Periscope on Pakistan

THE NATION: In an effort to join the new set-up under the military junta, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has requested Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf to provide her safe passage to Pakistan, a source told The Nation Thursday. “Benazir sent the request through mutual friends,” the source said. The Military high command, however, turned down the request. Colonel Saulat of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) refused to comment on the news when contacted. “Not to my knowledge,” Col Saulat said. The Nation learnt that Bhutto, convicted by the Lahore High Court for corruption, had contacted the Army Chief Wednesday through a mutual friend. Though Bhutto had announced that she would not return to Pakistan unless elections were held, she made the tacit offer to support the new system if she was allowed to land safe and sound. The legal position in Bhutto’s case is that sheis convicted and will be arrested and sent to jail as soon as she arrives in Pakistan. Bhutto has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the decision of the Ehtesab Bench of Lahore High Court. The military high command has rejected Bhutto’s offer to protect their credibility since a pardon to her in the current situation will harm their neutrality. In the backdrop Bhutto’s recent harsh statements, it was impossible for the military high command to accept any such request of the former Prime Minister.

Atal should thank Sharif for poll win

THE NATION: (From a letter to the editor): Vajpayee should be grateful TO Nawaz Sharif for his thumping and decisive electoral victory. For nearly a year, Vajpayee was heading an uncertain, problematic, lame and limping coalition, which eventually collapsed, necessitating fresh general elections in India. At that time there was little or no hope of Vajpayee or BJP returning to power. But then the “tiger” of Punjab, Nawaz Sharif came to the rescue byproviding Kargil on a golden plate to Vajpayee at the cost of hundreds of lives, defeat, humiliation and insult for the armed forces and the people of Pakistan. After Kargil there was no looking back for Vajpayee. Elections were only a formality as proved by the results announced. While Vajpayee and his Hindu BJP continue to bask in the glory of Kargil and electoral victory, we the people of Pakistan and our armed forces are left licking our wounds. While our soldiers were defending with their sweat and blood the Kargil heights and the nation was hoping to avenge at least in small measure the humiliations of East Pakistan (1971), the Sharifs were busy minting money exporting their sugar to Vajpayee’s India. As if this was not enough, after compromising the blood and honour of the shaheeds of Kargil in Washington, Nawaz Sharif was more interested in a photo session with the Clintons followed by days of shopping in the most expensive stores of New York and London. The entire nation was aghast at this totallyabnormal, bewildering and shocking behaviour of the Prime Minister.