A New Pakistan

The Washington Post in its editorial on Sunday, March 16, writes that the two largest political parties in Pakistan, the Pakistan People's Party and the Muslim League, are ready to take "a major step" toward democracy by agreeing to implement the Charter for Democracy that Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif hammered out in 2006. They have decided to form a coalition government. They "plan to reform the constitution to eliminate autocratic powers accumulated by Mr. Musharraf following his 1999 coup against a democratic government" and more importantly, they plan to "restore the 63 senior judges" - including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court - "illegally fired by Mr. Musharraf in November in a second coup intended to ensure himself another term as president".

But there is one huge and last hurdle in thier way: President Pervez Musharraf, and President Bush.

Musharraf wants to keep clinging on and Bush wants to keep supporting him. Bush is hte only support he is left with. His source of all power, the position of the army chief is gone. His hand-picked party has been routed in the elections after he received their votes for his own re-election just before they went to contest the elections and lose big time.

The editorial exhorts President Bush "who claims to believe that the replacement of autocrats with secular democratic governments is a key U.S. interest, should act on his own principle. He should tell Mr. Musharraf either to accept the decisions of the new government and courts, or step down".

There is hope that when the judges are "restored to the bench and controls imposed by Mr. Musharraf on the media are removed, Pakistan could have the most liberal and open political system in its history. That is the long-term solution to the assault on the country by the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other Islamist fanatics, who so far this year have carried out 16 suicide bombings and killed more than 500 people -- making Pakistan almost as violent as Iraq."

Would President Bush and Busharraf will listen?