Musharraf Resignation Rumors, Economic Woes

The Associated Press
May 29, 2008

KARACHI, Pakistan: Pakistani stocks have fallen to their lowest level in almost 14 months as swirling talk that President Pervez Musharraf will resign adds to concern about the country’s economy.

Thursday morning, the Karachi Stock Exchange’s 100-share index fell 4.2 percent to 11,742.83. The index hasn’t touched that level since early April, 2007.

The plunge followed a report in a Pakistani newspaper — quickly denied by Musharraf’s spokesman — that the president has decided to quit.

Atif Malik, head of research at JA Global Securities, said, “The political uncertainty and the media assertions about the President’s resignation gave investors the jitters.”

The benchmark index has lost about 25 percent from a record high in April.

Future of Army Involvement

In the midst of all kinds of opinion about the “sincerity” of the PPP government in pursuing the cause of the judges and its “concealed sympathy” with President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has spoken at the National Defence University in Islamabad, and explained the stance of the partisans of democracy in the country vis-à-vis military intervention. He told the class that Pakistan had a few officers in the army who got together with “a class of politicians, bureaucrats, judiciary and affluent members of the civil society” to block the process of establishing democratic institutions in Pakistan. According to Mr Gilani, Pakistan paid a heavy price for this “civil military alliance” which flouted the supremacy of parliament and other democratic institutions. It created polarisation in the country and made it difficult for the political parties to get together on one minimal plank. In fact, he said, the only politics Pakistan knew in the 1990s was the musical chairs of pushing each other down. He therefore welcomed the decision of the current army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, to stop military institutions from interfering in civilian affairs.

Success of Present Govt is in National Interest: Musharraf

* President wants present govt to complete its term
* Says opportunists spreading false reports of his resignation
* Will continue to perform his duties as head of state

LAHORE: The present government should succeed as its continuance is in the national interest, President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday.

Speaking informally at a dinner hosted in his honour by Senator Nisar Memon in Islamabad, he said that he wanted to see the present government complete its tenure as it had the mandate of the people. According to Dawn News, he said he would extend full support to the government.

False reports: Musharraf said some opportunists were spreading false reports of his resignation, adding that he would continue to perform his duties as head of state. According to Express News, the president said the hub of his resignation rumours was Lahore, adding that one particular political party was provoking the people.

During the dinner, which was also attended by twenty senators belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, Dawn News said the president urged the politicians to concentrate on national affairs.

Talking to Daily Times, Senator Memon said the participants of the meeting had condemned the ‘malicious’ campaign against the president. Referring to the PML-Nawaz without directly naming it, he said the people targeting the president were “those who do not recognise President Musharraf as president. They are the same people who keep changing their stance. They used to say they would not contest elections but later contested.” He said the president was playing his constitutional role and had no plans to resign. daily times monitor/staff report

Daily Times

Pakistan faces Politics of Retribution

The ongoing talks for a coalition government in Sindh between PPP and MQM have broken down. The MQM has accused the PPP of being “non-serious” while the PPP says the events of April 9 in Karachi have cast a shadow over the parleys. The MQM, suspicious of what the PPP might do after the April 9 violence, has objected to the posting of Dr Shoaib Suddle as IG Police Sindh. The two parties have begun issuing mildly hostile statements and if this exchange should become more inflamed with the passage of time it would not augur well for the future of governance in Sindh. In the event, the two parties could divide along ethnic lines to restart their vendetta which has dark roots in the violence of the early 1990s. Both sides have grievances and the public mind has been formed on both sides by the chronology of death and mayhem that party culture has kept alive. That they are sitting astride a large ethnic vote was realised after the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto when the province experienced a historically unprecedented destruction of property and looting directed against certain ethnicities.

Budget Plans in Pakistan

Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Rather unusually this year, there has been only limited conjecture and discussion on the likely contents of the upcoming budget. Although the state of the country’s economy is a crucial issue, the matter of the budget and its contents has been muffled by the looming issues of judicial restoration and now the head-to-head confrontation that is underway between the presidency and the government. The report, in this newspaper, that the budget is being quietly worked at and details put under careful consideration is therefore welcome. It indicates that despite the other problems it has become embroiled in, the government recognizes the budget will be crucial and is being eagerly awaited by hard-pressed citizens.