ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is close to making a deal with the Pakistan Army, in the backdrop of the political events that are unfolding in the federal capital, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The report suggests that as per the proposed agreement, the armed forces would control strategic policy areas, such as relations with the United States, Afghanistan and India.
The military has extracted a promise of freedom for former president (retd) General Pervez Musharraf and that Sharif’s government had secretly agreed to let Musharraf go abroad after a symbolic indictment over treason, which took place in March.
The Wall Street Journal says the government went back on the deal as a result of which trust had eroded between the military and Sharif.
Government aides said the military has seized on Sharif’s weakened status during the political crisis and are now seeking guarantees from the prime minister that he will follow through on the agreement, the report suggests.
It also says that for the rest of his term, Sharif will be a ceremonial prime minister.
“If Nawaz Sharif survives, for the rest of his term, he will be a ceremonial prime ministerthe world will not take him seriously,” said Ayesha Siddiqa, an analyst based in Islamabad. “A soft coup has already taken place. The question is whether it will harden,” the report says.
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