Musharraf Has Resigned in Pakistan, Now What?
The question in Pakistan and for Pakistan, now that Pervez Musharraf has resigned the presidency is, “Now What?”
John E. Carey just got home from Pakistan and I think he is in a unique position to analyze this situation. Here’s a little more of what he has to say:
Will the coalition government go through with the threatened impeachment of Musharraf? Will Musharraf be tried for treason? Will the terroroists including the Taliban and al Qaeda continue to be faced with a military assault in the tribal areas now that there are some 200,000 refugees in Bajour Agency alone?
Most importantly, “Will this coalition government survive?”
I don’t know. I’m not even sure that is the most important question actually. The most important question I have is if they will stay pro-Western, which, by that I mean pro-US. They say they want to remain close to the US but how much so?
Another great question centers around what the Pakistani government is going to do now.
The coalition, led by Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, and Nawaz Sharif, the chairman of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, has shown little in the way of leadership or initiative on any issue except the removal of mr. Musharraf. St first the coalition started discussions with the terrorists. When the U.S. objected, including during a face to face meeting between president bush and Pakistan’s prime Minister Gilani in the White House, discussions ended and the pakistan Army attacked into the tribal areas.
Whatever the outcome Pakistan’s government is going to have some things to occupy itself with now that Musharraf is gone.
Pakistan’s economy is suffering, services are failing, and even electricity in Islamabad is now no longer a 24 hour a day affair — for the first time in the memorory of any Western diplomats.
The situation in the tribal areas is far from certain, with the nation divided on the question of “have we removed the Taliban threat or not and do we really want to do that anyway?”
Things are going to change, I don’t think there’s any way around it. Musharraf was a great ally of America and her interests. He helped fight the Taliban and al Qaeda after 9/11. Pakistan has nuclear weapons and is now, I fear, at a precipice. Will it remain an ally or will it fall into the hands of Islamic extremists like the Taliban and al Qaeda? I hope not but without a strong pro-Western leader at the helm I’m not too confident.
BigT
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