Mr. Aziz And The Region

The News, Pakistan

Editorial

March 9, 2006

Where there is President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz must follow. And since the presidential focus is on Afghanistan as a neighbour not doing enough to reciprocate Islamabad's efforts for peace around the Durand Line, the prime ministerial tone on Kabul during a visit of London is tinged with anger. Drugs and guns return to haunt the region as the Pakistani premier lets fly in the direction of Hamid Karzai.

Mr Shaukat Aziz has a few words for India and some for the extremists here and there who he accuses of working for an agenda of a clash between civilizations. He is unaware of any legal cases that may be pending against a Pakistani politician living in exile in London for long, and therefore, cannot comment. But by all indications, it is Afghanistan which is of greatest concern to both him and Musharraf at this moment, relegating India to a distant second place in Islamabad's list of hot issues.

Iran also figured in Prime Minister Aziz's discussion at the prestigious International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London under the flattering title of 'Pakistan's pivotal role for regional peace'. He reiterated Islamabad's stance by opposing military action against Iran, favouring a role for diplomacy in the matter. In the background of some recent remarks by Pakistani leaders it is doubtful that Pakistan will be volunteering anything more than a statement on the subject at this point in time. For all to see, Tehran and Washington have been exchanging views as frankly as frank can ever be imagined, requiring no mediators to carry the message across for them.

The most revealing statement of the tour, however, has been Prime Minister Aziz's assertion that 'no one will be able to derail democracy in Pakistan in future'. As has been the case in the past, this time too he did not elaborate the basis for this declaration of his, instead choosing, in an interview with a channel, to defend a president in uniform. The Europeans will take time in responding to the latest prime ministerial update on Pakistan's experiment with a uniformed democracy, but we know that the man in the uniform does not need any plainclothesman to defend on his behalf.