Why is Shahbaz Sharif so worried about three chums having a game of Golf together?
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VVIP golf worries Punjab, many others
VVIP golf worries Punjab, many others**
BHURBAN: Three VVIPs playing golf at this summer resort have unnerved the Shahbaz Sharif government in the Punjab and raised many eyebrows.
President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer were here when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the nation in his maiden address on radio and TV that problems were still being created by the dictatorship.
A worried Punjab government official contacted me on Saturday night to inquire as to what the three VIPs were doing in Murree. He also claimed that not only the Army chief and the governor Punjab met the president but former Director General Intelligence Bureau (DG IB) and once a close confidant of Musharraf, Brig (retd) Ejaz Shah, also had a meeting with the top man.
However, it could not be confirmed from any independent source if Brig (retd) Ejaz Shah, who after leaving the intelligence agency in March this year had gone to Australia for good, is in town and really met the president.
In his recent background interaction with a group of journalists and media owners, the Army chief clearly distanced himself from politics and made his selected audience to believe that he was a professional soldier, who was neither interested in politics nor was inclined to play any such role.
But in a country where the Army has always been interested more in politics than soldiering, many eyebrows are raised and the media get extra watchful when the Army chief meets the president. And this becomes really true when we have the president like General (retd) Musharraf, who has twice abrogated the Constitution, once dismissed an elected prime minister and on one occasion sent the country’s superior judiciary home.
With the latest international survey proving that he is the most unpopular soul in the country, there is a general demand that the president should quit. But he is not ready yet. After being defensive during the initial weeks of the Feb 18 mandate against his eight years of military rule, he is now regaining strength in the country’s establishment and had even started passing negative remarks about the political leadership.
Playing golf with such a president for the Army chief is a bit confusing if not worrying at a time when the prime minister says that like always dictatorship is causing problems for elected representatives and that the people should extend support to the government to deal with challenges and pull the country out of these problems.
The prime minister sought the support of the political forces to fully remove the dictatorship and restore real democracy in the country. In such a situation, neutrality of the institution of Army is not only required but it should also be visible. To achieve this, the Army chief has to be extra cautious in his meetings with those who are generally referred to as a threat to democracy.
Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer is a controversial character even otherwise. His liking for President Musharraf, whom he even served as a caretaker minister, has been obvious during the last eight years. Though he is sitting in the Governor House, Lahore, as a PPP representative, not many in the government would trust him.
An owner of a media house recently, while sharing his fears with me, apprehended that the present system might be wrapped up any time and there would be the return of powerful President Musharraf once again.
Even Asif Ali Zardari shares similar apprehensions with his close friends and aides perhaps not knowing that if politicians remained unmoved, the anti-democratic forces would get stronger and strike again.
While it is repeatedly said that the Presidency is a hub of conspiracies, what prevents the political forces to impeach Musharraf is not clear. Removal of the president would be a giant leap towards the much-needed political stability in the country while the restoration of judges would boost the morale of the masses.
The political leaders of the ruling coalition are meeting in Islamabad this week. This is perhaps the last opportunity for them to move decisively.