Interim Government: By Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)

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The sudden and most untimely demise of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is indeed a national tragedy of great magnitude and it was most appropriate for the President to declare an official mourning for three days in her honour. Pakistan has lost in her an icon of great stature and standing and the void so created would be well nigh impossible to fill. While we all grieve over the irreparable loss which has impacted Pakistan and the politics of the country in many an indelible way, we should not lose sight of the course of events to come. The very first thing, which comes to one’s mind, is, “Will there be the Elections now?” I think not, or should not, especially when the NS has announced to boycott them. For other parties it would be an indecent act to ignore the sad event and carry on with their electioneering as usual when the PPP and the nation are in gloom. January 8th is only a week away and a break of few days in the electioneering process will affect adversely the outcome of all. The PPP leadership, as soon as it recovers from the trauma, is likely to take the decision to boycott the elections, despite George Bush’s wish to keep the democratization process going and the elections be held as scheduled. With the two major and most important political parties staying out, the elections will be more or less meaningless. They will hardly enjoy any credibility and would be rejected by the world. The questions, therefore, arises, if elections are to be postponed, for how long? Again, I think it may not be predictable by the government or anyone else at this stage. It could be two months or 12 months or even more. PPP would have to elect a new party leader and it would not be an easy task. Not it would easy for any one to step into the shoes of BB, whoever he/she may be. Similarly all other political parties would need time to take stock of the changed situation, revise and devise their strategies anew and run their political campaigns accordingly and appropriately. There are good chances of the parties now boycotting to re-enter the fray under the changed circumstances. Now, if the elections are to be postponed then what is the role, requirement and the justification for the Caretaker government to be around? Naturally, an Interim Govt (IG) acceptable to all should replace it. The President should, therefore, ask each political party to give the names of its nominees for the IG on pro-rata basis The ratio should be governed by the number of the seats bagged by that political party in the last elections. It could be say, 5 for PPP, 4 or 5 for PML, 3 for MMA etc. Their total number for the proposed cabinet should work out to around two dozen or so. Once all the names are in, they should be asked to elect amongst themselves their Prime Minister to lead them. I think, in this way no one will have any objection and we would have an IG which will be not only acceptable to all but truly national in essence.. This IG should not only run the day today affairs of the government but also hold the next general elections in due course of time after taking all necessary steps for ensuring the elections to be impartial, fair and transparent. Naturally, the President would have certain apprehensions from such an IG, with such a mandate, like his quitting the office of the President, being tried for violating the constitution and the restoration of the PCOed Judges etc., which some of the political leaders keep haranguing about. His such apprehensions must be allayed legally if the political parties wish Pakistan to embark upon the road to true democracy. Or else, Article 58-2B is always there to derail the process and throw the country back to square one. Forming the IG as suggested could also rehabilitate considerably the sagging popularity of the President. Both sides must realise the gravity of the situation and must rise above their personal gains or vendetta. There has to be give and take by both sides for the democracy to flourish and the country to survive.

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