Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's bid to cling to power is set to backfire badly destabilising a key US ally spawning new militant attacks and straining relations with the army analysts have said. Musharraf who led a military coup in 1999 imposed a state of emergency in nuclear-armed Pakistan on Saturday in response to what he said was a hostile judiciary and the growing menace of al-Qaeda and pro-Taliban militants. But analysts said Musharraf's main concern was to purge the Supreme Court of anti-government judges ahead of a ruling on the legality of his victory in a controversial October 6th presidential election. Far from enhancing his fight against Islamists who have regrouped in Pakistan's tribal belt to plot attacks on the West emergency rule will strengthen their cause and increase the likelihood of attacks they added. 'Musharraf is riding a rudderless ship in a big and unpredictable political storm,' Rasul Baksh Rais a political scientist at Lahore's University of Management Sciences said. 'He may survive for a while but he will be swept away by the tide of anger popular resentment and forces that wish to restore some degree of decency and normalcy to Pakistan,' he said. In the wake of the emergency declaration. Musharraf's security forces rounded up several key opposition leaders and lawyers and sealed off much of the capital to prevent protests. Saturday troops entered the Supreme Court in Islamabad and took away the chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry whose suspension earlier this year triggered nationwide protests. The court had been scheduled to rule in a few days on the validity of General Musharraf's re-election as president last month by Parliament. Those detained or held under house arrest include Imran Khan the internationally known former cricketer who leads a small opposition party and the attorney leading the legal challenge to Musharraf's re-election. Musharraf has also imposed tough curbs on the media barring all criticism of himself and the government. It also emerged Sunday that the government was planning to delay the national election due in January. The Minister of State for Information. Tariq Azim Khan told reporters Sunday that there might be an adjustment in the dates of the election because of the imposition of emergency rule. Analysts said that the situation was closer to martial law than an emergency with the suspension of many fundamental rights and added that the opposition would not tolerate such a situation for long. 'It is a second coup by Musharraf. We are heading for a very uncertain time because this coup will be challenged by political parties,' Hasan Askari former head of Political Science at the Punjab University said. The key figures will be former premier Benazir Bhutto and fundamentalist opposition leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman who have criticised the president's actions. 'This martial law will stay in place until either this parliament or the next parliament by a two-thirds majority indemnifies it. That is where the role of Bhutto and Fazlur Rehman becomes critical,' Najam Sethi editor of an English daily said. The forces of Islamic militancy will also hit back against Musharraf stepping up a wave of attacks that has killed more than 400 people since a government raid on the radical Red Mosque in Islamabad in July. Rais said. 'This move will impact the fight against militancy and terrorism. If you suppress popular democracy you only create opportunities for militancy and armed struggle,' he said. But analysts said the biggest danger is from within -- the military that backed Musharraf's original coup and has supported him for the past eight years in his US-backed campaign against the militants. The 500,000-strong army has been demoralised not only by a series of attacks on security forces and abductions by militants but also by bearing the brunt of popular dissatisfaction with Musharraf's regime. 'This (emergency) will build strain between him and the military,' Askari said. 'The image of the military as a national institution is likely to be sullied. This is the gravest hit on the image of the military,' added Rais. But in the immediate future Musharraf will use his emergency powers to ruthlessly cement his grip on power analysts said. 'We are going to witness a reign of oppression,' The News quoted Rais as saying.
The natives are getting restlessYes the natives are getting restless and the generals took over this is the exported democracy to keep the generals in power to protect foreign interests. How much is it costing to keep these generals in power so that they can be called friends to protect foreign interests maybe for this reason the people are getting restless they want civilian rule or religious rule but surely not military rule. Sammy the rebel without a cause
What a country which gets oxygen from wars with her neighbours and withhis own public and with her own Provinces? The servants (boot polishers,clerks,peons) of British Raj immigrated in Pakistan and these guys (Mohajereen) are directly or indirectly ruling over Pakistan. Bengla-desh was lucky to get rid of these Biharis but now they are playing their cards of “divide & rule” and are ruling over whole Pakistan like Brahmans!! Musharaf is Muhajer and at any cost will not abondon power !!!It`s better back-fire Pakistan. Destroy her WMd and other nuclear facilities. Divide Pakistan in Sindh. Jinna Pur. Panjab. Kashmir. N. W. F. P and Balochistan. The whole Pakistan is difficult to be managed and goverened. The small States shall manage their state of affairs and live in Peace and prosperity !!!
in my opinion the west mainly the u s has decided to oust musharraf for about a year musharraf has fooled the u s taken in the money and played and placated both sides they have inavoidably groomed a successor the chief justice is created as one to rally around once again we hear the sound of the u s demanding a return to democracy when the same was called a return to civilian rule last year do not be fooled they can frame and reframe a friend into an enemy dictator into an ally etc what is a harbinger are the new attmepts to cast pakistan as a very dangerous anti u s state with its nuclear arsenal being emphasized which has been going on for a few months almost predicting the onset of the crisis.
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