August 18th, 2008 by Sarah

Troy at Abu Muqawama discusses Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s resignation and whether the civilian government will continue to fight extremism as Musharraf did. “Even if they decide to do so, can either the government or the Army provide the leadership necessary to do so?”

In regard to politics, Blake Hounshell at FP Passport warns that Musharraf’s resignation “could lead to ugly infighting between [Asif] Zardari and [Nawaz] Sharif.”

Likewise, Steve Clemons at The Washington Note suggests that “Musharraf’s rivals now need to be ‘for’ something rather than just against him. Hopefully, the competing parties will continue to collaborate on taking on huge challenges facing the nation — but their record is not good.”

An editorial in The Daily Times (Pakistan),  however, is not optimistic.  It argues that the call for Musharraf’s resignation is fueled by “revenge and not justice.”

Arif Rafiq at The Pakistan Policy Blog takes a close look at Musharraf’s potential replacements and the possible voting coalitions that may emerge. While “the PPP and PML-N don’t have to work together to choose a president….that would endanger the governing coalition….For its next president, Pakistan needs a symbol that will help unite it in a time of increasing fragmentation.”

Meanwhile, an editorial in the Daily Star suggests that Musharraf’s resignation “should be a wake-up call for Arab leaders that any semblance of eternal power anchored in foreign backing always turns out to be a chimera, when local, regional and global conditions change, as they always do.”

In regard to U.S. policy, Max Bergmann at Democracy Arsenal declares that “the resignation of Musharraf represents the total collapse of eight years of Bush administration policy.”

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Pakistan, Political Parties, Terrorism, US foreign policy |