Word: musharraf
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...turmoil in Pakistan's historic Swat Valley was one reason President Pervez Musharraf cited for his imposition of martial law over the weekend. A recent rash of suicide bombings, beheadings and kidnappings of military personnel in the onetime tourist enclave has brought Pakistan closer to the brink in its faltering war against terrorism. Military forces have been battling an Islamist militia led by a radical cleric determined to establish Sharia law in the region. Yet the truth is, Swat's militancy has been festering for well over a year, with Musharraf's government unable to rein in the charismatic Mullah...
Like the situation in Islamabad's Red Mosque earlier this year, Musharraf's escalating unpopularity made it nearly impossible for the government to establish any control: Local leaders were loath to appear as if they were collaborating with Musharraf's military. The general's latest move will only escalate these tensions. "Pakistan is very religious, but it is not extremist," says Ahsan Iqbal, information secretary for exiled opposition leader Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). "By making this a battle between secular values and extremism, Musharraf is pushing a large chunk of moderate but religious Pakistanis to side with...
Citing a recent opinion poll showing that Musharraf is significantly less popular than Osama bin Laden, Ahsan points out that 80% of Pakistan's population has strong views against Musharraf. "The challenge now is who gets to reap this anti-Musharraf sentiment. The extremists are delighted. They are getting a large chunk of this anti-Musharraf group for free...
Iqbal Haider, Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, speaking from under house arrest, questioned Musharraf's motives. "If he wants to stamp out terrorism in Pakistan, why is he arresting civil society leaders and lawyers instead of militants and religious fanatics? Why didn't he arrest Fazlullah when he first started preaching jihad? Today he has arrested hundreds of lawyers, but not a single militant, Taliban, al-Qaeda or religious fanatic. It doesn't make any sense. If you want to take the country away from the extremists, you don't do it by arresting the moderates...
Haider contends that Musharraf has proved himself the patron saint of religious fanatics. By limiting the choice in Pakistan to supporting the military or supporting the militants, Musharraf may well have driven millions of Pakistanis into the arms of the terrorists. The spread of anti-Americanism and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism have been fostered by a U.S. policy of supporting Musharraf over the unpredictability of a true democratic process. Rather than forcing Musharraf to seek consensus, and thus enable a representative civilian government that would support him in his campaign against extremism, the U.S.'s tepid response to Musharraf...