Musharraf under pressure over Iraq

By B. Muralidhar Reddy, The Hindu, Thursday 20 March 2003

ISLAMABAD MARCH 19. The Pakistan Government is under pressure from the Opposition parties to condemn the ultimatum given by the U.S. President, George W. Bush, to Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq or face war.

The Government finds itself in a bind, unable to say anything against America. Islamabad believes that while a harsh statement would have no impact on the Bush Administration, it could undermine its relations with Washington.

The special session of the National Assembly, to discuss the Iraq crisis, continued for the second day today with fiery speeches particularly from the representatives of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) directed against the U.K.-U.S. combine. In contrast, the nominees of the ruling party were circumspect and lauded the diplomatic initiatives by the Government to avert a possible war.

The Pakistan Government has certainly been spared the agony of voting in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on the abandoned second resolution. But its woes are likely to continue for some time as the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Washington on March 26 at the invitation of Mr. Bush.

It would be a testing time for Mr. Jamali if the U.S. strikes Iraq. He would certainly like to avoid being seen in the company of Mr. Bush when Iraq comes under attack. There were suggestions from non-government quarters that Mr. Jamali re-schedule his proposed trip but once again it is a risk that Islamabad must be willing to take.

In the National Assembly, leaders from the Opposition and Treasury benches agreed to adopt a consensus resolution. The Opposition did not press the contentious issue of validity of Musharraf laws.

The Opposition parties blasted what they called a failure of the Government’s foreign policy in not being able to prevent war against Iraq, but had varied views about what Pakistan should do now. While the MMA and Pakistan Muslim League-N came out hard against what they saw as American designs to dominate the world and capture its natural resources, the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) called for diplomatic moves to save Iraq.

American designs are a danger to peace and aimed at pushing the whole planet into war, the MMA secretary-general, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, said in a hard- hitting speech. He said the U.S. stood politically and diplomatically isolated in what he saw as its quest to capture the world’s natural resources like oil. He urged the Pakistani Government to take a strong stand to support Iraq in collaboration with other countries opposing the U.S. policy such as Russia, France, China and Germany.

The PPP’s Aitzaz Ahsan said Pakistan’s foreign policy had failed because generals controlled it. He urged the Prime Minister, Jamali, to bring back the exiled former Prime Ministers, Benazir Bhutto, and Nawaz Sharif to create a domestic consensus that could help the country’s future moves to play a leading role in the Islamic world.