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The former President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf has returned to Pakistan to contest the upcoming Presidential elections. He came back to Pakistan after a period of 4 years. He left Pakistan in 2009 after losing the Presidential elections to the current President, Asif Ali Zardari.
Some background information: In 1999, the then General of the Pakistan Army, Pervez Musharraf, overthrew the democratically elected Government in a non-violent military coup. He declared himself the President and controlled the country till 2008. In 2008, Musharraf came under tremendous pressure to restore democracy and therefore, fair elections were supposed to take place. To contest the elections, Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of a former President, Zulfikar Bhutto, returned to Pakistan. However, she died during a bomb attack in one of her campaign rallies. Musharraf was accused of not providing her adequate security cover. Meanwhile, Benazir's husband, Asif Ali Zardari won the elections thanks to the sympathy factor.
Musharraf had several judicial probes, trials, etc. pending against him in the courts of Pakistan. Surprisingly, the newly elected President Asif Zardari did not make Musharraf stand for trial but instead exiled him off to London. Some see this as a deal between the two but many disagree citing that Zardari did not want any internal conflicts to weaken the nation. Now that the Zardari government has become the first ever democratically elected government to complete a full term in office in the history of Pakistan, it is time for new elections.
Zardari still has the highest chances of winning, not because the people love him, but because the political opposition to the Government is very weak. Zardari has been accused of unfathomable amounts of corruption and is also accused of bad policies when it comes to the economy, national security, foreign relations, etc. Despite this, the weak opposition may not manage to secure enough seats to win the election.
Musharraf's arrival may manage to change that setting, but not by a large extent. Though he may be looking at another stint at the President's office, his support has very visibly diminished over time.
Musharraf also faces extremely dangerous and high number of death threats from the Pakistani Taliban.
It would be interesting to see how the former Dictator's arrival changes the political landscape in the troubled nation of Pakistan.
The former President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf has returned to Pakistan to contest the upcoming Presidential elections. He came back to Pakistan after a period of 4 years. He left Pakistan in 2009 after losing the Presidential elections to the current President, Asif Ali Zardari.
Some background information: In 1999, the then General of the Pakistan Army, Pervez Musharraf, overthrew the democratically elected Government in a non-violent military coup. He declared himself the President and controlled the country till 2008. In 2008, Musharraf came under tremendous pressure to restore democracy and therefore, fair elections were supposed to take place. To contest the elections, Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of a former President, Zulfikar Bhutto, returned to Pakistan. However, she died during a bomb attack in one of her campaign rallies. Musharraf was accused of not providing her adequate security cover. Meanwhile, Benazir's husband, Asif Ali Zardari won the elections thanks to the sympathy factor.
Musharraf had several judicial probes, trials, etc. pending against him in the courts of Pakistan. Surprisingly, the newly elected President Asif Zardari did not make Musharraf stand for trial but instead exiled him off to London. Some see this as a deal between the two but many disagree citing that Zardari did not want any internal conflicts to weaken the nation. Now that the Zardari government has become the first ever democratically elected government to complete a full term in office in the history of Pakistan, it is time for new elections.
Zardari still has the highest chances of winning, not because the people love him, but because the political opposition to the Government is very weak. Zardari has been accused of unfathomable amounts of corruption and is also accused of bad policies when it comes to the economy, national security, foreign relations, etc. Despite this, the weak opposition may not manage to secure enough seats to win the election.
Musharraf's arrival may manage to change that setting, but not by a large extent. Though he may be looking at another stint at the President's office, his support has very visibly diminished over time.
Musharraf also faces extremely dangerous and high number of death threats from the Pakistani Taliban.
It would be interesting to see how the former Dictator's arrival changes the political landscape in the troubled nation of Pakistan.
2 comments:
Musharraf's return to Pakistan will further exacerbate the nation's political instability. After being exiled in disgrace years ago, Musharraf's only strength now comes from his cult of personality. This is similar to Silvio Berlusconi's attempt at reelection in Italy despite his terrible reputation. I can only hope that Musharraf does not gain any political traction. Pakistan needs fresh political ideas and new political leaders in order to continue improving their socioeconomic lot.
Musharaff has joined the rat race by coming back to Pakistan. The timing is perfect with the elections being held on May 11th. It's surprising to see that he wasn't arrested at the airport upon his arrival. But the credit may go to some secret deal between him and the President of Pakistan. Musharraf is charged of murder of Akbar Bukti, the tribal chief of Baluchistan. At the Karachi airport, there were more journalists than well-wishers to receive him. This shows that the old army chief cum dictator has become a side show. He deposed the chief justice of Pakistan Supreme Court who has now been reinstated. It will be fun to see if the chief justice issues a court order against him soon. As of now, Pakistan has the most corrupt government the country has seen in it's history. Elections are the only hope. If of course, there isn't massive rigging and the opposition is given it's due right to come on center stage.
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