FROM A RINGSIDE SEAT

Candidate for the President of Pakistan office General Pervez Musharraf received 252 votes at the Senate/National Assembly booth on Saturday. There was never an iota of doubt that Musharraf would not win. Justice Muhammad Farooq the Chief Election Commissioner used the word General Musharraf in announcing the result.
This probably amounted to making public announcement of the result. Former Justice Wajihuddin Ahmad took to the TV channels to inform every one concerned that he had sent a letter to the Supreme Court that the result should not be disclosed till the verdict of the Supreme Court, hearing the petition.
However, Advocate General Malik Qayyum, reported with equal vehemence that it might constitute contempt since the Court had given direction that the result must not be notified. The Prime Minister entered the NA Hall sharply at ten and stayed around till the counting of the votes.
One could see the government had made good arrangement that the result should be disseminated far and wide, the purpose achieved by a procession of voters going up to him and congratulating the Prime Minister for success in drumming up support for his nominee.
Here state Minister Qaim Muqam produced the ANP Member Shahabuddin who had walked away from APDM call to submit his resignation. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz patted Shahabuddin and embraced him for this fine gesture of floor crossing.
However, let it be said that it was a miracle that candidate Wajihuddin Ahmad has been able to secure two votes from the Senate/National Assembly, considering that he was not actively supported even by those who proposed and seconded his nomination.
That former judge Wajihuddin challenged the General might give us an indication that of the change President Musharraf might have to face in getting used to the role of a symbolic head of the state who is regarded as the unity of the federation as envisaged in the Constitution. He would have to settle down to inaugurating skyscrapers and stadiums and to preside over university convocations.
Would Pervez Musharraf like that? A Federal Minister this morning told this scribe that Members had to promise the Prime Minister and Party President Shujaat Hussain that they would vote for him. Otherwise 60 per cent of the party had openly expressed their resentment against his secret meetings with Benazir and granting her indemnity.
Parliamentary Secretary Farooq Amjad brought this to the surface in the Assembly session, which met early at 8:30 Saturday morning that he would challenge the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), inside the Assembly chamber as well as in the courts, even if he had to forego his parliamentary secretary position. By the way, this kind of feelings showed up and some one else has already brought the matter before the Lahore High Court.
MNA Akbar Vance also spoke against NRO and called it as a historic occasion whereby an uniformed President had given relief to plunderers of state money. 'All of us must bow our heads in shame,' was his way of expressing the distaste he felt as a Member of the government that had approved the Ordinance in the Cabinet meeting.
He was reacting to presidential hopeful Amin Fahim who declared that his party was against a General standing in uniform for the office of the President, and one way of expressing disapproval was to make a bid for contesting the election to that office.
In protest against the General's move the 56 PPP members abstained from voting. Saying so Amin Fahim and the PPP members walked out. Speaking of the promise of bringing true democracy in the country one must fail to mention that two new women Members, Farzana Malik and Amna Sabir, took oath in the House which is expecting dissolution. The members were notified in place of two PML-Q members who had resigned their seats in sympathy with the 85 MNAs who tendered their resignation to the Speaker on October 2.
We might mention here that the Speaker has till now accepted the resignation of only 35 members: Shahzadi Umerzadi Tiwnana, Dr Saira Tariq, HafizHussain Ahmad, Imran Khan, Maulana Asadullah, Muhammad Laeeq Khan, Syed Ali Hassan Gillani, Mahmud Khan Achakzai, Abid Sher Ali, Qazi hameedullah Khan, Dr Farid Ahmed Paracha, Bakhitiar Mani, Abdul Malik Wazeer, Merajud din, Syed Nek Zaman, Pervez Masih, Tahmina Daulatana, Akhtar Khan Kanju, Bilal Ahmed Virk, Abdul Halim, Abdul Akbar Chitrali, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Maimoona Hashmi, Salman Butt, Yaqoob Khan Nasir, Abul Malik, AishaMunawwar, Ambreen Nasim, Asadullahbhutto, Rehmatullah Khalil, Samia Raheel Qazi, and Shabbir Ahmad Khan.
This has been done, to make it appear that the members have not been disaffiliated from the Voters' List, and thus the Election Commission called their names inviting them to cast votes. The National Assembly will now convene next Tuesday for private members day, before it is expected to be prorogation on Wednesday.
Next door in the Senate, which for a change also met promptly at 8:30 morning, MQM Minister Babar Ghauri was giving PPP a foretaste of treatment to look forward saying let it be remembered that MQM has promised a huge welcome to her on October 18. Nevertheless, the Senate was not able to control the raucous and prolonged shouts of 'Go, Musharraf, Go' that resounded in the Chamber.
When the shouts became louder, State Minister Kamil Agha signalled Chairman Mohamad Mian Soomro, who then read out the prorogation order. The House had time only to present a couple of pending Standing Orders and Ordinances of the previous sessions.
On way to the Assembly building, one found the square path facing the Cabinet Division and Presidency blocked with spikes, boulders, and traffic hurdles. All this was to stall the APDM announced strike call, which was not very successful at Islamabad, except for thin traffic. The scene reminded one of an expected trench war with police garbed in 'shining armor' as if to fight an enemy any way.
The situation was revered on return journey when one came out of the building after the vote count. There were a number of processions with MQM bright tri-colour flags all shouting in favour President Musharraf's victory. The processions were kept in a close circles by police personnel, giving us a fore taste of 'Big brother is watching you' syndrome in the days to come.