* BNP says their decision always in sync with that of APDM
* JUI-F always played Musharraf’s B-team
By Malik Siraj Akbar
QUETTA: Media speculations about the possible participation of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the general elections have temporarily put many political parties of Balochistan in a fix.
Having earlier announced that they would not contest the polls, most indigenous political parties from Balochistan have now resorted to a more cautious stance on the issue of boycott. They have also asked their aspiring candidates who filed their nomination papers earlier not to be “foolish enough to withdraw their nomination papers.” This abrupt change has come in the wake of media reports that the PML-N was reconsidering its decision to boycott the polls.
BNP decisions: “We have not said finally that we will boycott the elections,” Rauf Mengal, a former MNA and key leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), said, “rather, we have always inter-linked our decision with any announcement made by the APDM.”
Having been left in lurch by their erstwhile partners from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Awami National Party (ANP), many of these parties in Balochistan are now worried about PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif ditching them.
“Yes, we are also hearing such media reports [about the PML-N going for polls]. We hope Nawaz will not take a shameful decision,” remarked Rauf Mengal.
“We have told our men not to withdraw their nomination papers. We are equally under pressure from our workers and party leaders to reconsider the decision of boycotting.” Mengal said.
When asked what his party would do if the APDM or the PML-N decides to contest the elections, Mengal said that his party would, in that case, hold a meeting of its Central Committee on December 7.
The BNP’s demands do not merely include the reinstatement of the sacked judges of the Supreme Court, he said. Instead, he added, it wants the government to release former Balochistan chief minister Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who is also the BNP president and end the military operation in the province.
Nationalist Party (NP) spokesman Jan Muhammad Buledai told Daily Times on Sunday that his party was badly disappointed with the pre-election situation. The party had no faith in the interim governments, the existing district governments “which are being manipulated to pave the wave for the success of the pro-establishment party,” and the Election Commission.
“We hope Benazir will understand our point of view. The upcoming elections are unlikely to be transparent in the present circumstances,” he said.
Musharraf’s B-team: The NP is optimistic that the ANP and PPP will join them. However, it does not expect “any good” from the JUI-F. BNP leader Mengal said the JUI-F had always played as the B-team of President Pervez Musharraf. “The JUI-F has always betrayed us on crucial issues, be it the 17th Amendment or the issue of the National Security Council,” he said.
JUI-F General Secretary Ghafoor Haideri for his part, does not buy the arguments of the APDM leaders. The main reason his party has decided to participate in the elections, he said, is not to leave the ground open for Musharraf’s supporters. “A boycott cannot block Musharraf. This will instead give him a free hand in political affairs,” he said. The JUI-F leader said that boycotting the elections would, at the end of the day, prove to be a big blunder by the opposition.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=200712 3story_3-12-2007_pg7_2 |
