May 11 2008
Progress in Benazir Bhutto UN probe issue - News Most Welcome!
I have just returned from a press talk of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmud Qureshi and while the talks are still deadlocked on the issue of the judges’ restoration there is heartening signs of progress elsewhere. The Foreign Minister told us that not only has the Foreign Office sent its deliberations to the Prime Minister with the summary for requesting the UN to probe Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and the premier has signed it also. The request will be formally forwarded to the UN for deliberation and the FM would travel to the UN to press the matter further. It is good news. Great news actually. It implies that the government despite impasse on a few important issues has moved forward on matters that may define our future history. As I have said it earlier this matter is not only critical to the future of democracy in the country but also vital because in the coming days blame game could engulf the entire state and even Mohtarma’s own party. Now it is evident that the party is not playing a puppet of the establishment. If the request is finally forwarded to the UN it would be an evident defeat of the establishment.
There are other indications that the party is actually bolstering its stance in the foreign policy arena and asserting itself. A clear example is the US decision not to send General Hood to Pakistan as its military representative. It is strange that while the establishment had such great reservations on sending the probe request to the UN, it had no objections on Hood’s placement in Pakistan. Hood is know for his human rights track record at Gitmo. When we have the right to be critical of the government’s performance on matters, it is also our responsibility to applaud whenever some improvement takes place in policy matters. I believe that if the government keeps improving its position on such matters all lingering issues like that of the judges restoration would quite soon be resolved. The party’s allies would have to watch these developments closely for their decision to quit coalition may not damage democracy. I am glad that the political class is now reminding the establishment that it will not tolerate the blood of national leaders any further.
I think this UN inquiry is short-sighted and misguided. It will set a bad precedent by compromising Pakistan’s sovereignty. No self-respecting nation allows foreigners free rein to investigate matters of importance within its own national boundaries.
With due respect I have been following your arguments. I believe you are a fan of Pervez Musharraf. So in my view you are partisan hence I do not have anything substantial to say to you. Just one question. Where was sovereignty when Musharraf allowed three US permanent military bases on Pakistani soil which continue to operate even now?
I disagree with your characterization of me as “partisan” and your dismissal of my arguments based on that erroneous judgment. The arguments should be based on the merits of the situation. There are many self-respecting nations such as the UK, Japan, , South Korea and others who allow foreign military bases without compromising their national sovereignty. However, none of them invite the UN to conduct investigations into crimes committed on the soil. In fact I disagreed with Musharraf’s earlier decision to allow the Scotland Yard in the Bhutto probe.