August 19th, 2008 by Adam

More reaction to Pervez Musharraf’s resignation as President of Pakistan:

The editorial in the Christian Science Monitor sees Musharraf’s departure as opening up a new role for the U.S., “…to assist this healing process and bolster democracy in Pakistan as the best bulwark against terrorists.” Caroline Wadhams and Brian Katulis at the Center for American Progress echo a similar note and say Musharraf’s exit allows the U.S. to move beyond its tendency to heavily rely on individual leaders in Pakistan and begin a relationship in which the U.S. strengthens economic development and democratic reform.

The New York Times says, “…Washington must provide more effective and realistic support for Pakistan’s fragile democracy.” They suggest Congress support legislation sponsored by Joe Biden and Richard Lugar, which would substantially increase economic and development assistance while tightly monitoring military aid. However, the Boston Globe cautions against idyllic dreams of Pakistani democracy, warning, “…US policy makers can’t be naive about the two party bosses(Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif) who have unseated him [Musharraf].

At Salon, Juan Cole looks at Musharraf’s resignation and criticizes the Bush administration for having supported a leader that was corrosive to the stability the U.S. wanted him to preserve. Cole says, “Musharraf was an embarrassment to the Bush administration once Bush began using a rhetoric of democratization,” and suggests, “If the U.S. and Europe are wise, they will give the elected prime minister their full support and pump in aid to help ensure that democracy in Pakistan, still an embryo, actually has a fighting chance.”

Meanwhile, Anwar Iqbal of Pakistan’s Dawn writes an interesting piece about how the U.S. finally decided to allow to Musharraf to exit. Iqbal describes, “…President Bush as Mr Musharraf’s ‘last holdout’ in the US capital,” even after the rest of his administration had already given up on him.

Across the pond, Ahmed Rashid in the Telegraph (UK) looks at the troubled legacy of Musharraf who failed to end the instability that he used to justify his rule. Rashid says, “Musharraf’s legacy is a tattered and divided civilian government that has been emasculated by the military, a polarised and heavily armed populace, a disastrous economic crisis.”

Lastly, the Arab News sees Musharraf’s resignation as honorable, but they are skeptical of the coalition government’s ability to move forward now that they have dispatched of their common enemy. The editorial hopes that, “They [the coalition] would be well advised to draw a line under the whole saga and devote all their energies in future to improving the lives of ordinary Pakistanis.”

Posted in Pakistan |