International   

Musharraf completes 4 years in power

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Oct. 12 . The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, today completed four years in power. There were no celebrations both within and outside his camp.

The indifference to this by the various segments of society in Pakistan is in total contrast to the celebrations when he took over on October 12, 1999.

It is said that the General had failed to live up to the expectations he had raised while assuming office. His reluctance to transfer complete power to the elected representatives and let the civilian set up rule without fetters, even a year after the highly regulated general election, had besmirched his image in the eyes of the civil society and political parties.

Every one concedes that there have been some economic gains during his tenure but at the same time there is a realisation that they have come at a high cost. Much of the gains are due to the unavoidable decision to side with the United States-led coalition in the "war" against terrorism.

It involved a major U-turn in the foreign policy, particularly with reference to Afghanistan, which is viewed as good for the country in the long run though confronted with serious problems in the current phase.

To begin with it lost its so-called `strategic depth' in Afghanistan and earned the wrath of the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The remnants of these two organisations, which have strong links with religious and militant outfits in the country, have struck with a vengeance repeatedly. Pakistan has come to be seen as vulnerable like never before.

It has also left the military government with little choice but to do some thing about the militant organisations and infrastructure they have built in the country over the years. The task has certainly not been easy given the wheels within the wheels. There has been tremendous pressure on the establishment to do an Afghanistan vis-a-vis its Kashmir policy as a logical extension of the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist strike. General Musharraf has not been able to evolve a cohesive policy on Kashmir since then.

The biggest failure has been the military's inability to develop a national consensus on a workable political and constitutional framework. The presidential referendum of April 30, 2002 did not serve to bestow legitimacy on President Musharraf's position as head of state.

The military also chose to make fundamental amendments in the Constitution on the eve of the general election, even though some parts of the Legal Framework Order would have had a better chance of acceptability and survival if the LFO had been presented to the elected Parliament for approval. The deadlock over the constitutional package shows no signs of breaking, and — one year after the general election — Parliament is yet to start functioning normally.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Democrats fault Bush on costs, risks
• OIC may take up Ankara move
• LTTE bans Boys
• Musharraf completes 4 years in power
• Pakistan takes exception to Vij's remarks
• Singapore to sign defence pact with India

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu