While more credible from a democratic standpoint than Musharraf, the opposition leaders are not exactly paragons of reform and morality. The leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz Sharif, is a scorned ex-prime minister who was exiled by Musharraf under (founded) accusations of corruption. From the Pakistan People’s Party, there is Asif Ali Zardari, the ex-con widower of the late Benazir Bhutto. Together, these two eminent individuals represent the vast majority of Pakistan’s votes. Their coalition will exclude Musharraf’s party, which they see as beaten and irrelevant. Zardari, in fact, has stated that he doesn’t “believe pro-Musharraf forces exist.”
Zardari was both right and wrong. Pro-Musharraf forces do exist, although not, technically, in Pakistan. The biggest, and quite possibly the only supporter of Musharraf is none other than the beloved Bush administration. According to Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, Washington plans to maintain ties with Musharraf, and the American government wanted him to play a role in the future governance of Pakistan. The U.S., said Negroponte, prefers Musharraf because of his record of cooperation with American counter-terrorism.
Soon after the American government asserted its unshakable resolve to stand by Musharraf, Pakistani newspapers were flooded with letters and editorials that remarked on the insufferable stupidity of this move, given that it placed the U.S. in the position of supporting a figure with almost no support left in Pakistan. Most of Musharraf’s political base in parliament has been removed, leaving him with 40 representatives who do not explicitly hate him. The new government will replace the fake judicial system which he installed after declaring a state of emergency. Even the army, Musharraf’s long-standing base of power, seems to have shifted allegiance to Chief of Army Staff General Kayani, who is distancing himself from the crumbling president.
Thus, the U.S. stands alone in wanting this ailing dictator to remain in power. Pakistan has just accomplished something that is incredibly rare in its history: it has completed an election process that was largely untainted by rigging and actually represented the wishes of the Pakistani populace. This country is advancing democracy by ousting its dictator and ushering in constitutionally elected politicians. The Bush administration is undermining this process by wholeheartedly supporting the dictator and trying to make sure that he will maintain control of the country. Thus the American government is directly countering its own goal of fostering democracy in the Islamic world. Its policy is hypocritical and the height of idiocy.