In This Article
30-Second Summary
Headline Links: Crackdown imposed but mid-January election to go ahead
Background: The crackdown and nuclear proliferation
Opinion & Analysis: U.S. policy and Musharraf’s motives
Reference Material: The emergency proclamation and Pakistani public opinion
History: Pakistan and partition
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Martial Law in Pakistan Hampers U.S. Fight Against Extremists
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Pakistani President Musharraf’s crackdown on his pro-democracy opponents presents a quandary to U.S. policymakers, who have relied on his help in combating the region’s Islamic militants.
30-Second Summary
On Nov. 3, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf proclaimed a national state of emergency and suspended Pakistan’s constitution.
Musharraf’s declared intention was to suppress the violence that has raged across the country. However, a raft of commentators have argued that his true purpose is to extend his hold on government.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan was expected to rule in the next few days whether the election that returned Musharraf to power in October was legal. Since the emergency began, the president has removed the chief justice and forced the other supreme court judges to swear an oath of loyalty.
Now, the U.S. government has to decide whether it is willing to continue funding Musharraf. America relies on Pakistan for assistance in the fight against extremists in the Afghan-Pakistani region and has given Musharraf’s government over $10 billion in aid in the last five years.
Though U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed disappointment at Musharraf’s decision, The New York Times reports that administration officials are unlikely to stop aid to Pakistan any time soon.
This is not the first time observers have disputed Musharraf’s compatibility with American foreign policy. Questions arose in 2004 when Pakistan’s most senior nuclear scientist, A.Q. Khan, confessed to having traded nuclear technology with Libya, North Korea and Iran.
Musharraf’s declared intention was to suppress the violence that has raged across the country. However, a raft of commentators have argued that his true purpose is to extend his hold on government.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan was expected to rule in the next few days whether the election that returned Musharraf to power in October was legal. Since the emergency began, the president has removed the chief justice and forced the other supreme court judges to swear an oath of loyalty.
Now, the U.S. government has to decide whether it is willing to continue funding Musharraf. America relies on Pakistan for assistance in the fight against extremists in the Afghan-Pakistani region and has given Musharraf’s government over $10 billion in aid in the last five years.
Though U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed disappointment at Musharraf’s decision, The New York Times reports that administration officials are unlikely to stop aid to Pakistan any time soon.
This is not the first time observers have disputed Musharraf’s compatibility with American foreign policy. Questions arose in 2004 when Pakistan’s most senior nuclear scientist, A.Q. Khan, confessed to having traded nuclear technology with Libya, North Korea and Iran.
Headline Links: Crackdown imposed but mid-January election to go ahead
Commenting on Musharraf’s emergency proclamation, State Secretary Condoleezza Rice said that President George W. Bush’s first concern was “to protect America.” As reported by the Council on Foreign Relations, she added, “We have to be very cognizant of the fact that some of the assistance that has been going to Pakistan is directly related to the counterterrorism mission.”
Source: Council on Foreign Relations
On Nov. 4, around 500 “opposition party workers, lawyers and human rights activists were arrested” by the Pakistani state. About a dozen local news stations were off the air, and transmissions from the BBC and CNN were suspended. U.S. State Secretary Rice said she was “disappointed” by Musharraf’s emergency proclamation but, according to the International Herald Tribune, “senior administration officials say they have little choice but to continue to support the Pakistani general.”
Source: International Herald Tribune
The United States has suspended defense cooperation talks with Pakistan and says that it is reviewing its multibillion-dollar aid program, according to the BBC. Britain is also considering withdrawing aid, and the Netherlands is the first country actually to do so. By Nov. 5, Pakistan had assured its electorate and the international community that the national elections planned for mid-January will still go ahead.
Source: The BBC
Background: The crackdown and nuclear proliferation
The crackdown
English-language Pakistani newspaper Dawn News notes in its coverage of the emergency that this is the second time that Musharraf has suspended the constitution. The first instance was on Oct. 12, 1999. At that time, Musharraf had already ruled the country for eight years “and was faced with a situation where there was a strong possibility that the Supreme Court may rule against his move to get himself elected for a second time as head of state.”
Source: Dawn News
According to BBC correspondents, the real target in the crackdown is the judiciary, which prior to the president’s emergency proclamation was hearing several challenges to October’s election results, which returned Musharraf to power. Although the United Kingdom and the United States have criticized Musharraf’s imposition of martial law, “both governments still see Gen. Musharraf as their best bet for tackling extremism in Pakistan.”
Source: The BBC
The presiding judge in the Pakistani Supreme Court hearing into the legality of Musharraf’s re-election stated on Nov. 2 that the court would arrive at a verdict by Nov. 6.
Source: The Jurist
A.Q. Khan and nuclear proliferation
In February 2004, Abdul Qadeer Khan, better known as A.Q. Khan, confessed that he had transferred sensitive nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
Khan headed Pakistan’s nuclear development program for 25 years. Under his supervision, the country achieved its present nuclear weapons capability. For that reason, Khan is a national hero in his native Pakistan.
Musharraf issued a pardon to Khan, and in doing so caused many to question the general’s commitment to America’s security goals.
In February 2004, Abdul Qadeer Khan, better known as A.Q. Khan, confessed that he had transferred sensitive nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
Khan headed Pakistan’s nuclear development program for 25 years. Under his supervision, the country achieved its present nuclear weapons capability. For that reason, Khan is a national hero in his native Pakistan.
Musharraf issued a pardon to Khan, and in doing so caused many to question the general’s commitment to America’s security goals.
On the subject of possible collusion between Musharraf’s government and the network operated by Khan, the Council on Foreign Relations writes, “Some questions have been raised over the idea that even someone as prominent as Khan could have delivered such sensitive material without approval from higher authorities, and that at the very least the leadership of Pakistan's military and intelligence establishment must have sanctioned the transfers.”
Source: Council on Foreign Relations
In 2004, in a televised confession, Khan stated that he had been the sole person responsible for the global trade in nuclear technology that stemmed from Pakistan. The next day, Musharraf delivered a pardon to Khan, again on TV, in which the president expressed shock at Khan’s actions but also declared that the scientist was a hero. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh described the televised appearance of these two men as “a make-believe performance,” arguing that two decades of intelligence makes it “hard to credit the idea that the government Khan served had been oblivious.” Hersh narrated the history and impact of Khan’s proliferation network for The New Yorker.
Source: The New Yorker
The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) is a non-profit Washington organization focused on stopped the spread of nuclear weapons. In its July 2004 report, ISIS describes how Khan’s confession boosted efforts to investigate the global market in nuclear technology. According to ISIS, although Khan admitted to dealing with Libya, North Korea and Iran, the full extent of his client base is unknown: “Questions remain whether Syria was a customer for centrifuge or nuclear weapon assistance … There is also speculation about other customers, including Saudi Arabia, Burma, and al-Qaeda or other terrorist organizations that were based in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban.”
Source: Institute for Science and International Security
Opinion & Analysis: U.S. policy and Musharraf’s motives
Like most other commentators, The Wall Street Journal judges that, counter to his claims to be cracking down on extremism, “the general was mainly interested in pre-empting a ruling on his recent re-election.” The Journal writes, “A more effective way to defeat the extremists is by respecting the rule of law and introducing a democratic government that reflected the wishes of Pakistan’s mostly moderate population.” The Journal article is more optimistic than some reports, ending as it does with the conclusion that though the general’s move is a definite setback both for Pakistan and American foreign policy, it does not create insoluble problems for continued cooperation.
Source: The Wall Street Journal (subscription may be required)
Hassan Abbas and Moeed Yusuf are Pakistani academics who take different stances on the subject of U.S. aid to Musharraf’s government. Yusuf holds it that what Pakistan needs is change at the institutional level, rather than a mere change of leader, such as might be effected by Benazir Bhutto’s return to government. “If a civilian ruler returns to power today,” states Yusuf, “Pakistan will be no closer to perpetuating democratic rule unless civil-military reconciliation is ensured in the immediate term. And no external power can help Pakistan achieve that.” Abbas argues that “only credibly elected representatives can effectively reach out to the people in the area and counter terror.” He expects that the United States “will seriously re-evaluate its war of terror-driven policies [in the region] including support to Musharraf.”
Source: Council on Foreign Relations
Ahmed Rashid writes that Musharraf’s declaration of emergency rule “will only encourage further civil strife, nationwide protests and greater territorial gains by the extremist Pakistani Taliban.” Rather than trying to suppress the militants operating on the Afghan border, Musharraf is concentrating on his own survival, argues Rashid, allowing extremist al-Qaeda sympathizers the Taliban to entrench their position in the north.
Source: The Washington Post
USA Today analyzes the quandary that America is placed in by Musharraf and concludes that “Pakistan could well be the most dangerous country on Earth. It has nuclear weapons. Its top nuclear scientist has sold nuclear technology to rogue nations. And it harbors an expanding extremist Islamic movement in its wild frontier region, where Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding.” As unattractive as it judges Musharraf to be, USA Today concludes that cutting off aid is not a good idea. “The best of the unappealing options is to pressure Musharraf to roll back his crackdown, while working behind the scenes to keep Pakistan out of radical hands if he is driven from office.”
Source: USA Today
“Musharraf has been an important ally for the United States in the war on terrorism, but his steps toward increasing authoritarianism have put him at odds with the moderate political forces of the country and thereby strengthened the extremists,” writes The Heritage Foundation, a think tank promoting free enterprise and strong national defense. The foundation argues that “the best case scenario” at this juncture would be for a caretaker government to take control and lead Pakistan to a national election at the earliest date possible.
Source: The Heritage Foundation
Reference Material: The emergency proclamation and Pakistani public opinion
President Musharraf’s emergency proclamation was released on Nov. 3. The first paragraph of that document refers to the “visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks” as a just cause for the suspension of Pakistan’s constitution. The full, two-page document is available online.
Source: Dawn News
Support for the constitutional division of church and state has been growing in Pakistan for the last five years, according to a report from Washington-based think thank the Pew Institute for Public Opinions. In 2007, 48 percent of Pakistanis agreed that government and religion should be kept separate, up from 33 percent in 2002.
Source: Dawn News
History: Pakistan and partition
Pakistan was created in the partition of India that occurred at the end of British rule in the subcontinent. During the Cold War, India received strategic support from the USSR, while Pakistan sought aid from China and the United States. Pakistan has always been less politically stable than its neighbor, and for most of its existence has been ruled by the military, as explained in the BBC guide to the partition of India and Pakistan.
Source: The BBC
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