Nawaz warns Benazir against deal with Musharraf

[TexasLawyer]

Source: The News International (Pakistan)

Nawaz warns Benazir against deal with Musharraf

By our correspondent

LONDON: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said on Sunday he feared Benazir Bhutto might strike a deal with Gen Musharraf for a chance to return to office of prime minister.

In an interview with Sunday Times, Nawaz warned Benazir against the deal, observing that any deal that prolonged the military ruler’s tenure would be a blow. “I hope and pray we don’t talk to people who are destroying the institutions of the country,” he said.

In the interview, Nawaz appeared convinced that Benazir was ready to strike a deal with Musharraf. He said that he feared “Benazir may be planning to trade her opposition to the military ruler for a chance to return to office”. “She told me we’re not cutting any deal with the government but in interviews she has said, ‘Yes, there are talks going on’. I’m pleading with her not to go down that road,” he said.

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Read more: http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=7821

[bemildred]

1. Pakistan running out of options

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The popular, democratic and secular Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) of currently exiled Benazir Bhutto is the only party Washington will anoint to run Pakistan. But the million-dollar question, raised by Bhutto in Washington when she insisted that she run the country without Musharraf, is whether she would be able to confront the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as control the military.

The country's political map speaks volumes. North West Frontier Province and the southwestern province of Balochistan are totally out of Benazir's orbit, as either nationalists or religious parties dominate there. Punjab province clearly favors the right, with such parties as the Pakistan Muslim League led by former premier Nawaz Sharif. The province of Sindh is a traditional seat of power for the PPPP, but urban Sindh is completely in the hands of the MQM.

Tellingly, Bhutto does not have the ability to keep the military in control. Therefore, the only option for her, as suggested by Washington, is to join as Musharraf's partner. Musharraf, after all, is still a precious asset for Washington in controlling the military establishment, the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

"You have to appreciate the fact that March 9 changed the political realities of the country. It will not be easy for anybody to jump on the government's bandwagon," commented Ehsan Iqbal, former federal minister and secretary of information of Nawaz's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). The Nawaz Group is now a reluctant partner of the PPPP in the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy after reports began to emerge of a political deal between the PPPP and the government.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IE12Df01.html

Personally, I think they're screwed. It was a tossup between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which one would explode first, and it looks like the win goes to Pakistan.

[roamer65]

2. They'll fall like dominoes.

Pakistan will erupt into conflict, which will spill over into Afghanistan and cause that conflict to escalate. Iran and Saudi Arabia will start to get skiddish and just imagine if the military takes power in Turkey and they invade Iraqi Kurdistan. World War III.

[SoCalDem]

3. Hey.. maybe that's how the caliphate gets resurrected

Just like bin Laden wants :)