The Devil You Know

A few years ago I wrote a post about "honor crime" victim Mukhtaran Bibi in response to Tom Watson's plea for bloggers to raise public awareness about Pakistan's misogynist sense of justice. Not long after, President Pervez Musharraf visited the United States and, for the most part, received uncritical treatment  from the media. President Musharraf presented himself then as a progressive moderate who wants to bring enlightened democratic principles to his Islamic Republic. I don't think anyone asked him about how he came to power in the first place. How can one believe him when overthrew a democratically elected leader in a military coup? Yes, he has made many speeches declaring his intentions to strengthen democratic institutions, and his own government Web page states that:

President General Pervez Musharraf envisions Pakistan to be a progressive, modern and moderate Islamic state, poised to take its place amongst the developed nations of the world. He envisages the country's development not exclusively in the economic sense, but rather in a more holistic manner to include social, cultural and political dimensions. He envisions Pakistan to grow in terms of national unity and social cohesion; democracy and political stability; social justice, quality of life, national morale and pride.

Now this sorta feels like reading the old Soviet constitution since he imposed martial law earlier this month, suspended the Pakistani constitution, arrested his political enemies, replaced supreme court members with loyal judges, and blocked access to external sources of news. Of course, Musharraf is not the first leader whose rhetoric does not match his record, especially on fighting extremists. But, you see, the war on terror demands that today's rule of law and democracy be suspended in order to preserve the rule of law and democracy in the future (I'll bet you anything that Cheney is sitting back toasting Pervez with a glass of 30 year old Scotch every night after dinner).

Musharraf is full of contradictions. During his rule the Pakistani press has opened up and more voices are being heard. At the same time he has cracked down on the press when it suits his interests. Now it seems that some of the outside pressures have pushed Musharraf to release 3,400 detained since martial law was imposed. Let's hope that he steps down before the scheduled elections and restores the constitutional government in Pakistan. The moderates are the only ones who can save Pakistan, and they have lost all faith in Musharraf.

Comments

[Jack Morris]

We Americans see the current situation in Pakistan as easily solveable because we have so many things given us and they don't and we wonder why they don't just reorganize, vote, and make things better all around. We should imagine ourselves in the boots of Musharraf, surrounded by tribal fanantics, a war in Afghanistan on one side, a nuclear India on the other, an army that requires nurturing and control, and a level of corruption at many levels of government - all of this requiring his attention and forcefullness. History may show that he has been the only friend America has had in the Islamic world in the war on terrorism.

[Ralph]

Well, I think you need to do a bit of research on Musharraf. He's not the "friend" you think he's been (And the US Govt has made a big mistake in turning a blind eye to a nuclear Pakistan, but that's a whole other story). If Musharraf wants to protect Pakistan from the 'Islamo-fascists' than why has he primarily targeted the more moderate political rivals, lawyers and judges? Now the man is simply hanging on for the sake of power. Musharraf's actions have emboldened the pro-Taleban militants and weakened the republican moderates. What a friend! (And now it seems he's giving up the uniform cause Bush told him to. Good boy. Don't mean that he's still not in charge of the military.)