Well, apparently Pakistan's opposition parties, who won big in the recent elections, have a boat full of grudges against Musharraf. Those opposition parties are now vowing to ban the military from any links to politics.
So what does this all mean? Well, in my view, chaos. Under Musharraf, the military was wel entwined with the President and the political structure and was at the immediate beckoned call to respond to military crisis across the country. These opposition parties are not concerned with the defense of Pakistan, they are only acting out on revenge against the way Musharraf has done business.
To put it in American terms, it is similar to the Democrat controlled Senate and House that were elected here in 2006. They spoke of such high aspirations but when it came down to it, they spent the first six months of their term in the majority lashing out at President Bush and hauling everyone they could latch onto in the Bush administration into Senate/House hearings. And we know how that turned out for the Dems.
By totally separating the military from the political side in Pakistan, the opposition will short term create huge delays in efficiency and response time. And this is exactly what the Taliban and al Qaeda had hoped for.
Pakistan's people will end up paying the price for continued Musharraf Derangement Syndrome and perhaps, so will the world.
Here's the full story from Reuters.
So what does this all mean? Well, in my view, chaos. Under Musharraf, the military was wel entwined with the President and the political structure and was at the immediate beckoned call to respond to military crisis across the country. These opposition parties are not concerned with the defense of Pakistan, they are only acting out on revenge against the way Musharraf has done business.
To put it in American terms, it is similar to the Democrat controlled Senate and House that were elected here in 2006. They spoke of such high aspirations but when it came down to it, they spent the first six months of their term in the majority lashing out at President Bush and hauling everyone they could latch onto in the Bush administration into Senate/House hearings. And we know how that turned out for the Dems.
By totally separating the military from the political side in Pakistan, the opposition will short term create huge delays in efficiency and response time. And this is exactly what the Taliban and al Qaeda had hoped for.
Pakistan's people will end up paying the price for continued Musharraf Derangement Syndrome and perhaps, so will the world.
Here's the full story from Reuters.
Musharraf's rivals vow to banish army from politics
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani opposition parties which inflicted a crushing defeat on President Pervez Musharraf's allies in last week's election vowed on Wednesday to banish the military from politics.
At a show of strength gathering attended by 171 National Assembly members-elect, they also called on President Pervez Musharraf to immediately summon parliament so they can show they have the majority needed to choose the next prime minister.
U.S. ally Musharraf seized power as a general in 1999 but stepped down as chief of the powerful army in November before becoming a civilian ruler of a country which the military has ruled for more than half of its 60 years of existence.
While Musharraf did not take part in the February 18 parliamentary elections, the main party that backs him suffered heavy losses, largely because of the president's unpopularity and anger over rising prices and food shortages.
The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto won the most seats but not enough to form a government on its own.
The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, came second and the two parties are in talks, along with a smaller third group, on a coalition government that could force Musharraf from power.
Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower who now leads the PPP, said the opposition should work together to end the supremacy of the military-led establishment.
"I think the homage to my ... wife would be that we unite together, we take democracy, we take power for parliament and once and for all, finish the establishment," Zardari told the meeting.
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