Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been around international politics long enough to know that when The New York Times publishes a story saying that the Bush administration is pushing him to consider a power-sharing plan, he is being served public notice by the White House.
Musharraf, who also is the head of the military, remains America’s chief ally in the war on global terrorism and is being counted on by the Bush administration to help capture Osama bin Laden. But with his political future on shaky ground, the White House has reason to worry.
If the Pakistani president is toppled and replaced by Islamic extremists, not only would the U.S. lose its ally, but a government that is anti West would control Pakistan’s nuclear weapons arsenal.
Faced with this unacceptable outcome, the Bush administration wants Musharraf to share authority with a longtime rival, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, according to the New York Times.
On Aug. 11, in discussing the president’s latest campaign to crackdown on Islamic insurgents operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan, we talked about the political upheaval sweeping his country and the challenges to his presidency.
We suggested that his perceived power grab is energizing his opponents and could result in his being overthrown. Musharraf wants another five-year term but isn’t keen on calling for an election.
Instead, he wants the outgoing parliament and provincial assemblies that largely support him to not only keep him in power, but enable him to retain his position as head of the military.
Legal challenges are being filed, and President Bush has made it clear that such a move would be unacceptable to the United States.
Powder keg
The administration is well aware that Musharraf is sitting on a powder keg and that any undemocratic move by him would undermine the cornerstone of America’s foreign policy, the spread of democracy.
It is also clear that Bhutto, who was prime minister from 1988 to 1996, when her government was dismissed because of allegations of corruption, enjoys widespread support within the country. She has lived in exile in Britain and Dubai since 1999 and calls for her return to Pakistan and for outstanding charges against her to be dropped have been growing louder as Musharraf’s popularity has declined.
Not only is his close ties to the United States a point of contention for many Pakistanis, but his crackdown on Islamic radicals and his commitment to go after bin Laden and members of his al-Qaida terrorist organization have made him a target, not only politically but also in three assassination attempts.
While the Bush administration has correctly concluded that its direct involvement in Pakistan’s political affairs would only serve to confirm the belief of many that Musharraf has become an American puppet, it cannot permit things to get so out of hand that the wrong group ends up in power.