Its Crunch Time for General Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan

By: Pradeep chauhan Click author's name for more of his/her articles

Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf through his counsel, had declared before the Supreme Court that he would step down as army chief if he will be elected president for a second term by the parliament and four provincial assemblies.

The Supreme Court also had given him permission to fight for election in his Army uniform.

This is the step which shows that Pervez Musharraf is going through the biggest crisis of his life.

For the first time, General Musharraf, who has run Pakistan since he led a military coup against then Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif in 1999, looks like he had smelled that present political crisis in the country may cost him heavily and that’s why he is desperate to occupy President Post even on the cost of his beloved Army uniform.

It all started when Musharraf tried to over power judiciary by removing then Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhary in March this year. Later Musharraf was forced to reinstate Chaudhary by the Supreme Court. In the process damage was done against Musharraf.

Then firing Lal Masjid provoked hardliners and for the first time they came up openly against the General.
These steps of Musharraf opened the doors to two former exiled Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to come back and rebuild their political stature and stakes.

Sensing trouble, the General tried to work out a power sharing deal with Bhutto with the help of US and Saudi Arabia, but presently it looks like a thing of the past. Bhutto is saying that time is running out for Mr. Musharraf.

The US, the biggest supporter of Musharraf, is now also favoring democracy although the US is not criticizing the General openly but the statements of different higher-ups suggests that the US also wants Musharraf to go away, but slowly-slowly.

Some of the experts, who are keen watchers on developments inSouth Asia, feel that the recent comeback and then deportation of Nawaz Sharif may prove to be the last nail in the coffin for Musharraf.
Now Sharif’s wife Kulsoom Nawaz, says she will take the lead in the battle for her husband and will return to Pak after Ramzan.

According to experts, whenever Pakistan goes into political crisis, the change in power is bound to happen.
The international pressure is also mounting on Musharraf, especialy from the US on terrorism issues. The revival of the Taliban and presence of Al-Qaeda in Pakistan had demolished Musharraf's claims that Pakistan is the partner country in fighting against terrorism. Most of the international intelligence agencies had said that Pakistan is becoming a hub for Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden may have also taken shelter in Pakistan.

These reports have given the wattage to India’s claim that Pakistan is involved in cross border terrorism.

Looking at the present scenario it’s very difficult to say how long Musharraf can go on but one thing is for sure, Musharraf may become president again on Nov 15 but it's unlikely that he will complete his second term.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

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