Pakistan Notes
This weekend there were a few interesting stories regarding the situation in Pakistan.
On Friday the BBC noted that the newly installed Pakistani Supreme Court ruled that Musharraf reelection in October was valid. No surpise there, but apparently the decision also stated that General Musharraf will have to step down as Chief-of-Staff of the Army before being sworn in for a new term.
The NYTimes covers Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan this weekend. Sharif first attempted to return back in September, but was forced back onto a plane heading back to Saudi Arabia. This is a huge blow to Musharraf who weeks before had vowed that Sharif would not be permitted to return to Pakistan. It is still unclear why this was permitted to occur, but it may be due to Musharraf’s waning influence. Perhaps the military pressured him to allow Sharif’s return so that the elections in January may appear more legitimate and coincide with Musharraf’s resignation, thus appearing to restore a facade of democracy to Pakistan and relieving international pressure.
Today’s NYTimes also had an interesting store on Pakistan’s burgeoning middle class. The story notes that Pakistan’s strong economic growth under Musharraf has resulted in a growing middle class. However, this new group has so far remained only somewhat politically engaged, but has recently grown somewhat disillusioned with the Musharraf government as corruption and political turmoil has hurt the economy. Importantly, the article notes that the middle class is also afraid of the threat of Islamic radicals, but doubt that the Musharraf government is able to handle the problem and that the US would support a new civilian regime.
If the US is losing the faith of the Pakistani middle class, we are truly losing Pakistan.
