He did not campaign and got only eight votes. Even if Wajihuddin Ahmed had been elected Pakistan’s president this month, he would have first eliminated some presidential powers.
But Ahmed is now the biggest threat to President Pervez Musharraf’s win in the presidential election Oct. 6 — not exiled former prime minister and one-time Musharraf rival Benazir Bhutto, who plans to return to the country Thursday and casts herself as the true leader of the opposition to military rule.
Unlike Bhutto, Ahmed, a former Supreme Court judge who resigned rather than sign an oath to an army chief, could actually end up unseating Musharraf. A legal challenge by Ahmed now being heard by the court could ultimately dash Musharraf’s hopes to hold on to power and throw out his recent election to another five-year presidential term. Not that Ahmed wants the job if Musharraf loses. He is an unlikely candidate, a reluctant politician, the man who would not be president.
“Frankly speaking, I would like to sit at home,” Ahmed said. “But this is something that came my way. It is now inevitable.”
Challenges heard
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court started hearing challenges to Musharraf’s eligibility to be elected president while army chief. Early this month, the court decided that the presidential election could be held, but the results would not be made official until after challenges to Musharraf were resolved.
Musharraf won 671 of 685 ballots cast in the election in parliament. Ahmed won eight, and six were declared invalid. Ahmed considers his results to be good, considering that only members of pro-Musharraf parties showed up to vote.
The case is expected to take from three days to two weeks to decide. If Musharraf wins, he has promised to step down as army chief and serve as a civilian president, a move that would cost him considerable power. If he loses, a new presidential election would have to be held, legal experts said.
This court challenge is the last major hurdle that Musharraf needs to overcome to stay in power, for at least a little while.
Since an attempt to fire the country’s chief justice in March backfired, Musharraf has seen his popularity plummet. The Supreme Court began acting independently of the country’s military leadership for the first time in years, deciding to reinstate the chief justice and rule against the government in several major cases.
But Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, managed to hang on to power. He promised to take off his army uniform if elected president. He reportedly reached a power-sharing deal with a former rival, Bhutto, under self-imposed exile for more than eight years. Corruption charges against Bhutto and other former political leaders were set aside by the government this month; Bhutto opted not to return until after the presidential election.
The future of the leadership in Pakistan is not only crucial to the country. It is also crucial to the stability of the region and the U.S.-led war on terror, especially in the country’s wild border areas, home to Islamic militants and Al Qaeda leaders.
The Supreme Court last month dismissed other challenges to Musharraf’s eligibility for office on technical grounds, but this case is different.
Ahmed now has the same lawyers as the suspended chief justice, who ultimately won his fight to keep his job.
“It’s the dream team again,” said Munir Malik, the head of the country’s Supreme Court Bar Association and one of the lawyers. “We are sending a message to the people of Pakistan by sending the same team.”
Ahmed blames the lawyers for forcing him to run. The lawyers, in their black suits, black ties and white shirts, have spearheaded the movement to reinstate the chief justice and oppose military rule.
Fired-up lawyers
The lawyers held rallies and coined the movement’s slogan of “Go, Musharraf, go,” which means that Musharraf should leave, not run for a touchdown. They hit their opponents with shoes and chased them down the streets. Last month, one lawyer sprayed black paint on the face of a pro-government lawyer in front of the Supreme Court. Riot police threw rocks and fired tear gas.
Ahmed said he agreed to run for president only because the country’s relentless lawyers made him.
“They said they would not take no for an answer,” Ahmed said. “They are tenacious. I said, ‘Please spare me. I don’t want to.'”
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kbarker@tribune.com
