TWeeD ([info]densaer) wrote,
@ 2008-08-18 07:20:00
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Musharraf resigns.
Pervez Musharraf quits as Pakistan's President, rather than face impeachment proceedings.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/18/musharraf.address/index.html

Musharraf overplayed his hand in the last year or so. He was increasingly seen as too cozy with the United States, and a person who increasingly put his own political survival ahead of the development of Pakistan's political institutions. As I posted about a year ago, the crisis with Pakistan's judiciary wound up being a key turning point leading to the events of this morning (the assault on the Red Mosque may have been another). He lost the elites, and the support of the Army (THE key institution in the country), and now his job. I suspect that people will mention Pakistan's nuclear capability about a billion times today - insinuating that Pakistan's instability combined with their nuclear arsenal means big trouble.

There are three primary questions in the back of my mind this morning:

1. Who becomes the new ruler of Pakistan?

2. Does that person have the ability to reverse the horrible economic situation in the country?

3. Does that person have the willpower to confront the jihadis and build a secular state?


EDIT: Consider this - in Pakistan, they impeach the President for violating the Constitution. And we're critical of their political institutions?

EDIT2: According to the Pakistani Constitution, in the case of the resignation or impeachment of the President, the Chairman of the Senate becomes President. That's Mian Soomro, appointed by Musharraf to office and apportioned with awesome facial hair (like a Bollywood movie elder - like Amitabh Bachchan). The Constitution says they need to find a permanent President within the next 30 days.

EDIT3: The Beeb has a good article on his legacy. No more Daily Show appearances, I guess! Jon can save his tea for the next guy.

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[info]mrz80
2008-08-18 06:05 pm UTC (link)
EDIT: Consider this - in Pakistan, they impeach the President for violating the Constitution. And we're critical of their political institutions?

Yeah, well, we haven't had a President respect the Constitutional boundaries on his power since, what, Herbert Hoover? It's a steady progression of ever increasing Executive disregard for the Constitution. Given how far we've come, and how much further we've come in the last Administration or two compared to in the past (I just LOVE a positive 2nd derivative, don't you?) it's kind of scary to think what sort of egregious Orwellian horsepuckey the NEXT President inflicts upon us.

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(Anonymous)
2008-08-18 07:18 pm UTC (link)
Nine years ago you and I were sitting in a coffee house in Mtn View discussing his then-recent coup.
I commented that Musharef had claimed he would only hold onto power for "only a few months" until another government could be formed and then would step down.
"They always say that." you said. "He'll be there until the next coup or he dies."
Sadly, you were far more correct than me.

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[info]strongbow
2008-08-18 07:24 pm UTC (link)
Gah. That was me. Stupid browsers that aren't logged in.

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[info]densaer
2008-08-18 07:37 pm UTC (link)
I remember that conversation :)

Pakistan, sadly, has had a far less successful experience with democracy than neighboring India. It's too bad. What's worse is that some areas of Pakistan essentially exist as a failed-state (Waziristan)

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Mush resigns
(Anonymous)
2008-08-19 02:49 am UTC (link)
Even though there is a democratically elected government in Pakistan today it doesn’t appear that they have any real say in the ruling of Pakistan. Now this is a scary thing. Parts of the North East are not controlled by the government but by tribal leaders. Parts of the ISI have their own hierarchy it appears. And for a coalition to survive, a lot of compromises have to be made. Look at the circus that went on India last month. The ruling government had a narrow escape. One just has to wait and watch how long such a government can be stable. Mush, good or bad, was like a flood gate levy; now that he’s gone anything can happen.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Mush resigns
(Anonymous)
2008-08-19 02:50 am UTC (link)
Even though there is a democratically elected government in Pakistan today it doesn’t appear that they have any real say in the ruling of Pakistan. Now this is a scary thing. Parts of the North East are not controlled by the government but by tribal leaders. Parts of the ISI have their own hierarchy it appears. And for a coalition to survive, a lot of compromises have to be made. Look at the circus that went on India last month. The ruling government had a narrow escape. One just has to wait and watch how long such a government can be stable. Mush, good or bad, was like a flood gate levy; now that he’s gone anything can happen.
- Lekarshi

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Re: Mush resigns
[info]densaer
2008-08-19 03:53 am UTC (link)
Yeah, but politics in a stable democracy is all about compromises. American politics is a pretty big circus too, you know. The only difference is that the battles are peaceful, philosophical.

In one sense, I think that Musharraf was the victim of some of his own successes. He liberalized the media from government control, for example - and they reported that hey, he was a strongman.

I do worry about the future of the country going forward. In such an environment, I do wonder whether a "benign strongman" is better than a true democracy where all the wacky people can run, win, and then eliminate that democracy. Look at Hamas in Gaza, for example.

The people in Pakistan deserve peace, stability and prosperity. I don't know if a clear way forward has emerged yet. Perhaps the best shot was with Bhutto. I don't know. Pakistan had the same benefit of India of inheriting English language and some of its institutions, and that has directly translated to 300 million Indians in a rapidly expanding middle class that is plugged into the global economy and looking forward to the remainder of the 21st century. Unfortunately, because of fundamentalism and corruption, Pakistan hasn't been able to capitalize as much. From our position here in the US it looks like Pakistan is struggling to remain a cohesive state, while it fights back the 16th century on its border.

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