Treading with caution

It took three days for Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to initiate the withdrawal of Muslim militants from across the Line of Contro...

It took three days for Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to initiate the withdrawal of Muslim militants from across the Line of Control because Sharif wasn8217;t taking any chances.

While India accused him of going back on his agreement, Sharif was in fact laying the ground work so that his government would stay intact once the pull-out starts on the ground.

Observers in Islamabad said that when the Pakistan prime minister returned from his controversial Washington trip, the first thing he did was to go into discussions with the military high command.

The next day, a meeting with the Defence Committee of the Cabinet, which comprised senior ministers and heads of Pakistan8217;s army, navy and air force, gave Sharif the go-ahead for implementing his plan of action.

Sharif8217;s reluctance to act on his own may have been a wise move. With the army to back him, the Pakistan prime minister does not face the kind of opposition from various quarters over his plan on withdrawal from Kargil.

8220;If there is a mutedresponse to Sharif8217;s initiatives from within the country, it is because of the fact that the army has shown that it is solidly behind him,8221; says on Islamabad-based political analyst.

Despite the fact that he is Pakistan8217;s most powerful elected prime minister ever, Sharif needed the army8217;s public support to go ahead on such a sensitive issue.

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So far, the army has kept to its commitment and the popular uprising that many had predicted for Sharif as he returned to Pakistan, has so far eluded him.

A good relationship with the army has not always been Sharif8217;s advantage. In his Monday speech, he reminded the nation of the Gulf War in 1991 when his stand to support the allies was questioned by what Sharif called 8220;senior functionaries.8221; Here, he made a reference to then army chief, General Mirza Aslam Beg, who publicly differed with Sharif8217;s stance. General Beg8217;s successor, General Asif Nawaz, gave his blessings to the ouster of Sharif as prime minister in 1993.

The Pakistan prime minister has learnt hislessons well. And this time round, is taking no chances.

The militants began to pull out Sunday from strategic mountain peaks in Kashmir8217;s Kargil area, which overlooked India8217;s only supply route to the region.

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Sharif said in a nationally televised speech Monday that he asked the militants to withdraw because he wanted to give diplomacy another chance and avert the danger of a war between two nuclear powers.

Those on the far right wish the fighting had continued, while those in the centre wonder why the incursion happened in the first place.

Analysts now say that despite the protests by the right, the prime minister is in a position to handle and counter the dissent. Nawaz Sharif will not face tough opposition in Parliament because his party dominates it by a two-thirds majority.

The protesting parties have no representation in the legislature and have little following on the streets.

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And there appears to be no immediate conflict between Sharif and the powerful military, although that could changeif the country8217;s economic and other problems continue, a foreign diplomat said.