The kingdom of exile

The kingdom of exile
Kamal Siddiqi

When Pakistan's former prime minister, Mian Nawaz Sharif, was made an offer by the military government last week: a pardon in exchange for a life a life of exile in Saudi Arabia, he took ``one tenth of a second to say yes''. He did not even bother to bargain for the lives of his fellow accused in the plane hijacking case or for other fellow party members in jail all over Pakistan. A safe passage out of Pakistan, for him and his family, was an offer he couldn't refuse, no matter what the long-term implications of this deal may be. True to form, the Sharif entourage did not include just family members. It had servants, maids, cooks -- even a masseur, like the retainers of some feudal lord.

After the execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the 70s, by the Zia-ul-Haqgovernment, Pakistani politicians have been understandably wary of spending time in local jails. Today, the leaders of Pakistan's three main political parties: Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), Benazir Bhutto of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Altaf Hussain of the Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi Mahaaz or MQM, live outside Pakistan, even as it goes through yet another bout of dictatorship.

Those close to the Sharif family are not surprised by the deal. The family has never been known for confrontational politics, especiallywith the armed forces. This new role thrust upon Sharif was uncharted territory for an otherwise seasoned politician.

Sharif's political history stretches over a span of about 20 years. Beginning by grabbing power as a provincial minister, he went on to become the chief minister of the Punjab province. From here, he was catapulted to the top slot as prime minister twice. He appeared on Pakistan's political horizon in the early 80s, as a member of Asghar Khan-led Tehrik-e-Istaqlal. The then dictator, General Zia, spotted Sharif and made him finance minister of Punjab. Sharif had the knack of choosing his moment well. In the 1985 party-less elections, during General Zia's regime, Sharif was elected to the provincial seat from Lahore. He was Zia's choice as Punjab chief minister. After the dismissal of Muhammad Khan Junejo's government in 1988, Sharif followed his mentor by ousting Junejo as the chief of the PML and grabbed the leadership of the party after renaming it PML-N (N standing for Nawaz, of course).

After the death of his mentor in the air crash of August 17, 1988, Sharifattempted to clinch the premiership on the basis of the Islamic JamhooriIttehad (IJI), but he lost to Benazir. By remaining the Punjab chiefminister, he gave a hard time to Benazir. His ascendancy to the highest post in the land was soon a certainty. With the help of the army, the Sharif-led IJI won the mandate in the 1990 polls after President Ghulam Ishaq Khan ousted Benazir's government. Sharif managed to bypass the then caretaker prime minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, who was also an aspirant for premiership from the IJI platform. Things would have gone okay if he hadn't fallen out with then president, Ghulam Ishaq Khan. The year 1993 was a particularly stormy one for Nawaz. Khan dismissed the Sharif government and it required the Supreme Court's intervention to restore it back to him. Even at this stage, Sharif was totally under the influence of the army. The army stepped in and dismissed both Sharif and Khan, when their relationship seemed to reach a point of no return. Elections held that same year saw the return to power of Benazir's PPP through a coalitional arrangement.

It was only in 1997 that Sharif came into his own as a powerful player in his own right, after a sweeping win in the elections. For a short time he was considered the most powerful prime minister that Pakistan ever had. With an absolute majority in parliament, Sharif managed to scrap the Eighth Amendment to ensure the safety of his government. That move stripped the country's president of powers to dismiss an elected government.

A few months later Sharif's party activists stormed into the country'sSupreme Court as the then chief justice, Sajjad Ali Shah, had summoned the prime minister in a case. The turmoil at the court building forced the chiefjustice to take refuge. Later, Shah was ousted ``legally''. Next, Sharif got President Leghari to step down. His next target was the army chief. He got his chance when then army chief, General Jahangir Karamat, made a controversial statement about the need for a national security council. He was forced to resign and General Pervez Musharraf was Sharif's choice for the all-powerful position of army chief. But the honeymoon proved short-lived with the Kargil conflict bringing the tensions between them to a head.

On October 12, 1999, Sharif sacked General Musharraf as army chiefwhile he was on his way back home from Sri Lanka. The commercial aircraft bringing General Musharraf and 198 other passengers was denied landing at Pakistani airports. Subsequently, the army moved in and toppled the Sharifgovernment in a bloodless coup, paving way for the landing of the plane at Karachi airport. The rest is recent history.

The new turn in Sharif's political career may be more damaging then he hadoriginally anticipated. History is replete with irony. At one stage, he used to make fun of Benazir for ``running away from the country instead of facing charges''. Today he is guilty of that very same offence!