Musharraf's predicament
Humayun Hyder, Zigatola, Dhaka
The army general turned president, Pervez Musharraf, is increasingly finding himself in troubled water after retaining both the coveted positions of the powerful army chief and President of Pakistan for more than eight years, despite constant public uproar and criticism. His recent stunt to remove the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on charges of corruption and nepotism backfired like a hell which not only exposed his evil desire to cling onto power by maiming the judiciary, but it also put him in a tight corner and finally forced him to change his decision and reinstate the chief justice. On the other hand, the hard core Muslim fundamentalists are waging a full- fledged armed demonstration to turn Pakistan into an Islamic republic and impose Shari'a laws. Meanwhile, to play down the home turmoil, Pervez Musharraf flew to the UAE and Saudi Arabia to drum up support in his favour in the upcoming general election. However, that too backfired. During his secret meeting with former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhuttto, Ms. Bhutto said that no deal could be inked with Musharraf until he hanged up his military uniform. Furthermore, Ms. Bhutto is also skeptical about whether Pervez Musharraf will allow her to return to Pakistan and contest for the third time in the upcoming election. It is also learnt that senior army generals have advised the president to quit the post of the army chief to avoid further embarrassment. This entire adverse situation may have posed a predicament to Pervez Musharraf.One thing which is very clear to all is that the army-led government cannot retain state power for long. Power must be returned to the people.
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