supreme Court challenging their exile, claiming that they signed no deal. Their petition is reportedly coming up for hearing shortly.