The long awaited Pakistani parliamentary elections were held today,and the results so far indicate a major loss for Pakistani President and US ally Pervez Musharraf.
Turnout was fairly low because of threats of violence and unrest,but the returns from the AP in Pakistan and from Aaj Television indicate that Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party will end up with about 110 seats in the 272-seat National Assembly, with the Islamist Pakistan Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister party taking 100 seats.
Mr. Musharraf’s party appears to have been badly defeated, looking to hold on to about 20 to 30 seats.
This means a prime minister from one of the opposition parties, and a parliament that could undo Musharraf's policies, end any crackdown against Islamists in Waziristan and elsewhere and possibly even try to remove Musharraf. And it's obviously a major setback and repudiation for the Bush Administration, who is seen in Pakistan as Musharaff's backer.
On the plus side,Mushjarraf still controls the Army, a powerful plus in Pakistan and the Leftists and intellectuals of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party and the Conservative Islamists in Nawaz Sharif Pakistan Muslim League are not exactly soul mates, except in their disdain for Musharraf and the US, and neither has enough of a majority to rule without the other.
It remains to be seen what kind of horsetrading can be done.
2 comments:
I thought Musharraf resigned as Army chief, but I could be wrong. Who's watching the nukes is what I want to know.
Well Orde, he has and he hasn't...
With a close, long time crony in place,musharraf still has de facto control of the army an dwould never have relinquished his position if he hadn't.
As for the nukes,that's anybody's guess.
Just for giggles, take note of all the lefties who have been loudly dissing Musharraf as a dictator and listen for the crickets when the Islamists or Bhutto's Leftoid Kleptocrats take power.
Regards,
ff
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