PM's US visit and impeachment of Musharraf

Pakistani political scene has begun to witness scenarios hitherto unknown in recent times. First, the Washington visit of the recently elected Pakistani Premier turned out to be a non-event, and secondly, the news of possible and impending impeachment of Musharraf. As these matters are of great significance, it is necessary to examine them in depth.

PM Gilani came to Washington and has returned to Islamabad but the decision makers of DC are still confused what to make out of his unofficial 'official' visit. Many US officials were eager to meet him to evaluate his usefulness as a replacement to their long-trusted but fading helper Musharraf; by all accounts it seems that Washington was not overtly impressed at what they saw. Is it so because the man who represents democracy in Pakistan could not convince the real players of his mission or is it that they did not want really to see democracy thrive in this country?

What they say they found was a lack of depth of understanding and vision in dealing with complex international and security issues, articulation to comprehend and project Pakistani policies in a clear and candid way. It is further reported by the American media that the US officials did not find the requisite capacity in the PM to grasp the importance of issues, take control of matters and make decisions which he could sustain. It is well known that Washington comprises scores of think tanks, lobbyists, Congressmen, retired diplomats, bureaucrats, generals and media giants. But could it be said that the people he generally met were of the current Bush Administration who cannot have any real appreciation for the person who replaced their trusted friend in Islamabad?

The one issue which damaged Gilani's credibility as a potentially serious leader and policy-maker was the brutally botched up ISI fiasco. Whoever did this to Gilani actually torpedoed his US visit, which turned into a non-starter the moment the ISI notification was withdrawn. It was beyond Gilani to stand by his order for more than a few hours and Washingtonians got the message that they were dealing with a non-entity and should not take him seriously. The presence of sharpshooters like Islamabad's chief security point man Malik, did little to be of any real help. They were all engrossed to get the maximum limelight for themselves in the circumstances that suddenly they were provided with. Furthermore the overall superior position that Zardari clearly enjoys in the government was sufficient to convince his hosts that they were not dealing with a premier with authority of a nuclear armed nation.

Thus while the Premier was in Washington his visit did not result in any reverberating consequences, events in Pakistan have moved with much speed. The ISI change of stewardship move had been effectively blocked by Musharraf and his cronies. This made Zardari lose face and he quickly realised that Nawaz was right in not trusting the president. So after three days of intense discussions between the PPP co-chairman and the PML-N chief it was announced on August 7 that Pakistan's ruling coalition will seek the impeachment of US-backed Musharraf.