Word: musharraf
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...conducting an effective election. True, there were irregularities, and just how free and fair the election really was will be the subject of ongoing debate. But these polls satisfied the litmus test of democracy: their results are being accepted as legitimate by the Pakistani people. For that, President Pervez Musharraf deserves credit. He has made some terrible decisions in recent years (from undermining the judiciary to shackling the media) but resisting the temptation to rig this election can only be characterized as laudable. Given Musharraf's unpopularity, it came as no surprise that his party, the Pakistan Muslim League...
...glare of public scrutiny is essential for curbing the excesses of democracy. The media, despite Musharraf's recent attempts to bring them to heel, are now a real force in the country, both shaping and amplifying public opinion. The state of the judiciary, too, also contains a kernel of hope. Yes, last year Musharraf dealt it a devastating blow by dismissing the country's most senior and independent judges. But the reaction to his move - a courageous and visible protest movement led by lawyers and civil society, and supported by the media - has emboldened politicians to push for the restoration...
...coming weeks and months are likely to be tumultuous, as coalitions are hammered out and an increasingly unpopular Musharraf faces ever louder calls to depart. And the deeper economic and social problems Pakistan faces will not be easy to solve. But great uncertainty and huge obstacles are familiar to Pakistanis. What is less familiar is the feeling that now lingers in the aftermath of the election: a cautious, soul-gladdening optimism...
...kidnapped alleged brothel workers, threatened video and music shops selling "un-Islamic" material and declared a fatwa against the popular woman tourism minister who had been photographed hugging her parachute instructor. Still, the government's attack on the madrasah last July was widely condemned. The popularity of President Pervez Musharraf was already on the wane, and the perception that he sent Pakistani troops to kill fellow Muslims sealed his fate. Even though Musharraf, who was elected to a second presidential term in October under dubious circumstances, was not running in Pakistan's Feb. 18 general election, the defeat...
...worst of Pakistan's struggles are over. With no party achieving a majority, the opposition will have to work together. If the Pakistan People's Party of the recently assassinated Benazir Bhutto can come to an agreement with Nawaz Sharif, the former Prime Minister who was overthrown by Musharraf in 1999, then the opposition may be able to muster the two-thirds of seats necessary to try to impeach the President. The election result is clearly a repudiation of Musharraf's eight years in power, but, perhaps more importantly for Pakistan's longer-term political future and development, it appears...