By Kenneth J. Theisen – March 29, 2008
The Bush regime continues to meddle in Pakistan as the political
prospects of Musharraf continue to diminish. Since 9/11 the Bush
regime has backed President Pervez Musharraf as their strongman in
Islamabad. They continued to back him after he imposed emergency rule
last November. Operating as a virtual dictator, Musharraf arrested
thousands of opposition members, including several members of the
Supreme Court. He also muzzled the media and angered millions of
Pakistanis. But the Bush regime stood by their man to whom they had
given over $10 billion of aid over the last 7 years. But on March 25th,
two of the Bush regime’s top diplomatic hit men paid a visit to
Musharraf’s political opposition in Pakistan. The message – you are
either with us or against us.
Pakistan is a key and volatile focus of the Bush Regime’s drive to dominate Central Asia and the Middle East. Some of the newly elected leadership in Pakistan have said they intend to pursue a somewhat different course than Musharaff in efforts to contain and control Islamists opposed to the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Resentment at being dictated to by Americans is growing among the Pakistani people and sections of its ruling elite. This is already presenting obstacles for Bush and the US. While the Bush regime is willing to work with other members of the Pakistani ruling class if Musharraf is forced from power, those that will receive U.S. backing must follow the Bush agenda.
BUSH HIT MEN TRAVEL TO PAKISTAN
Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher arrived in Pakistan this week as Pakistan swore in a new prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani. Backers of Musharraf were soundly defeated in recent elections and the opposition parties are now in control of the National Assembly. Gilani heads a ruling coalition within parliament that is opposed to Musharraf. In a sign of things to come, Gilani immediately ordered the release from house arrest of Supreme Court judges fired and detained by Musharraf during his dictatorship.
The new ruling coalition has stated that they intend to reinstate the judges. The judges were preparing to rule on the validity of the president’s election when they were fired. If the judges are allowed to take the bench, they may rule that Musharraf is not the legal president, setting up a confrontation with Musharraf. The Bush regime is doing its best to avoid a destabilizing crisis within Pakistan.
Negroponte and Boucher were sent for that reason. Both diplomats have played a long-time role as diplomatic troubleshooters for the U.S. They met with Musharraf as expected, but then they also met with rising players on the Pakistani political scene, including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who heads one of the main opposition parties. They also met with Prime Minister Gilani and Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party. And since the military is the primary power holder in Pakistan, they met with General Ashfaq Kayani. Kayani is the army chief named by Musharraf when he resigned the post late last year.
Negroponte and Boucher did not issue any statements about the contents of the talks with the various players. But based on past history it is likely that they put pressure on the opposition to “play ball” with Musharraf in the so-called war on terror. Musharraf told reporters this week that he is willing to work with the new government. But the opposition leaders have said he is not the legitimate leader of Pakistan and have openly said they either wish to limit his powers or force him to leave office. Some of this is political jockeying, but it also reflects the increasing divisions within the Pakistani ruling class that the Bush regime must contend with over the next period.
Musharraf has primarily relied on military confrontation with Pakistani militants, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban. But many of the opposition leaders are now saying that there is a need to sit down with the militant opposition and negotiate. They have pledged to review U.S.-backed “counterterrorism” policies instituted by Musharraf. In the background, the U.S. has continued to launch missile strikes at militants in Pakistan. These strikes often kill civilians as well. Suicide bombings and other attacks have killed hundreds of Pakistanis caught in the crossfire of the war on terror.
When the Bush regime envoys met with the new Prime Minister, he told them, “We have to fight terrorism. We will confront it with complete determination.” Clearly he is seeking U.S. backing in any power struggle with Musharraf or if there is power-sharing he wants the U.S. to know it can count on him.
ADVISORS AND MISSILES
To emphasize the importance of the “war on terror” to the Bush regime, Boucher and Negroponte went to the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. There they met with military leaders of the Frontier Corps. This is a paramilitary force that the Bush regime and Musharraf have stated will be trained and equipped to fight Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. They will be trained by “U.S. advisors.” The arming and training of such a force flies in the face of the opposition’s plans to negotiate with the Islamic militants.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry acknowledged this contradiction. Spokesman Mohammed Sadiq stated the timing of the visit “has generated a lot of interest. There was some discussion about the timing of the visit, and some suggestions were made (regarding postponing the visit), but since the meetings were already fixed, the visit was conducted.”
Khursheed Ahmad, a leader in the Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan’s largest Islamic party, complained of “aggressive U.S. lobbying in Pakistan to get a fresh lease of life for its disastrous and failed policies of terrorizing people and the country in the name of the war on terror.” It is clear that the visit by the envoys is part of a continuing policy of interfering in Pakistani politics.
No matter who wins out in the coming power struggle within the Pakistani ruling class, the Bush regime has delivered a message that the new or old leaders must be on board with the regime’s “war on terror.” The missile strikes, the training and equipping of the Frontier Corps, the nearly $10 billion in military aid to Pakistan, etc. are all part of the war of terror that has carried over into Pakistan. As long as the Bush regime and it polices are allowed to continue, the people of Pakistan and the world can expect no peace.