Former Pak army chief hints at return of army rule

Former army chief Gen Aslam Beg and former air force chief Asghar Khan had made separate statements in the past four days predicting the possibility of the return of the military rule in Pakistan because of what they call government's failure on economic and political fronts.

Gen (rtd) Aslam Beg, who had taken over as the army chief on Gen Zia-ul-Haq's death in August 1988 and won an award from Benazir Bhutto as a defender of democracy because he allowed party-based elections that year, now says that despite all the people's movements and elections since then the political status quo has not ended. He said all movements by the people were either suppressed or ensured the continuance of the status quo.

By status quo he meant the rule of a certain elite class in Pakistan since 1947. He asked the political and religious parties which are outside parliament to lead the people to break this present socio-economic problems are not solved. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif must solve them in two years, he said.

The Pakistan Press International quoted Gen Beg as saying in Karachi that now with the powers of the president to sack the government and dissolve assemblies being taken away, there are chances of martial law in the country.

Air Marshal Asghar Khan, who heads a 14-party alliance called the Pakistan National Alliance, told The Muslim that the present economic and political quagmire may lead to a chaos which would bring back the army rule. He said despite its massive victory at the February elections, the Nawaz Sharif government is going to fall and for that no movements are needed.