Can the Musharraf regime keep a lid on the violence in Pakistan?
James Forsyth 7:09pm
The political fall-out in Pakistan is likely to centre around a letter that Benazir Bhutto wrote to Pervez Musharraf on her return home, demanding that in the event of her death three senior figures in the security services be investigated. The government has always dismissed the letter as merely Bhutto settling scores with her opponents, but in the aftermath of her death it takes on new importance even though Al Qaeda has reportedly claimed responsibility for her death.
Already violence in Karachi has claimed five lives and shops belonging to the family of Mohammedmian Soomro, the current Prime Minister, have been torched in Jacobabad. In these circumstances the parliamentary elections scheduled for January are now almost certain to be suspended especially as Nawaz Sharif, the main opposition figure following Bhutto’s death, has pledged to boycott them. The question is whether the Musharraf regime has the authority to restore order. The very real worry is that any attempt by it to clamp down on the violence will simply beget more violence throwing a nuclear armed state into potentially revolutionary chaos.
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Mladen Andrijasevic
December 28th, 2007 6:05am Report this commentOne can only hope that Benazir Bhutto’s assassination will tip the balance in the next US presidential elections and that Americans will elect a leader who understands the dangers coming from Al Qaeda and the jihadists. There is little doubt that Giuliani and the Republican candidates have a much clearer understanding of the threat, but unfortunately the only politician who has fully grasped the magnitude of danger , Newt Gingrich, is not even a candidate.
Oken Jeet Sandham
December 30th, 2007 4:37am Report this commentPakistan is always unpredictable and it has the history of unstability since its Independence in 1947. Unless US which is a close ally with Pakistan's Generel Presdient feels obligatory to do something in restoring normalcy to pave way for democracy, things will hardly improve. At the same time, world leaders should find ways to restore democracy in this trouble-torn dangerous Islamist Nation which often threatens to use its Neuclear materials to settle issues with its neighbor---India.
riaz
December 30th, 2007 2:25pm Report this commentassasination of bhutto was a last nail into coffin of democrasy, it is tru sicne emergence of pak it has lost greatest leaders, internal and external conspiracies has always been involved. due to US intervention, true democrasy has still been a dream for pakistanis as a whole and sindhis particularly. riaz sindh pakistan
Mike L
January 9th, 2008 7:11pm Report this commentAfter reading this article I don't understand how can we continue to support Pakistan's 'elected President' Musharraf? Lawyers have no choice but take to the streets to protest his disbanding of the legal system! No autopsy of Benazir Bhotto was done 'because police did not request it'! His three senior security managers are supporting Islamofascist terrorists! ' An aide close to Ms. Bhutto said that one of those named in the letter was Ijaz Shah, the director general of the Intelligence Bureau, another of the country’s intelligence agencies, and a close associate of Mr. Musharraf’s. The second official was the head of the country’s National Accountability Bureau, which had investigated Ms. Bhutto on corruption charges. The third was a former official in Punjab Province who had mistreated her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, when he was in jail awaiting trial on corruption charges. '
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