May 16, 2012
“Holy War” Declared on Musharraf
Fuel was added to the political storm brewing in Pakistan when Osama bin Laden released a tape today declaring Musharraf an "infidel" who must be torn down by waging a "holy war" against him. Bin laden describes Musharraf's allied relationship with the U.S. on the war against al-Qaida and Muslims as the sources of his infidel label. In July, Pakistani forces stormed the Red Mosque in Islamabad after 8 days of failed negotiations with militants and students. The Red Mosque incident incited violent antigovernment protests by many who saw Musharraf's forces as fighting against Muslims. It appears with his latest video, bin Laden hopes to capitalize on those anti-Muslim sentiments so as to take out the pro U.S. leader. Musharraf already suffers from low popularity and with the new video it is possible bin Laden followers will increase. Currently, the al-Qaida leader enjoys a higher popularity ranking than the president, albeit lower than either Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan People's Party leader) or Nawaz Sharif (Pakistan Muslim League-N). More information is available in the new PCR report, A Perilous Course, and will be discussed by a distinguished panel at the PCR event on Monday at 10:00am.
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Pakistan is so hard to
Pakistan is so hard to understand. I look forward to reading about your event on Monday, and need to read the report soon!
I wonder if people who benefit from the aid that goes to the central government (like in Punjab) are more likely to see Musharraf favorably, since they benefit from the economic gain. Has anyone read the National Geographic article that described a fault line going through Pakistan, dividing it into the border provinces that are extreme and the more relaxed provinces that are moderate? If that is somewhat true, could it be because those areas that border Afghanistan are so much less developed and less educated? Or could it be that there are more madrasahs with students poorly educated in the concepts of jihad and what America is about?
I'm not sure it will happen
I'm not sure it will happen this time, but there's also some risk for Bin Laden here. Chavez became less popular internationally through meddling in other's elections. That said, what Pakistan is going through right now could not easily be mistaken for a legitimate election.