Word: musharraf
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Pakistan's President, General Pervez Musharraf, once referred to his uniform as a "second skin." In Pakistan, where the military is the most powerful institution and where generals have ruled longer than civilians, that skin is a symbol of supreme authority. But on Wednesday, yielding to pressure from his own people as well as from his strongest ally, the U.S., Musharraf shed his uniform. In an emotional ceremony at military headquarters in Rawalpindi, a tearful Musharraf handed the baton to a loyalist, General Ashfaq Kyani, saying, "I have loved this army...
...Musharraf is just making a strategic retreat, however. His departure from the military clears the way for him to take up a second five-year term as President, and wins him points both at home and abroad. But praising Musharraf for stepping down as army chief is akin to praising the honesty of a thief, who, having stolen and broken a priceless vase, returns it in pieces, with apologies...
...Musharraf took power in a military coup eight years ago, vowing to stay on only as long as it took to stamp out corruption and repair the economy. He has delivered somewhat on both fronts. But his other major pledge - to not "allow the people to be taken back to the era of sham democracy, but to a true one" - rings hollow. Musharraf has bequeathed to Pakistan a tattered constitution, patched with amendments and filled now with so many loopholes justifying his rule that it better resembles a crocheted doily, ready to be thrown over whatever ugliness the next ruler...
...recent weeks, Musharraf has restored some of the rights he snatched away when he declared what amounted to martial law on Nov. 3. He has even permitted former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to return from exile in order to contest elections, which even if held under emergency rule, have some semblance of being free and fair...
...democracy is about more than casting a vote. It's about building lasting institutions such as a free press, an effective legislature and, most importantly, an independent judiciary. By circumventing the constitution, and by twice dismissing the Supreme Court, Musharraf has inflicted long-term damage on the country. Given Pakistan's critical role in the global war on terror, his muscular methods for stabilizing a fractious nation were at first welcomed by some governments, especially Washington. Establishing a lasting, fair and resilient democracy, however, requires not expediency but hard work, compromise and consensus-building. The rule of law is critical...