Zardari not following Benazir's political will: Nawaz

NEW YORK - PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif has said that President Asif Ali Zardari was following an agenda different from that of shaheed Benazir Bhutto, who signed the Charter of Democracy with him, and he urged him to strengthen democratic institutions.
"He (Zardari) has not followed her political will. He has
taken a different agenda altogether, an agenda which will take Pakistan
further away from democracy," he said in an interview with a leading American weekly magazine.
"We don't pose a threat to Mr. Zardari. All my party is talking about is
a democratic Pakistan," he told TIME magazine in Lahore.
Pakistan, he said, was facing a serious crisis which the government could not handle single-handedly. Asked about the possibility of army's intervention, he said, " I hope not, but much depends on how Zardari conducts himself as far as
democracy is concerned, if he does things to strengthen democratic
institutions. (I) don't think that the present leadership of the army is
inclined to step out of its domain. But you can't really handle
security by dismissing members of the government and imposing
governor's rule".
The following is the transcript of the interview as posted on TIME's website:
QUESTION: Many here in Pakistan were shocked and surprised by the
attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. In your opinion, how
was the situation handled?
ANSWER: Some better security
arrangements should have been in place. So far nothing has come out;
nobody has been caught or arrested. The government was too busy trying
to get our party dislodged from [the Sharif family's stronghold]
Punjab, and then they imposed governor's rule [direct rule of Punjab
province by the Pakistani federal government] just a few days ago.
Q: Are you suggesting that the security situation was the result of political wrangling and distractions?
A: Absolutely. A lot of people were being reshuffled: pushed out, pushed
in. They were in the process of removing so many people from the
government. When such things take place, security suffers. The same
goes for other areas in Pakistan because the problems we are facing are
far too serious in nature and no party can solve them single-handedly.
The government single-handedly cannot fight this crisis.
Q: Do you think the army might step in if the security situation does not improve in time?
A: I hope not, but much depends on how Zardari conducts himself as far as
democracy is concerned, if he does things to strengthen democratic
institutions. don't think that the preIsent leadership of the army is
inclined to step out of its domain. But you can't really handle
security by dismissing members of the government and imposing
governor's rule. It is aggravating the situation actually and adding
fuel to the fire.
What are we fighting the terrorists for if we ourselves do not even
stand up for democracy - civil liberties and fundamental rights - which
includes independence of the judiciary?
Q: Do you believe that Zardari is trying to stifle opposition?
A: We don't pose a threat to Mr. Zardari. All my party is talking about is
a democratic Pakistan. This is what we actually decided with Benazir
Bhutto. She is the one who signed the Charter of Democracy with me. It
was the political will of Benazir Bhutto, which Mr. Zardari should have
followed and acted upon. He has not followed her political will. He has
taken a different agenda altogether, an agenda which will take Pakistan
further away from democracy.
Q: The Supreme Court's decision effectively bars you from contesting
the presidency in 2013. But you've said you are not driven to seek
office of any kind. What do you say to skeptics who believe you will
inevitably do so?
A: Ask Mr. Zardari. Did I ever seek an office from him? Did I ever say
that I want the office of the President or of Prime Minister? We have
sacrificed everything for the sake of democracy. This is a noble
agenda, and I think the civil society of this country, the youth, the
lawyers' society and the media are all on one side.
Q: Zardari's spokesman says you do not talk about terrorism and that
you raise only the issue of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikar
Chaudhry. What is your reaction to this?
A: We were partners, but now the partnership is over. We have been going
the extra mile to support the government on fighting the issue of
terrorism and extremism. We enabled the government to pass a resolution
in the National Assembly and then how to deal with this problem.
[But] there was an agenda we signed together when we formed our
government. It was a democratic agenda to re-establish a rule of law,
constitutional supremacy, the sovereignty of the parliament and the
independence of the judiciary. These were the primary objectives laid
down before signing this agreement between me and Mr. Zardari. These
things have not been implemented at all. The legal fraternity today is
up in arms with what they consider judges who were brought into these
courts by Mr. Musharraf. Their allegiance was not to the state but to
Mr. Musharraf and now to Mr. Zardari.
Q: On March 16, you will participate in a long march calling for the
reinstatement of judges dismissed by Musharraf. What are you looking to
accomplish?
A: f they get reinstated, then the country will get an independent
judiciary. If they get reinstated, there will be rule of law in the
country. If they get reinstated, all these controversial amendments in
the constitution introduced by Mr. Musharraf will have to be repealed.
I think for any society to develop and become a civilized society, they
need an independent judiciary.
Q: But given the overall deterioration of security in the country, is this the right time to push this issue?
A: It is never the right time for a long march, but is this the right time
for the government to disqualify its opponents? Is this the right time
for Mr. Zardari to impose governor's rule in the biggest province in
the country? Is this the right time for Mr. Zardari to create these
divisions within the coalition? I think the need was to make everybody
come together at the table. Mr. Zardari should have done that. Now is
the time to act as President of the people of Pakistan, not as the
president of the Pakistan People's Party.