A Democratic Pakistan

Are you kidding me? When has it ever been on a democratic road?

Musharraf came to power through military coup. The he appointed himself president. Then he gave himself many parliamentarian powers. And then he held elections, but before many opposition people were arrested and Musharraf got 98% of the vote. Now he has called a state of emergency, closed TV stations and newspapers and now is arresting more opposition people.

That is the short history of Musharaf and his travels toward democracy.

I found it interesting that he allowed an opponent, Bhutto, to return to the country. Then she was home for a week or so and left the country to visit family in Abu Dahbi. Now is that a coincidence? Did Bhutto know what was coming and ran for her life? Or did Musharaf wait for the most opportune moment to eliminate the democratic progress?

The US is still considering Musharaf an ally in the war on terror, but what of the democracy thing? What will be happening in the coming days will be very interesting to see how the US will handle it. The situation is one that could bite us in the ass.