The question now is: will the army see a UN probe into Bhutto’s death as infringing on its self-proclaimed sovereignty as opposed to that of Pakistan? Surely if an elected government cannot trust the state’s own investigation mechanisms operating under its own supervision, there is more than meets the eye in the whole sordid affair. Days before her death, Benazir had complained to her American friends: “His (Musharraf’s) goons are making me insecure.” The general did not move into the Army House in Rawalpindi instead of occupying the president’s official residence in Islamabad for nothing after doffing his military uniform.

Zardari’s latest somersault on the president may also be seen as a bid to redeem himself. He had inched too close to the establishment which obliged him by withdrawing all corruption and criminal cases against him. Within the PPP this created ripples as party workers shied from defending Zardari’s cosying up to Musharraf, the man many believed could have prevented Benazir’s death.

By exchanging vitriolics with Musharraf, Zardari perhaps hopes to regain some of the lost ground with the public. However, those who know him well could also say that it is another attempt to divert attention from the inertia gripping the PPP-led government on the judges, the economy, the energy crisis and other pressing issues. The lawyers, together with the Sharifs, are all set to make music in the streets of Punjab, come June 10. Their rallying cry is “Go, Musharraf, go”, underpinned by the petition that all judges sent packing on November 3 be restored, and those who replaced them sacked.

... contd.