Coalition in jeopardy

Bereft of any credibility, he now argues that since political accords are not as sacred as Quran and Hadith, they can be modified if the circumstances changed. The argument is absurd and incompatible with the internationally acknowledged norms that regard political agreements as sacrosanct. Mr Zardari meanwhile reiterated that he did not believe in “count-downs and count-ups” when asked by BBC to give a timeframe to restore the deposed judges. Perhaps he could not explain the difficulties in doing so, following his assurances to those who had played a key role in General Musharraf’s resignation. At the same time he is also trying to extricate himself from the Charter of Democracy by remaining mysteriously mute on the issue of stripping the Presidency of the authority to dismiss Parliament and exercise other powers, which should actually rest with the Prime Minister in a democratic polity. This points to the party’s double standards. As long as General Musharraf was in office, it considered it a travesty of democratic tradition, but now that Mr Zardari himself is a candidate for the top slot he does not want to give up these powers. There will be no justification for that, even if the PPP leadership insists that he cannot dismiss his own government. But it should not ignore that removal of the 17th Amendment remains fundamental to not only restoring the Constitution’s federal parliamentary character but also empowering the Parliament, which had been turned into a mere rubberstamp during the last nine years of military rule.

As Mr Zardari’s political star is on the ascendant, he would be well advised to play the role of an honest broker rather than a partisan President looking after the interests of his own party. It is time for him to make a good start by meeting Mian Nawaz ahead of the PML(N)’s party meeting today and announcing the reinstatement of the deposed judges through an executive order. This will avert the coalition’s imminent collapse.