標題:Coalition charts Pakistan's future
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Leaders of Pakistan's ruling coalition were
meeting Tuesday to discuss who will replace President Pervez Musharraf, who
resigned Monday.
They also were to talk about how to restore dozens of judges he fired last
year.
Under Pakistan's constitution, parliament has to elect a new president within
30 days. The nominee will need a majority vote of both houses of parliament
as well as Pakistan's four provincial assemblies.
For now, Mohammedmian Soomro, chairman of the senate, is acting as Pakistan's
caretaker president, but he is not expected to retain the position. Many
within the ruling coalition see him as a Musharraf loyalist, analysts say.
Unless the two major parties in the ruling coalition can reach a consensus
soon -- particularly on the issue of the judges -- a stalemate in the already
fragile coalition could trigger another political crisis, analysts said.
The country's labor minister told reporters the coalition may announce a
presidential pick by the end of the week. But, he said, a decision on the
judges is expected earlier.
Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said Tuesday that
Pakistan's presidency may eventually alternate between the ruling coalition's
top two leaders: former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, the
widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
"One of them, and I will not say which one, said to me not long ago, 'You
know what, in other democracies people take turns, why can't we?' " Haqqani
told reporters.
He noted both men are young enough that they can be patient as his country
implements democratic reform.
Zardari, the head of the one of the coalition parties, the Pakistan's People
Party, is 52. Sharif, the leader of the other party in the coalition, the
Pakistan Muslim League-N, is 58.
Haqqani said the presidential powers may be scaled back to become more
ceremonial. He also said Musharraf's resignation may result in an improvement
in relations between the United States and Pakistan.
"Everybody who disliked President Musharraf ended up disliking the United
States," Haqqani said. "I think that has changed yesterday."
Musharraf -- who seized power from Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999 -- quit
just as the ruling coalition was taking steps to remove him in what would
have been the first impeachment of a president in Pakistan's history.
The country's stock market and its currency rose after Musharraf stepped down
on hopes that the nuclear-armed Islamic nation of 164 million was headed for
political stability.
PPP, the ruling party, has not ruled out the possibility of granting him
"safe passage" out of the country. That would be a kind of payback for
Musharraf's decision last year to sign an amnesty that cleared Bhutto, then
the PPP leader, from prosecution after she returned home to campaign for
prime minister, a post she already held twice.
Bhutto had been in an eight-year self-imposed exile after being convicted on
money laundering charges. She was assassinated late last year in Pakistan
while campaigning.
The other party in the coalition, the PML-N, has publicly stated its
opposition to amnesty for Musharraf. Its leader, Sharif, wants the former
president tried on charges that the coalition compiled during its attempt to
oust him.
Haqqani declined to predict whether Musharraf will be granted safe passage
outside of Pakistan, saying that will be a matter for Parliament to decide.
He did say, however, that he felt the days of putting ousted political
leaders in prison are over.
The coalition partners also differ on the issue of the judges.
Last November, Musharraf declared a state of emergency and fired some 60
judges, including 14 of 18 who sat on the Supreme Court.
Some say Musharraf sacked the judges because they were set to rule against
the legitimacy of his third term in office. He had been re-elected president
by a parliament stacked with his supporters, they said.
After sweeping into power in parliamentary elections in February, the
coalition promised to reinstate the judges within 30 days of taking office,
but that hasn't happened.
Sharif's central election promise was to depose Musharraf and put the judges
back on the bench. It was also his condition for joining the coalition. He
believes a simple resolution followed by an executive order will be enough to
restore the judges. But the PPP wants constitutional changes along with a
resolution. That would take longer.
One reason behind the delay, some experts say, may be that the Supreme Court
was expected to look into the controversial amnesty granted to Bhutto and her
husband, Zardari, for the corruption charges.
CNN's Alizah Kassim in Atlanta, Georgia, and Reza Sayah in Islamabad,
Pakistan, contributed to this report.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/19/pakistan.nextstep/index.html
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