The current political situation in Pakistan is extremely volatile in the run up to the General Election scheduled for October 6. Parliamentary elections will then probably take place in November.
On September 28, the Electoral Commission agreed that General Pervez Musharraf could stand again as President, despite continuing to be head of the army.
Several legal challenges to Musharraf's position - which came from the main opposition parties as well as other opponents - had been thrown out by the Supreme Court the previous dav.
But by no means everything is going the General's way as hundreds of protestors throng the streets in Islamabad and canore
Members of the legal profession are playing a central role in these mobilisations against the dictatorship.
The Lahore bar association called for an immediate end to the military dictatorship at a seminar on August 31. All of this followed a battle over the position of the Supreme Court Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, who Musharrat suspended in March and who was reinstated after huge mobilisations in July.
On September 10, former Prime Minister and Muslim League leader Navaz Sharif managed to break his sevenyear exile for only a few short
He returned Islamabad on a direct flight Tom anne ndenced co process in triumph to his home city of Lahore. Sharif had been deposed by Musharraf's coup eight years ago
Musharraf's men were waiting for him and after a tense standoff while he was still on the plane; he disembarked, was arrested and was summarily deported back to Saudi Arabia.
This action was in defiance or a ruine trom the supreme Court in July that Sharif was free to return.
Indian acuvisu Praful Bidwai noted in an article in
on September 17 that Sharif has become more popular of late because he has "tried to relate to une popular mood and taken position against anotner term for President Musharraf, whether in or out of uniform".
He also notes that this stance trom Sharit is in strong contrast to that of the other exiled opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Musharraf and Bhutto held discussions in Dubai in July No easy answers: Musharraf and Bhutto seems all too ready to do a deal. She is not released tomorrow. planning to return to Pakistan the Presidential election. supervise a power-sharing regime. arrangement between Musharraf Bidwai points out.
That this approach, like so for fifteen days. much else of US foreign tisan approach is made clear by Bhutto's recent visit to by the Democrats. General Secretary Farooq http://www.europe-solTariq was released on bail yesterday evening, although nine other comrades remain in prison for technical reasons.
It is expected they will be Tariq, who has been arrested until October 15 - i.e. after three times in the last three
months has been a persistent "Clearly the US wants to thorn in the side of the
He was freed from jail after a and Bhutto", major international campaign in June after being in prison It is certainly possible that policy, is a completely bi-par- further solidarity with the
movement against the military dictatorship will be necCongress where she was feted essary over the months and
weeks ahead
Meanwhile I have just heard For further information seethat Labour Party Pakistan http://www.laborpakistan.org/
idaire.org/spip.php?rubrique S6&var_recherche=pakistan