SHOOTING THE SHARIF

Credited for putting together almost all the anti-government political alliances in the last four decades, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, the wily old man of Pakistani politics, was at it again.  Sporting his trademark red fez and holding the huqqa, he listened calmly as speaker after speaker unleashed a tirade of accusations against the Nawaz Sharif government at a seminar in Lahore titled "Washington Declaration A Betrayal of National Interests". Held on 12 August by the Pakistan People's Alliance, of which the Nawabzada is the president, the real aim of the seminar was to bring the opposition parties together on the minimal agenda of forcing the government out of office.

At the end of the meeting, Nasrullah Khan read out a statement that summed up the rhetoric of leaders from 37 political parties: "Nawaz Sharif is engaged in a meaningless dialogue with India. During the Kargil crisis, he repeatedly lied and misled the nation. And when Nawaz lost his nerve, he begged for a meeting with President Clinton and consequently agreed to withdraw the army and mujahideens from the line of control." As punishment for this cardinal sin, the statement demanded the removal of the Sharif government to be replaced by an interim government with "persons of good character and reputation" who shall pave the way for "free and fair elections".