Rani Singh

Congress party Pranab Mukherjee's victory in the Indian presidential election this week allowed the party to exhale for a nanosecond amid the gloom of stalled economic reform and political paralysis. As the country watched the pomp and pageantry of the presidential swearing-in today, the tectonic plates of power in India started to shift again. The Indian National Congress Party, the ruling coalition UPA's majority stakeholder, has managed to rewind to 15 years ago. When Sonia Gandhi took on the presidency of the near-dead party in 1998, it resuscitated and took power; first in 2004, then 2009. It is now withering. Perhaps if Congress were not so weak, shrewd tactician Mukherjee would not have had the opportunity to take the presidency.

The Indian president lives in a Lutyens palace formerly occupied by the country’s viceroys, replete with ballroom, cinema, and Mughal gardens. I’ve been inside to interview the current incumbent, Pratibha Patil. With 360 rooms, it’s a big house for a small person and you can get lost - indeed recently, Patil reportedly did go missing for three hours until located by a team of commandos. The Head of State is somewhat removed from the cut and thrust of Indian politics so presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee is looking forward to relaxing  there after the election on July 19, 2012.

The News reported yesterday that US diplomats have told PPPP Co-Chair Asif Ali Zardari that they “Will not allow anyone to destroy” their “huge investment” of more than $10 billion in President Musharraf: “Sources said the fact of the matter was that Musharraf was the most unpopular man in Pakistan but he was still the most popular Pakistani in the White House and very popular in New Delhi. Top Indian officials have given many hints to international media before February 18 that they like Musharraf more than anyone else in Pakistan... ...The Bush administration needs Musharraf to stay in power not only for the war against terror but also for implementing a new Kashmir plan before the presidential election in the US later this year.

Supreme Court Bar Association President, and senior PPPP figure, Aitzaz Ahsan has just finished a second powerful and moving speech to the media in Lahore. It's the first day that press restrictions on him have been lifted since he was placed under house-arrest. He’s demanding the restoration of all deposed judges and calling for “A long march” by the legal community on March 9th, the day that Chief Justice Muhammad Chaudhry was suspended by President Musharraf in 2007, if they’re not released by then. Today, civil society demonstrators calling for the judges to be freed, chanted “Go Musharraf, go!”   The judges issue is a significant one.

The Chief of Army Staff General A.P. Kayani has "expressed satisfaction" over arrangements to maintain law and order for the elections while asking for public co-operation. An army spokesman has announced a deployment at the 8,900 most “sensitive” polling stations around the country. The caretaker Interior Minister told foreign observers that 95 army battalions are in position. It’s business as usual for President Pervez Musharraf who has said, “No irritants to be tolerated in polls” while inaugurating a highway extension on Saturday, and that there is a “ completely peaceful” elections environment.  Observers like John Kerry and the other two American senators monitoring the elections  might check the news.

Condy, Hamid and David holding hands in Afghanistan on Thursday. Friends kissing and making up after naughty President Karzai was unruly. Time to pow-wow, not about the Afghans dying in the freezing cold, but about the NATO forces, recently described as being in a “Strategic stalemate” by a former commander Trouble is brewing at the border where Afghanistan and Pakistan merge into one, ahead of the traditional spring onslaught of militancy. Melting snow brings fresh attacks. The Pakistani Government is creating a large Council or Jirga with village elders to facilitate horse-trading during the election. The Dawn reports that US military advisers are aiding the Pakistanis to double the numbers in their commando force, focussing on the tribal areas.

If this family interview with Pakistan Television is anything to go by, President Musharraf is doing cuddly. The interview’s mainly in Urdu, but I thought Coffee Housers might like to catch a rare glimpse of Pakistan’s first family at home in Karachi. Speedy synopsis (in English!): the President believes that “Sleeping is a waste of time”. Though a soldier, he’s in touch with his feminine side and likes the arts. He feels Pakistan needs a “softer” image based around heritage, culture and sport rather than guns and violence. He describes being taken to visit endless monuments and museums on foreign visits, so he wants to build something lasting for his nation to be proud of other than ritual showcase mosques.