The snowballing situation in Pakistan and the deepening political violence is turning out to be a serious issue undermining peaceful co-existence of the Pakistani society. The events in Karachi that left over 40 people dead last weekend and the latest attack in Peshawar killing over twenty people is no doubt a clear indication that the overall political situation in Pakistan is slipping away from the control of President Pervez Musharraf. The voices of discontentment is getting louder by the day and the general anger felt by the people against the Musharraf regime over the last year or so is threatening to spill into more blood let and extremist elements demonstrating their penchant for violent disorder. This is a clear warning to General Musharraf that everything is not well with the way he is functioning.
It is clear that the present unrest comes in the wake of Musharraf’s attempts to extend his nearly eight-year rule and the suspension two months ago of the pro-reform Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. The Opposition parties and many ordinary citizens in Pakistan is blaming Musharraf and his political allies for the bloodshed in Karachi, which took place when rival political groups clashed in the streets over a visit by the former Chief Justice. The un-ceremonial ouster of Chaudhry is no doubt becoming the rallying point for those who are calling for political change and the return of multi-party democracy in Pakistan. Musharraf may have over-stepped his authority by taking on the judiciary. This is a serious miscalculation on his part because at the end of the day the institution of the judiciary anywhere in the world cannot be meddled around for political ends. Musharraf may have got away with his coup in 1999 while disposing off the democratically elected government of Nawaz Sharif. But clearly challenging the last remaining remnant of democracy, the judiciary, is political suicide on the part of the General.
Musharraf has his task cut out and he needs to act sensibly and quickly or else face the consequences of public ire growing against his regime and threatening the legitimacy of his own leadership. Besides quelling violence and restoring order, Musharraf must take the only sensible route i.e. to restore people’s democracy by allowing a time bound free and fair election to Parliament and keep his earlier promise of stepping down as Army Chief and legitimizing his own authority as a democratically elected President. As is being echoed as a sentiment of public opinion, it is time Pakistan returned to full fledged democracy and the military returned to its barracks. The United States as a key ally of the Musharraf regime in the war against terror is also in the best position to ensure that the political situation in Pakistan is not allowed to meander into anarchy, which if allowed to happen will have dangerous repercussions across the entire region. It is in the overall interest of the US to see stability and a strong government in Islamabad. But for this to happen, Washington must now press Musharraf to conciliate with other political forces in the country in order to see a smooth transition towards multi-party democracy at the earliest.
