Hints of nexus between Mansoor Ijaz, PML-N

DAILY TIMES

The offer of security by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to the solitary witness in the memo case, Mansoor Ijaz, is a double-edged sword at the best. On the one hand, the younger Sharif is trying to keep the memo issue alive at a time when it appears to be fizzling out, and on the other, he is strengthening the impression that Mansoor Ijaz is somehow connected to the PML-N leadership.

The younger Sharif’s offer of security is only symbolic because the inquiry commission on the memo issue has so far vested the federal government with responsibility for protecting Ijaz during his visit to Pakistan to testify before the commission. Moreover, the Punjab government would not have jurisdiction over the federally controlled airport upon arrival in Lahore. Even if the Supreme Court allows the Punjab Police to provide security inside the airport as a one-off arrangement, Ijaz and his family and business partners would have to examine the Punjab Police’s poor record in providing security.

It was a Punjab Police guard with fanatical ideological leanings who turned his gun on former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer only last year. There have been several instances where complaints have been voiced of the Punjab Police having sympathisers of extremist groups such as the anti-Shia Sipah-e-Sahaba, the anti-Ahmadi Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatm-e-Nabuwwat, and Jaish-e-Muhammad. The Punjab Police also failed to prevent attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

Ijaz’s writings, critical of jihadi groups and extremist ideology, are definitely on the radar screen of various violent groups. He was named and criticised in several rallies and demonstrations of religious groups recently, including at the Difa-e-Pakistan rally in Rawalpindi organised by pro-jihad groups.

Apart from security considerations, Ijaz might also not want to accept Shahbaz Sharif’s offer for political reasons. Already there are many factors that seem to indicate a nexus between the Sharifs and Mansoor Ijaz. It may not be in his interest to appear too closely tied to one political faction in the country even if there have been close political ties in the past or behind the scenes.

When the memo story first broke out, PML-N leader Sartaj Aziz defended Ijaz for playing a positive role during the last PML-N government. Then, it was revealed by the prime minister in a session of parliament that Senator Tariq Azeem, a Musharraf-era minister who is now close to the PML-N, had maintained telephone contact with Ijaz. Senator Azeem acknowledged that he knew Ijaz and that the two had spoken as Ijaz sought his help in hiring a lawyer in Pakistan.

The petitions on the memo issue before the Supreme Court were filed by PML-N supremo Mian Nawaz Sharif and several other party leaders. The Punjab government headed by Mian Shahbaz Sharif was not a party to the case in the Supreme Court. Although the Supreme Court obliged the petitioners by creating a judicial commission to hold inquiry into the memo matter, none of them brought any evidence before the commission and did not even record statements before it. Once again, the only evidence the PML-N leaders relied upon was that offered by Ijaz, making him the sole witness in the case.

Ironically, research into Ijaz’s past articles reveals that he has generally been more positively disposed towards Nawaz Sharif and his party than towards the PPP. In an article published on October 5, 1999 in the Christian Science Monitor titled ‘Toward a more constructive US role in South Asia’, he described Nawaz Sharif as the man holding the key to stability in the region.

“Ultimately, however, the key to untangling South Asia’s morass is in Sharif’s hands,” Ijaz wrote in his article, adding, “The only South Asian leader ever to have such a solid parliamentary majority at home, he should leverage it to face down restive Islamists by offering the world Pakistan’s unilateral signature on the CTBT.” In the same 1999 article, Mansoor Ijaz also complained of creeping Islamisation of the Pakistan Army. He wrote, “Pakistan’s Army officer corps, once among the most professional and secular in the world, is now suffering from the creep of impoverished, less-educated Islamists into its senior ranks.”

Although Mansoor Ijaz wrote of Nawaz Sharif’s strength on October 5, only a week later the PML-N leader’s government was toppled in the coup d’etat led by General (r) Musharraf on October 12, raising serious questions about Ijaz’s knowledge and understanding of Pakistan’s politics. Contrary to Ijaz’s assertion, the Pakistan Army that took power under General (r) Pervez Musharraf fought rather than siding with religious extremists.