Ghulam Mustafa Khar's recent proposal implies that he wants the politicians to accept Musharraf as a president in military uniform and his constitutional amendments -- herein lies the crux of the issue Ghulam Mustafa Khar cannot be kept out of the political arena for long. He has a style just the opposite of the manner in which Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, another famous politician from Muzaffargarh, conducted his politics.

Before presenting his so-called compromise formula, Khar went to Britain where he met PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif. Makhdoom Amin Faheem was also present during his meeting with Benazir. Khar also appeared in a popular private television programme in which he recounted just how loyal he was to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. By evoking ZAB's memories among his ardent supporters, he tried to create a soft corner for himself among PPP workers who identify themselves more with ZAB than his party as it exists today.

On November 16, Mustafa Khar addressed newsmen at Lahore Press Club and outlined his proposal about how the army and the political parties could end their differences. They must share power for the sake of, what he described as political stability, and to avert a clash between the people and the army.

What was new in Khar's suggestions was his demand of Gen. Pervez Musharraf to grant general amnesty to all political leaders and the release of imprisoned political leaders and workers including Asif Zardari and Javed Hashmi. He also called on Gen Musharraf to allow Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to come to their country and play their roles in national politics.

As to what Sharif and Benazir should, in turn, offer to Gen Musharraf to make the deal possible, Khar left it vague. However, his insistence that political parties and the army should share power for the next ten years implies that he wants these politicians to accept Musharraf as a president in military uniform and his constitutional amendments. Herein lies the crux of the issue.

Khar's proposals for national reconciliation came at a time when the six-party alliance, the MMA, and the government were not able to conclude a compromise on the controversial constitutional amendments package. As the statements of the two parties suggest, they had agreed on an amended version of the LFO. But this could not be presented in the parliament due to an unresolved point -- the MMA wanted Gen Musharraf to give a written assurance that he would abandon his military chief's position by December 2004 while the latter wanted this to be a tacit understanding between the two.

Mustafa Khar's suggestions meant that the MMA would go into the background and the main political parties would strike a deal with the military. No wonder that the strongest criticism to Mustafa Khar's formula came from the MMA's central leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmad who said that the alliance would not allow Khar another political marriage -- alluding to his several marriages and a flip flop political career. Hafiz Hussain also said that Khar has been brought to sabotage the opposition's movement.

As expected, the PPP local leadership also reacted strongly to Khar's suggestions. One of them was PPP Punjab president Qasim Zia who said Khar was not part of the PPP. Makhdoom Amin Faheem also issued a statement saying that Khar's formula was a figment of his imagination and might have been put together to advance his political ambitions.

Strangely, Benazir Bhutto did not issue a single statement on Khar's suggestions. Instead, in a fresh interview, she said that she was close to striking a compromise with Gen. Musharraf but the hardliners in the latter camp did not allow this to happen. This could be read as her inclination towards a compromise with the military regime or at least that she did not disapprove of a deal with Musharraf regime.

Later, Asif Zardari while talking to journalists on the occasion of his hearing in a court made a three-point statement. One, the army and the politicians should play their roles. Two, he said, Khar's formula meant that the army should withdraw from politics in an honourable way (which means without facing a public agitation or movement.) Three, the institutions instead of quarrelling with each other, should develop a working relationship with each other. Thus, Zardari, using a slightly different formulation, repeated what Khar had suggested.

Khar's timing is important because after Nasrullah Khan's death, the alliance between the PPPP and the PML-N has weakened. The two could not even agree to a single name for heading the alliance and resolved the dispute by sharing the top position by creating two offices for their united front. In Nasrullah's absence it is harder for Benazir to find someone who is there for her, without threatening to steal her party -- thus the need for her to be present in the country is greater than ever. The timing of Khar's move for a national reconciliation is viewed in this background.

On the other hand, Gen Musharraf also needs political allies to move on the foreign policy front. It is not easy for him to strike a deal with the religious parties who are strongly opposed to his policies on Afghanistan and Iraq. The US is pressing Pakistan to send its peace-keepers to Iraq. Gen Musharraf has delayed the decision in this regard and cannot take this step without the support of some major political group.

The People's Party is the only party that has so far fully supported Musharraf's policies of co-operation with the US in its war against terror. Benazir has also welcomed Musharraf's recent moves to normalise ties with India by offering CBMs. Thus, a political deal between the PPP and Musharraf could be beneficial for both. Khar's efforts are geared in this direction.

It seems the establishment may agree to the release of Asif Zardari from jail. After spending seven years in prison Zardari has become a kind of liability for the establishment. Some also speculate that his increased popularity among Sindhis will weaken Benazir Bhutto's hold on interior Sindh's politics and thus may benefit the establishment.

But the main point on which national reconciliation rests is Gen Musharraf's allowance to Sharif and Benazir to return home safely. Khar's test lies in brokering this contentious issue with success. This will also show whether the establishment has launched Mustafa Khar to buy still more time and diffuse the opposition's plans for a public movement (as it has done in the past) or this time it is serious in concluding some agreement with the opposition parties.