Sharif for an hour

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan tried to return to politics

“An excellent advertising campaign that costs just a few plane tickets,” is how political scientist Hamid Ahmad described yesterday’s scandalous blitz visit to Pakistan by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Vremya Novostey. Islamabad prepared for Sharif's arrival almost as if it were for the visit of an influential foreign leader - security measures began to be taken the day before. All highways closest to the airport were blocked, and the famous route to Peshawar, along which cargo goes to Afghanistan and the western regions of the country, was blocked by trucks. On the eve of the arrival of the disgraced guest, the authorities detained, according to various sources, from two to four thousand opposition activists. But this did not stop the protests - crowds of opponents of the current authorities began to gather in the area of ​​Islamabad's Zero Point Square from early morning.

Around nine in the morning, a message flew around the city that a plane from London with Sharif on board had already landed. Several hundred protesters tried to break through to the airport; the demonstrators were led by activists from the opposition wing of the Pakistan Muslim League party, whose leader is Sharif. There were also quite a few bearded young Islamists from the opposition alliance of the country's leading religious parties. The police decisively dispersed the demonstrators with batons; several dozen people, including a group of well-known oppositionists, were detained.

The main events took place at the capital's airport. Soldiers of the anti-terrorist unit in black uniform blocked Nawaz Sharif and his group in the cabin of the plane. While the rest of the passengers were leaving for customs control, a delegation of authorities boarded. Sharif was persuaded to voluntarily go into exile again . He refused, and then he was arrested.

While Pakistani TV channels were vying with each other about where the ex-prime minister would be sent - to a prison in the city of Lahore or under house arrest in the city of Marri, "unnamed" official sources reassured everyone. Nawaz Sharif was escorted on board a plane bound for Saudi Arabia. Television crews barely had time to film the retreating airliner in the sky.

“It is unlikely that Sharif seriously believed that the military authorities would allow him to stay. I believe that Sharif’s team could have calculated the option of re-expulsion. But even just a few hours at Islamabad airport allowed Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistani politics,” Hamid Ahmad told VN. The political scientist noted that among the protesters who demanded that Sharif be allowed into the country, there were practically no representatives of another influential opposition force - the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). And this is understandable - its leader Benazir Bhutto is currently negotiating with the government of Pervez Musharraf about the possible creation of a coalition.

Pakistan faces general elections this year and the military's popularity is waning. According to independent analysts, only 34% of Pakistanis approve of Pervez Musharraf's performance as the country's leader. This forces the president to make contact with influential opposition forces. Pakistani media have been discussing the prospects for a political union between General Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto for several months now. “Only two names were heard - Musharraf and Bhutto, and then Sharif brilliantly reminded himself,” says Hamid Ahmad.

Not everyone considers Nawaz Sharif's voyage a success. “The ex-premier’s supporters took to the streets much less than the authorities and, probably, himself expected,” Navid Mirage, a well-known political observer and head of the Islamabad bureau of the influential newspaper “Statesman,” told Vremya Novostei. - Security measures were taken with the expectation of angry crowds of many thousands, but only a couple of thousand gathered. It turned out to be a lot of ado about nothing.”

Naveed Mirage notes that General Musharraf took a difficult step when he decided to negotiate with Bhutto, because since the late 1970s, the Pakistani military has usually sought an alliance not with secular, but with Islamic parties and movements. This tradition was started by the then military leader of Pakistan, Zia ul-Haq, who relied on the “restoration of Islamic norms in society.” However, now, according to VN’s interlocutor, religious parties will not support Musharraf - they cannot forgive him for supporting the US operation in neighboring Afghanistan and tough actions against Islamists within the country: “The military is forced to seek support among secular opposition leaders. If such an agreement succeeds "This will be the biggest turnaround in Pakistani domestic politics in three decades."

However, Sharif is ill-suited to the role of Musharraf's political ally. After all, it was he who was overthrown by the current military president of Pakistan during the bloodless coup of 1999. Then Nawaz Sharif ordered that the plane with General Musharraf on board not be allowed to land - Sharif feared that the popular general was flying to Islamabad to overthrow him. The general landed and did overthrow Sharif, but apparently did not forget the circumstances of his flight. Sharif was sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempted terrorism, corruption and abuse of power, but was later exiled to Saudi Arabia. At the same time, the ex-prime minister undertook in writing not to engage in politics and not to return to the country for ten years. Yesterday he broke that promise.

Benazir Bhutto, as her spokesman said yesterday, is also planning to return to Pakistan soon - perhaps as early as this or next month. Moreover, according to him, this will happen regardless of whether she manages to agree on a pre-election alliance with the general. So the epic of high-profile political returns to Pakistan is not over yet.

Evgeniy PAKHOMOV, RIA Novosti correspondent in Islamabad, for Vremya Novostei