Pakistan parliament postponed

2002-11-07 11:35

Islamabad - A storm of outrage greeted President Pervez Musharraf's postponement of Pakistan's first parliament in three years, with opponents on Thursday accusing him of manipulating the long-awaited transfer of power.

"The postponement has lent credence to the perception that the regime is manipulating the post-election dynamics to weaken the anti-regime political parties," the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto charged.

"It is based on malafide intent and is motivated by the desire of the regime to assist the pro-regime King's Party muster requisite strength to enable it to form the government."

Musharraf announced late on Thursday he had decided to delay by a week the inauguration of parliament, from its scheduled date of Friday. He cited the "requests of some political parties" for the postponement to allow more time to build a coalition out of the hung parliament.

The requests had come from pro-Musharraf parties after Islamists and secular opposition parties struck a surprise deal to overcome vast ideological differences and unite against Musharraf. Their alliance put them within reach of the 172-seat majority needed to form government and sidelined the pro-regime parties.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), aligned with Bhutto's party on an anti-Musharraf platform, slammed the delay as a bid to buy time to block the Islamic-secular alliance.

"This postponement proves the moral bankruptcy of the regime ... and its rejection of the people's verdict," said Sharif aide and spokesperson Siddiqul Farooq.

'Detrimental to national integrity'

"The Musharraf government is not prepared to allow the MPs to elect a leader of the house and form government within parliament in a free, fair and independent atmosphere."

The head of the PPP-PML(N)-spearheaded secular party alliance, Nawabzada Nasurllah Khan, said the deferment was "detrimental to national integrity".

Major parties have been locked in frantic negotiations for the four weeks since the first elections under Musharraf, the army chief who seized power in a 1999 coup and declared himself president last year.

The pro-regime Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid won the most seats, garnering 103 out of 342, with PPP second on 81 seats and the Islamic bloc of six fundamenalist parties placing third after huge swings that landed them the balance of power.

No party won enough to rule independently, and parties had been deadlocked until earlier this week in efforts to form a governing coalition.

The Islamist alliance with Bhutto's and Sharif's parties, agreed upon Tuesday, was the first sign of a coalition.

But party insiders say the deal is already being picked apart, and Bhutto's party was still looking at sharing government with a pro-regime party, in return for the dropping of graft charges against Bhutto and her husband. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA