The iPINIONS Journal

There’s no guarantee the PPP [headed by the widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zadari] and PML-N [headed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif] will be able to put aside long-standing hostilities long enough to mount a joint political coup d’état….

Nothing reinforces Musharraf’s dictatorship quite like the chaos among the country’s opposition parties…. Sharif and Bhutto have discovered that the only politician they hate more than Musharraf is each other…. Instead of leading a joint boycott of parliamentary elections in January - as both vowed to do, they have decided to lead their respective parties to the polls.

[Musharraf suffers humiliating defeat at the polls, The iPINIONS Journal, February 21, 2008]

Less than a week after joining forces to compel president Pervez Musharraf to resign, the leaders of Pakistan’s ruling coalition, Asif Ali Zadari (left) and Nawaz Sharif (right), fulfilled my prophecy that they would soon find that they hate each other more than they hate Musharraf. 

Citing a “string of broken promises” by Zadari, Sharif announced on Monday that he is withdrawing his support from the government.   Whatever the case, it did not take them long to disabuse Pakistanis of any hope that they would be able to work together to cure the country’s crippling economic woes and combat al-Qaeda’s increasingly violent insurgency.

Therefore, having rid the country of their boogeyman (who at least enforced some degree of stability), Zadari and Sharif now seem determined to plunge Pakistan into sectarian political warfare that will make the conflict between Sunni and Shia in Iraq seem like a schoolyard row.

And this political warfare will not only raise questions about Pakistan as a responsible nuclear power but also compromise its ability to fight insurgent terrorists on the real front in the war on terror; i.e., on the border regions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

I think at the moment they [the Taliban] definitely have the upper hand.

[Asif Ali Zadari]

God help them…and us!

Related Articles:
Musharraf suffers humiliating defeat…
Musharraf forced to resign

The writing was on the wall for Musharraf even before the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), once headed by the assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto but now headed by her widower, Asif Zardari, and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), headed by Sharif, defeated his “king’s party” (PML-Q) resoundingly in parliamentary elections last February….

[Pressure mounts for Musharraf to resign,  The iPINIONS Journal, June 12, 2008]

In fact, I was so convinced the game was up for the defiant Musharraf that I offered him the following advice:

It would behoove Musharraf to follow the trail so many of his predecessors have blazed into exile. And, frankly, given the numerous assassination attempts on his life, it would be understandable if Musharraf decided that he’d be better off enjoying time in London, spending the millions he skimmed from US military aid, than wasting time in Pakistan chasing Islamic terrorists.

[D-Day for America’s most-favored dictator…, The iPINIONS Journal, August 24, 2007

Accordingly, less than two weeks ago, Pakistan’s ruling coalition announced not only that it will institute impeachment proceedings against President Musharraf (for “working against democracy…and damaging the economy”) but also that it had 90% support in parliament to ensure his conviction.

It was not surprising therefore that he made the following announcement today:

After consultations with legal advisers and close political supporters and on their advice, I’m taking the decision of resigning.

Of course, what is most noteworthy about this development is the self-evident fact that the only advice Musharraf heeded came from the White House in July after President George W. Bush’s first meeting with Pakistan’s new prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani. 

More to the point, I have no doubt that Musharraf began packing his bags when Bush, his indispensable political patron, said the following with Gilani brimming proudly by his side:

It’s been a very constructive morning…. Pakistan is a strong ally and a vibrant democracy.  The United States supports the democracy and supports the sovereignty of Pakistan. 

Enjoy London Pervez…

Related Articles:
Pressure mounts for Musharraf to resign
D-Day for America’s most-favored dictator