'Nawaz Sharif facing bigger crisis than in 1999'

In an exclusive interview, veteran politician says the prime minister has alienated himself from his party

ISLAMABAD: Seasoned politician Zafar Ali Shah thinks that the political crisis whipped up in the wake of April 3 Panama Papers revelations poses a bigger challenge to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif than the situation he faced when his second government was toppled on October 12, 1999.

“The political situation today is worse. The most alarming aspect of the present situation is alienation of executive from the party,” remarked Shah, who has been a doctrinaire supporter of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N).



Shah retired as senator in March last year. He was a National Assembly member from Islamabad at the time of the 1999 military coup.

“There is a huge gap between Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N, the party he heads. It seems he has forgotten it is the party which elected him to the office of prime minister for a record third time”.

“In this crisis, the prime minister is banking on everyone – Maulana Fazlur Rehman or others – but not his party. Not a single meeting of the party has been called to discuss the situation,” he says.

Shah says in a democratic system, political parties have a status above the government.  The government is subservient and follows the party line. The callowness on the part of the premier has distanced the workers from the party, which, Shah considers, most alarming for the party.

“I have not seen such disappointment in workers ever before,” he added.



1999 military takeover

Shah says that after failure of Kargil misadventure orchestrated by then army chief Pervez Musharraf, it was talk of the town that Nawaz Sharif’s government will no longer continue.

“I was scheduled to go to the US as part of a delegation to the UN. We had to leave on October 9. I met prime minister on October 7. During this meeting the PM asked me if there were any updates.

“I said you know better than me. You are sitting in a position where you have more information.  But I capital is abuzz with speculations about an approaching dictatorship. He said how I could say this. I said this is what we hear from everybody”.

Shah said the prime minister asked him to meet the next day again and they talked on the same issue. He said Nawaz Sharif asked me as to what I thought could be a way out of this situation.



“Among other things, I asked the PM to convene session of parliament. Once the meeting was over I asked the premier if I could proceed with my US visit. He said, ‘Yes. Why not?’ This baffled me. I thought he would say that you are going abroad after advising me to convene a parliamentary session”.

Shah said he was in New York when military toppled Nawaz Sharif’s government on October 12, 1999.

Shah moves SC and challenges 1999 martial law

On his return, the party’s prominent leaders of that era had their huddles on the new situation. Shah proposed the party should challenge military’s unconstitutional step in the Supreme Court.

“We had three to four meetings in Lahore and Islamabad. All the main leaders, who were not put behind bars, were present in these meetings.  They were not even ready to discuss the issue. Everyone was afraid. No one was ready to talk” Shah recalls.

Shah said he later moved a petition in the apex court in his individual capacity. Few other individuals followed him. These petitions were clubbed. Since Shah was first to move court, it is famously known as Zafar Ali Shah case.

Nawaz Sharif appears before SC

An interesting twist in the case came when deposed prime minister was asked to appear before the court and plead his case.



 

“When he was brought to the court, I said to Mian Sahib that it was a golden opportunity. It was a historic moment for him to speak out whatever he had to say.  Court room was packed with national and international media.”

Shah said Nawaz spoke there but in his address he mostly focused on complaints of personal nature and treatment meted out to him. Those who attended the proceedings said, Nawaz hardly mentioned any political, legal or constitutional issue before the court.

In Zafar Ali Shah case, the SC not only endorsed and legitimised Musharraf’s move – but also, and far more damningly, invoked the doctrine of necessity to grant him the power, albeit limited, to amend the Constitution.

Opposes Sharifs’ departure from country

Before leaving for exile, the Sharif family had signed a covenant with the establishment. Shah contradicts those in the PML-N who claim that the Sharif family did not consult them before leaving.

“Two days before they left, I had a meeting with Kalsoom Nawaz. Nawaz had asked her to consult me. Maybe they had approached others as well on this issue. I am not sure.

“Without mincing words, I suggested that they ought not to leave the country. I said: This hard time will be over. A leader has to look above these things. The nation looks up to and lives with it leaders. Please don’t leave the country.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2016.