Musharraf should announce general amnesty for Sharif and Bhutto: Editorial

A Pakistan daily editorial has suggested that President General Pervez Musharraf should put aside his personal and political animosities against both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, and offer both of them a general amnesty to faciliate a sense of order in the countrys administration.

Islamabad, Aug.28 : A Pakistan daily editorial has suggested that President General Pervez Musharraf should put aside his personal and political animosities against both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, and offer both of them a general amnesty to faciliate a sense of order in the country's administration.

According to the Daily Times editorial, it is now more or less confirmed that the "Confidentiality Hold Harmless Agreement" that Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif signed in 2000 with the Musharraf regime is void because the unnamed guarantor of the agreement is "no longer willing to interfere in Pakistan's affairs".

The editorial further describes Saad Hariri, the man currently being roped in by the Musharraf regime to convince the Sharifs not to return to Pakistan, as a small-time Lebanese politician with marginal influence in the developments unfolding vis-a-vis Pakistan.

"The real guarantor was Saudi Arabia where the Sharif family was made to live under the ten-year term of the Agreement. When the "secret deal" was struck the ruler of Saudi Arabia was King Fahd with the now King Abdullah acting as his Crown Prince. So the liability, though not entirely finished, was diluted by the change of rulers after the demise of King Fahd," claims the editorial.

"It is quite possible that the waning of the interest of the "big power" in President Musharraf, and the mounting of suspicion about his ability to control and end terrorism in Pakistan, may have caused the change in the mind of the "guarantors" in Saudi Arabia," the editorial adds.

Since the Saudi response has a way of being moulded by its own self-interest, and there is little doubt about America's disenchantment with Musharraf, the editorial suggests that Musharraf is finding himself increasingly unsuccessful and isolated, and therefore, must take steps to mend fences with key political opponents -- Sharif and Bhutto.

Musharraf, according to the editorial, has vowed to avoid "destabilisation", and if he decides to put Sharif behind bars, he could end up having just that, a lot of destabilisation, warns the editorial.

Musharraf's failure also to agree to any terms with Bhutto, has narrowed his options.

Musharraf, therefore, should agree to Bhutto's proposal for general amnesty for all political leaders in exile to enable them to return and participate in the elections and create a new basis for the resumption of democracy. He should also agree to take off his uniform and hold the elections under a truly neutral interim government approved by the opposition parties.

ANI