Word: musharraf
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...return of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif adds a new twist to the political chess game that has dragged on for the past few months in Pakistan. Sharif, who was ousted by current President General Pervez Musharraf in a bloodless 1999 coup and who left Pakistan for exile after being found guilty of corruption, arrived in Lahore Sunday and was greeted by hundreds of chanting supporters. Government officials said he had been allowed back into the country after reaching an "understanding" with Musharraf. But Sharif said there was no such understanding. He was back, he told the crowd, "to save...
...That's a tall order for any one person. Pakistan has lived with military rule for seven years now. Earlier this month Musharraf imposed what is effectively martial law, forced Supreme Court judges not loyal to him off the bench, and cracked down on independent journalists. Musharraf says he will step down as army chief of staff in the next few days, ahead of being sworn in for a second term as President later this week. He also says the state of emergency will soon be lifted. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for early January but opposition parties, including Sharif...
...Both former leaders want the state of emergency lifted immediately and say they cannot take part in the election if it stays. If they boycott, the January poll will be a farce, and will strip away the last veneer of democracy that Musharraf has used to cover his dictatorship. But assuming the state of emergency is lifted and Sharif and Bhutto do compete, the big question becomes whether they can work together to try to wrest control of the parliament from Musharraf and his cronies. Sharif and Bhutto have very little in common other than a mutual dislike...
...Still, a Sharif-Bhutto team would combine the forces of the two biggest parties in the country and create a powerful obstacle to Musharraf's plans to control the next parliament. In the weeks ahead Pakistan's future may hinge on whether two unlikely allies can work together against the one person they despise more than each other...
...dictators must come face to face with their fate: they last a few years, and then their power unravels. Musharraf is no exception. He would be foolish not to see that it's the beginning of the end. It would be better for him to go into exile now. Shame on dictators around the world, and shame on those who prop up these mean-spirited men with a supply of wealth and weapons. Charles Puthota, San Francisco...