The price of democracy in Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto, in her election rallies, openly slammed Islamic fundamentalism and radicalism. She vowed to allow US forces to launch operations against al-Qaida groups, if needed, inside the Pakistani border in northern Pakistan, something which Musharraf always denied.

The Bush administration has asked President Musharraf to continue with the up-coming election process, however, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto must be now a serious blow.

The anti-American statements made in the current election campaign by another former Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, who leads the second biggest party of Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Group), shows that US will not support him into power. However, according to latest reports, Nawaz Sharif has already announced that his party will boycott the January election.

In the current situation, the chances are the other political-religious major parties, apart from the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League, will boycott the election. And if President Musharraf holds the election on January 8, 2008 then nothing will change in Pakistani government except that Musharraf will continue to enjoy power as a civilian president with his own appointed military generals and a loyalist parliament.

To complicate matters, in Pakistan where there are enmities between smaller provinces (Sind, Balochistan and NWFP) and Punjab (the largest province of Pakistan and from which come more than 60 per cent of those holding positions in the army and within the civil bureaucracy) in various administrative and governing matters, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto will be seen as the murder of yet another political leader and former Prime Minister (after Liaqat Ali Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto) from Sind. This may further lead to political disintegration of Pakistan.