The All-Parties Conference (APC) organised by Pakistan’s former and now-exiled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took place in London on July 7-8 in which about seventy-odd politicians from all kinds of parties participated. After about two days of deliberations the participants managed to produce a watered-down declaration in which there was consensus on two major points: that is, condemnation of the ethnic party, MQM and that Musharraf must take off his uniform and hold free and fair elections.

The other noticeable aspect of the conference was the input of the Baluch nationalists who behaved maturely and gave balanced statements on their position vis-à-vis the regime. Abandoning their earlier rhetoric of separation, the Baluch leaders had greater clarity regarding General Musharraf and the position of the ethnic Baluch in the country’s politics.

The APC, however, was noticeable for what it did not achieve. To begin with, Benazir Bhutto was conspicuous by her absence. Although she sent three of her key representatives to the event, there was a sense of great disappointment amongst other participants. Her absence was interpreted as her willingness to negotiate with General Musharraf and there was a general air of bitterness about the PPP’s dialogue with the army.

At best, the conference represented the multiple faultlines in Pakistan, the most prominent being the divide between the religious and the not-so religious political elements. The word secular is not used deliberately because the term itself requires serious interpretation as far as Pakistan’s politics is concerned. While the MMA was trying hard to draw attention towards the Lal Masjid crisis and the fact that “our children are being slaughtered by the government”, others were less interested in including the issue as an agenda item. In fact, Qazi Hussain Ahmed’s emphasis on Lal Masjid drew a reaction from the Baluch nationalists who were of the view that the major parties in Pakistan are not concerned about the repression of the Baluch.

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