Feb 13, 2012
Musharraf to Remove Military Garb…A Civilian President Emerges?
Sources reveal Musharraf is set to step down from his army chief position on Wednesday, becoming a civlian president on Thursday. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif returned from exile with a bang, demanding the emergency rule be lifted and the Supreme Court reinstated, threatening street protests if his demands are not met. Although some believe Bhutto and Sharif may join together in boycotting the elections, Sharif filed nomination papers for the parliamentary elections set for January 8th. Sharif explains that boycotting is not the optimal choice, but
“You have seen the treatment meted out to the media and judges. The caretaker government has been unilaterally formed, the election commission is subservient to it, should we not raise our voice in protest?”
It will be interesting to see how the majority of Pakistanis respond to Musharraf if he indeed steps down from his military post. It seems clear that Sharif, Bhutto and their respective supporters have legitimate concerns over restricted media access and legality issues of the new Supreme Court, but we hope the interests of Pakistan as a whole are upheld over anyone’s' quest for power, including Musharrafs.
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Thanks for the write-up
Thanks for the write-up Saadia. That generally conforms with what I've been hearing but it provides some extra detail.
Here's some smaller news I
Here's some smaller news I saw on PTV. It can be cross-checked or added to, for example, with the Pakistaniat blog.
1) I saw that PTV is allowing opposition voices, including Nawaz Sharif, and encouraging more discourse. 2) An offensive launched in Swat after military officers were killed in suicide bombing. 3) The UNDP is assisting with election training. Election caretakers (nizams) are told not to interfere with results. 4) Some media are agreeable to the code of conduct. Geo is still in a standoff. 4) Several groups are boycotting elections but may reconsider if emergency is lifted. 5) Former PM Shaukat Aziz will not run for PM again, but will stay in the country and serve it within his party. 6) Some people (from citizenry and government) are expressing dislike of excessive interference with internal affairs and desire more respect. But some diplomats and commentators have expressed appreciation for freindly American advice to benefit the people of Pakistan, education, security, mutual interest etc...
Correction to my comment:
Correction to my comment: 'Good to hear'
Thursday eh? Good to here,
Thursday eh? Good to here, but I'll believe it when it actually happens and not before.
I do wonder about the utility of election boycotts. I'm not sure it's ever actually been an effective strategy. This isn't to say that there necessarily is an effective strategy in many of these situations. But if you participate in the election you at least force the government to steal it and thus maybe get caught stealing it. If you stay out, it's easier for the status quo forces to just claim victory.
That said, I think there's more of an argument for boycotts by international monitors, although they might also just participate as best they can and then announce immediately thereafter that the election failed to meet their standards.
I'm not sure what the best way to study this question is.