The Japan Times, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007
EDITORIAL
Mr. Musharraf's misrule
In a move reminiscent of the Vietnam-era logic that justified destroying a
village to save it from communism, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has
suspended his country's constitution for the sake of saving its democracy. That
decision is only the latest in a series of missteps that have undermined the
government in Islamabad and contributed to instability in Pakistan.
Mr. Musharraf must reverse course. He should end the state of emergency, release
political prisoners, take off his uniform and hold national elections before
Feb. 15, 2008, as promised.
Mr. Musharraf's tenure as president has been stormy. He took power in a
bloodless coup in 1999, arguing that he had to depose then-Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif to save the country from corruption, incompetence and creeping Islamic
fundamentalism. That move was initially greeted with some relief — his views
were shared by many inside and outside Pakistan — but over time there has been
growing dissatisfaction with him and his government. He has exiled opposition
leaders, rigged elections, packed the country's supreme court and suspended
judges when they angered him.
The final straw came Nov. 3 when he suspended the constitution, fired most of
the country's judges — the judiciary had been the only institutional source of
serious opposition to his rule — and rounded up and arrested most of the
political opposition. It is estimated that several thousand people have been
detained.
It is thought that Mr. Musharraf took his fateful emergency step to keep the
Supreme Court from ruling on the validity of his re-election last month as
president; opposition leaders have challenged the outcome, arguing that the
constitution prevented an army chief from being elected.
Keep reading . . .
Monday, November 12, 2007
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