This is the “Season for Backtraking-Retracting Statements” :
President’s spokesman denies deal remarks
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari backtracked on Wednesday on his reported remarks that he and ‘international guarantors’ had negotiated an ‘indemnity’ for former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf that paved the way for his ‘safe exit’.
The denial of media reports filed by journalists who had attended a reception at the presidency on Monday came after the opposition raised hue and cry over the statement.
Political analysts believed that President Zardari had changed his statement because of political and international pressure.
President Zardari had spoken about the alleged deal during a chat with journalists at the iftar-dinner.
Some of them said that President Zardari had unveiled the much-debated ‘deal’ that resulted in a safe exit of Gen (retd) Musharraf, saying ‘international powers’ who had interest in the South Asian region had played a role as ‘guarantors’.
Reporter Tahir Khalil quoted the president as saying that ‘local, regional and international stakeholders were the guarantors’.
He quoted the president as saying: ‘We have talked about all stakeholders on the issue of Musharraf.’
Another reporter, Shaukat Paracha, said the reports attributed to the president were true. He quoted the president as saying: ‘All the stakeholders were guarantors.’
Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar, however, denied reports that the president had confirmed holding negotiations with international guarantors to give indemnity to Gen (retd) Musharraf.
During the iftar-cum-dinner for journalists in Islamabad on Monday, the president had remarked that political leaders and parties had held negotiations to force Gen (retd) Musharraf out of office and restore presidency to democratic forces, the spokesman said.
‘In the chat with journalists there was no mention of negotiations with so-called national or international guarantors to give immunity to Musharraf subsequent to his exit,’ he claimed.
Mr Babar said the president’s remarks about negotiations on the removal of Gen (retd) Musharraf had unfortunately been distorted and misrepresented as talks with so-called guarantors.
About the demands for Pervez Musharraf’s trial, the spokesman recalled a statement by the prime minister that it was a matter for parliament to decide.
However, analysts say that Gen (retd) Musharraf had left the country with the government’s consent.
Gen (retd) Musharraf had claimed recently that Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif had assured Saudi King Abdullah that he would not seek any action against the former president under Article 6 of the Constitution.
Observers believe that following intervention by Saudi Arabia and US, not only the government but the PML-N, too, had softened its stance against the former president.
PML-Q secretary general Mushahid Hussain saw President Zardari’s retraction as an attempt to pacify PML-N as it had submitted a privilege motion in the National Assembly against the ‘secret deal’.
He said the former president’s departure from the country was a result of a ‘deal’ between him, the government and ‘international players’. ‘Therefore no action will be taken against him under Article 6,’ he said.
.pakistan should stop playing the victim card and smell the coffee now.
