World News: PML-N Withdraws from election (Pakistan)

‘It will be a bad day for democracy’ said former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as he pulled his PML=-N party out of the Pakistani elections in September.

After serious disagreement between PML-N, Pakistan’s second largest party, and the current coalition ruling party PPP, over issues such as reinstating judges and the next presidential successor, Sharif claims that the PPP, led by Benizir Bhutto’s widower Asif Zadari, has never stuck to it’s promises saying:

"When written documents are repeatedly flouted, trust cannot remain,"

Sharif wants to reinstate the judges sacked by former President Pervez Muzharraf, who was removed by the PPP-led coalition last week, as soon as possible. The PPP aren’t too keen on this, Asif Zardiri fears that the reinstatement of these judges means that he is open to corruption charges that he and his wife were charged with before they left Pakistan for a self-imposed exile in Dubai in 1996. Zardiri believes that the judges could invalidate their return in 2007, before Bhutto’s assassination. However, Sharif says he has absolutely no intention to bring down the government…at least not at the moment. Sharif believes it’s not in his country’s benefit to bring down a democratically elected government especially with problems with the economy and rising terrorist militancy throughout the country.

Another issue that the two parties are bickering about is the issue surrounding the next Pakistani president. Pakistani constitution law states that a new president must be elected within 30 days of the decease of the last one, the two parties were meant to decide next Tuesday upon their successor. PML-N were putting forward Saeeduzzamam Siddiqui, a former Supreme Justice, as a non-partisan candidate. The PPP are putting forward their leader, Zadiri, as their president candidate. Sharif argues that the Pakistani president must be accepted by everyone, considering that Pakistan has a history of Presidents ignoring the democratically elected governments, rather than a President that only the PPP recognises, the best way he thinks to deal with this is through the election of an non-partisan President. However, something that both parties have agreed on is the reduction of powers the President has. Former President Pervez Muzharraf declared a State of Emergency after a spate of terrorist attacks and civil strikes in his country, Pakistani judges and laywers took to the street and were forcibly arrested. Mr Muzharraf’s security forces also stormed a mosque which prompted riots from extremist Muslims throughout Pakistan. Mr Muzharraf, a firm US ally and a stalwart against International Terrorism, took power through a coup, however he was forced to resign as head of the army and as President by the PPP, threatening criminal and political charges against him.
Although the BBC, and other International observers, claim that the movement of Sharif to the opposition will not make the PPP-led coalition collapse, it would make the PPP’s grasp on power extremely awkward leading to political uncertainty in an already fragile country.

The consequences for the loss of power in Pakistan would be severe for the stability of the region. With no political direction and with a weak and indecisive government in power, militant factions in Pakistan would seize the chance to topple the already weakened democracy that is installed in Pakistan and turn the country into the next terrorist haven in the Middle East. This would have a huge effect on the NATO mission in Afghanistan, most notably in the Kandahar and Helmand provinces, as they are already fighting a massive battle against militants who retreat to their save havens in West Pakistan. The added hostilities with India over the Kashmir province and the fact that Pakistan controls an arsenal of Nuclear weapons means it is vital for the decision makers and political parties in Pakistan to stick together and come to a decision, if this does not happen India may feel it’s security is undermined and take action, and the security mission in southern Afghanistan would be impossible to win. So before another bush fire is ingited in an already enraging inferno, Pakistan has a duty upon itself to make sure it’s democracy is firm and ready to take on the extremist militants during this economic and political low.

By Peter Self (Editor of TPN and International Affairs)