U.S. Could Lose Critical Ally, As Political Crisis in Pakistan Turns Deadly

Zarhar Khan of the Associated Press reported from Karachi, Pakistan, that a political crisis is threatening President General Pervez Musharraf’s position and it appears as if increasingly violent clashes are positioning the country for a possible coup attempt. According to Khan, violence exploded last Saturday, May 12, 2007, when clashes between pro-government gunmen and opposition forces left 28 People dead and thwarted a major rally against military rule, and specifically President Musharraf.

The increasing violence in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, was provoked when Musharraf, a vital U.S. ally, ousted the head of the Supreme Court on March 9 shaking the existing government to its core. The new violence occurred among bungalows and concrete apartment blocks where men brandished rifles and handguns against a backdrop of burning cars and buses. These attacks became so violent that ousted Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was unable to attend the largest organized rally yet to call for his reinstatement as Supreme Court Justice and for Musharraf’s impeachment.

Despite the violence, however, Musharraf loyalists insist that the president remains popular even though they admit that resentment of his alliance with the Bush administration to pursue al-Qaida hampers his chances of a peaceful solution to the crisis. They further insist that Chaudhry was ousted due to abuse of his position but critics accuse Musharraf of removing Chaudhry due to his reputation for challenging government misdeeds and to protect the president’s plan to seek a new five-year term.

[tags]U.S. Ally, Pakistan, Political Crisis, Musharraf, Chaundhry, coup, Karachi, [/tags]