|
All
through his eight years at the helm of affairs, Gen. Musharraf and his henchmen
had castigated Sharif family for looting the country, a charge also made against
Benazir Bhutto, another former prime minister and a powerful foe of the military
ruler.
The
General had also called Sharif a "fascist" in his self-serving book,
"In the Line of Fire" that the American media promoted to a saturation
point.
The
general went on to declare time and again that “these corrupt politicians”
would never be allowed to return to loot the country again.
His
decision to allow them to come back shows how much power Gen. Musharraf has
lost.
(Indeed,
when Sharif was deposed by Gen. Musharraf in a coup, most Pakistanis welcome the
ouster of his government.
They
feared that given his two-third
majority, he was poised to impose the draconian sharaih laws sought by the
Saudis through a decree of the parliament….
Ms
Bhutto, who was literally pushed out of the country by Sharif’s accountability
czarSaif
ur
Rehman, also welcomed his removal.)
But
all that changed following General Musharraf's decision to fire the Chief
Justice of Supreme Court, Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry.
|
|
He
feared that judge, whom the Supreme Court reinstated, would disqualify him
from running for president of the country for the second time while still in
uniform.
Subsequently,
he yielded to domestic and international pressure and made deals allowing both
Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif to come back to
Pakistan
.
For
the tinpot dictator the latest deal which he was forced to accept by the
Saudis must have been the most unsavory of the blows.
Mr
Sharif, the general had claimed in October of 1999, had tried to kill him by
now allowing his airplane to land on the Pakistani soil in an attempt to
remove him from his armed post.
But
the general’s loyal army prevailed in getting his plane down safely and
Musharraf and wasted no time in removing sharif family from power.
Sharif
was tried and sentenced on hijacking charges, but was then sent to Saudi
Arabia in a deal reportedly brokered by former President Bill Clinton that
saved his life and allowed him and his family to live in comfort in Jeddah.
But
Sharif was supposed to stay out of
Pakistan
till 2010 as per the "undertaking" he had signed in 2000. He tried
to return in September 2007 and was forcibly deported.
But
he is now back following a quick visit to
Saudi Arabia
by General Pervez Musharraf trying to keep him there for some more time.
Despite
Mr Sharif’s denial most Pakistanis believe that a deal or a so-called
understanding was struck between Gen. Musharraf and Saudi king allowing Sharif
family to return and reclaim their property which Gen. Musharraf had
confiscated as part of the ill gotten gains.
A
leading American newspaper noted that the Saudis have a
"friend" in Mr Nawaz Sharif and their friendship is different from
the "friendship" of the
United States
with Ms Benazir Bhutto when the first "deal" was made.
The
King gave him his own plane to fly to
Pakistan
. He also sent two bullet-proof cars for him in advance of his arrival in
Lahore
. The Sharif family has a close business relationship with the Saudi elite and
the backing from
Riyadh
is not simply a "strategic decision".
After
Mr Sharif's conviction in cases at the
Anti-Terrorism Court
handing down imprisonment and confiscation of property, he and his family were
lodged comfortably in
Saudi Arabia.
The
King allowed him to set up a multi-million Riyal steel mill in Jeddah and the
sons of Nawaz and Shehbaz were able to open their own businesses in
London
.
All
the so called deals or understandings which Musharraf reached with the United
States and the Saudis have exposed General Musharraf as a
personification of “tinpot dictator” who is trying to hang on to power
against all odds.
But
his days are numbered. Most political experts believe Musharraf would be
forced to leave office of the President after the elections in January if not
earlier.
MasoodHaider@MaximsNews.com
Labels: United
Nations, U.N., Masood
Haider, Pakistan
coup,
Nawaz
Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, Gen.
Pervez Musharraf, dictator
~~~~~
MaximsNews.com, An Independent Voice from the
U.N., provides commentary and analysis from
leading world figures: King Abdullah II
(Jordan), HRH Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein
(Jordan), Sir Brian Urquhart, Hans Blix, Amb.
Richard Holbrooke, Anwar Ibrahim, Bianca Jagger,
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Shashi Tharoor, Thoraya Ahmed
Obaid, Noeleen Heyzer,
Masood Haider, Kerry
Kennedy, Ian Williams, Stephen Schlesinger, Sen.
Timothy E. Wirth, Marc Morial, Amb. Jayantha
Dhanapala (Sri Lanka), Amb. Pierre Schori
(Sweden), Amb. William H. Luers, Susan Roosevelt
Weld, Rory Kennedy, Mehri
Madarshahi, J. Michael Adams, Gloria Feldt,
Jeffrey Laurenti, Rodney D. Smith, Ashley
Bommer, Rory
O'Connor, Genevieve Stamper, Max Stamper and
others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MaximsNews®
LLC
NEWS NETWORK FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network reaching over 30,000 in the International Community. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries.
Established in 1999.
The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews®
LLC.
MaximsNews.com
U.N. ® LLC www.MaximsNews.com
| MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com |
Please
contact us about Republishing:
Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2007, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights
reserved.
