Editorial
Killings in Pakistan
Musharraf needs to engage with politicians
The spate of suicide killings that took place in Pakistan over the weekend shows the vulnerable position President Pervez Musharraf finds himself in today. The recent showdown over the Red Mosque have made it clear that the regime is under intense pressure and not even the fact that it has violently brought the crisis to an end reassures people that everything is back under control. Indeed, the government's tough response, which resulted in the death of scores of men and women holed up inside the mosque either as diehard extremists or hostages, has now further fanned the flames of religious extremism in the country. The weekend killings are but proof of the grave turn Pakistan may already have taken.There is the other danger that the Musharraf regime faces today. It is danger which comes from the political arena. A senior leader of the rightwing Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal has already made known his decision to quit the national assembly at its next session. Such a move, while brought about in reaction to the action over the Red Mosque, comes at a time when pressure on General Musharraf to doff his army chief's uniform has been increasing. With the president clearly in the mood to continue in office, possibly through holding on to his position as chief of army staff, it is not yet clear how he will manage to attain that goal given the widespread opposition to his policies. On top of everything, the mess the president has made through trying to sack the country's chief justice has done him few favours. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has been barnstorming the country, politician-like, and collecting public support for his cause while Musharraf has increasingly been forced into a corner. Not even the old thought that the president is indispensable for Pakistan's stability and that his departure will only make things more difficult than they are draws much sympathy these days. It is, realistically speaking, time for President Musharraf to engage in dialogue with Pakistan's politicians. After eight years as military ruler, with little to show for democracy despite the presence of a national assembly, his authority has become frayed badly at the edges. He needs to know where he has stumbled. He cannot go on making new enemies.
|
|
