By IANS
Islamabad : US “interference” in Pakistani politics is at an “all time high”, with Washington contacting different authorities in Islamabad, ignoring recognised diplomatic channels and bypassing the prime minister and his government to ensure “smooth sailing” for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, a media report Thursday said.
Quoting a reliable source in the presidency, The News said: “During some recent discussions amongst senior authorities, it was revealed that influential American government leaders were directly contacting different Pakistani leaders and officials, ignoring the foreign office and even the prime minister.”
According to the source, the extent of American interference could be judged from the “worrying” fact that Washington had written a letter directly to a Pakistani spymaster to discuss the progress on the dialogue between President Pervez Musharraf and Bhutto to pave the way for her return home from exile.
It is known that Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, the Pakistan Army’s new vice chief, had been a key interlocutor in the dialogue. Kiyani, who till September headed the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is slated to become the army chief when Musharraf sheds his uniform next month.
“How could the Americans do that? There is no explanation to this. Is it proper for intelligence agencies’ chiefs to be welcoming such direct correspondence from Washington?” the newspaper wondered.
The source also disclosed that one of the president’s two top aides – Lt. Gen. (retd) Hamid Javaid and Tariq Aziz – these days maintains a one-to-one contact with the American authorities.
“Mostly, it is said, the presidential aide talks to (US Assistant Secretary of State) Richard Boucher, who is monitoring the events unfolding in Pakistan vis-à-vis Benazir Bhutto’s return and her participation in active politics at home,” the newspaper said.
The aide was even quoted as saying the contact was now so frequent that he and Boucher often exchanged views via SMS.
During his last visit to Pakistan, Boucher had also visited a presidential aide but nothing was officially revealed about their discussions.
There are also reports that Bhutto, during her recent visit to Washington, spoke on the phone with Musharraf from the office of Congressman Tom Lantos, the powerful chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
This apart, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned both Musharraf and Benazir last Thursday “to ensure that they had reached an agreement”.
“The next day, Musharraf promulgated the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO),” the news said.
The NRO grants amnesty to politicians charged with corruption.
“Interestingly, the government – the prime minister and his cabinet – is generally ignored and bypassed in all such interactions between Washington and the presidency or the spymasters. Most leaders of the ruling coalition parties are also allergic to the kind of concessions being offered to Benazir by the president but they could not dare cross their limits,” the newspaper maintained.