Nawaz Sharif’s deportation from Islamabad has opened the option of Pakistan’s political future resting on the shoulders of three women. They include Nawaz’s wife, Begum Kulsum, who is being described by her brother-in-law Shabaz Sharif, as a potential “hot candidate” for the prime minister’s job.In an exclusive interview in London with The Indian Express, Shabaz said, “Begum Kulsum Nawaz is a hot candidate, yes. We are hoping that Begum Kulsum Nawaz will return to Pakistan soon. Although no date has been announced, we are in consultation with the party and there is a demand from the people of Pakistan that one of the family members should return.”Shabaz’s projection of his sister-in-law as a future elected leader of Pakistan follows General Musharraf’s decision to deport Nawaz to Saudi Arabia where he has now taken up residence in Jeddah and is now cut off, communicating with none except immediate family members.Shabaz, who stayed behind in London to avoid his brother’s fate, had an extended two hour telephone conversation with Nawaz immediately before his interview with The Indian Express.As he sat against the backdrop of two Pakistani flags, Shabaz was asked if Benazir Bhutto and General Musharraf’s wife, Sehba, could also be described as “hot candidates” for future political office.“As far as the PPP is concerned, Benazir Bhutto has been chairperson for ages and she is a life chairperson as you know,” he said.“Now what is new is that Musharraf might field his wife as a cover candidate. That’s autocratic, that’s what military dictators do. It’s like Marcos and Imelda Marcos. That is a perfect comparison, but there is no comparison with Benazir Bhutto or Nawaz.”Asked what international precedent there was when a country’s top political candidates all turned out to be women, Shabaz said, “Bangladesh is an example with Begum Khaleda and Hasina Wajed and we respect that because the parties have thrown up ladies as their leaders. Now in Pakistan, it’s again a different situation from Bangladesh. There is, of course, Benazir heading her party and in our case it’s the party’s demand that Begum Kulsum Nawaz should return and take up the role in the absence of Nawaz Sharif. That’s totally democratic.”“As far as Musharraf is concerned, he’s anti-democracy, he’s a dictator. A person who subverts the constitution and brazenly defies the word of the court, how can you compare his decision to launch his wife with anything to do with democracy?”Although Benazir and Kulsum are nominal allies and could be expected to join forces against Sehba, simmering tensions between the Sharif and Bhutto clans could break out into the open once parliamentary elections are announced.The reason is Benazir’s recent decision to hold secret talks with Musharraf, thereby repudiating the Charter for Democracy that she co-signed with Nawaz. The Charter expressly political parties from holding any contact with military dictators.On Benazir’s recent meeting with Musharraf in Abu Dhabi, Shabaz said: “It’s a very unfortunate story. We were all hoping against hope that this would not happen, but unfortunately the meeting has taken place.”“If a deal has taken place it is a sad day for Pakistan, unbecoming of Benazir who has always been anti establishment, unbecoming of her party. It is very sad because its against democracy, against the rule of law, against the constitution, against the supremacy of parliament.”Shabaz also confirmed that he had rejected an earlier offer from Musharraf to make him the prime minister. Although his brother’s hopes of returning to Pakistan had once again been put on hold, Shabaz said he himself had no plans of going it alone and working with Musharraf.“My position stays the same because when Musharraf offered me to become the prime minister, I rejected the offer without any pause because I always thought military dictators always have a very popular theme in their minds to create split between political parties, leadership, families and that is exactly what he was trying to do with me. Thank God he was unable to achieve his evil design and even today my position is the same.”Comparing his brother’s experiences with those of Nelson Mandela, Shabaz added, “You have seen Nelson Mandela incarcerated for 28 years in South African prisons during apartheid, but his party was alive, was struggling and made sacrifices of historic dimensions. Today in a different context Nawaz Sharif’s party, despite Musharraf’s wranglings and the brutalities committed by his henchmen, is up and about. Nawaz Sharif’s deportation is a setback, but it is temporary. We will get over this and move on.” Shabaz also revealed that when his brother was first deported to Saudi Arabia eight years ago, the role of go-between in arranging a safe haven for Nawaz was played by Sa’ad Hariri, a dual Lebanese and Saudi national and the son of assassinated Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.Asked if foreign dignitaries had colluded in his brother’s expulsion from Islamabad airport last week, Shabaz said: “I deeply resent involvement of any country in Pakistan’s internal affairs, be it the US or any other country. It’s in the papers that Boucher (US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher) was there and Negroponte (Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte) were there in Islamabad on the day this drama was unfolding. There have been tons of stories in the newspapers that the Americans were involved and Musharraf tried to involve the Saudis. What I’m saying is that it’s Musharraf trying to wash his dirty linen in public.I would put it this way. I hold Musharraf 100 per cent responsible for the abduction. If there was a foreign intervention, it is very sad because he has compromised the sovereignty and dignity of Pakistan and he has opened the flood gates of foreign intervention even on internal matters”“If we talk about Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia has been one of the truest friends of Pakistan. To have involved them in this affair, Musharraf hardly realises he has done a great disservice to the cause of Pakistan. It’s very painful. God knows how this fissure will be repaired.”
