Pakistan has become an indirectly controlled stooge of the United States. These are indeed sad times to be a Pakistani nationalist.
Even if Musharraf is removed, the prospect of BB taking the helm is very real. Please review her role in the present emergency.
This is why Pakistanis are disenchanted with the political situation. Our identity, sovereignty, and self-respect has taken a back seat to appeasing the US.
Azad Pakistan Zindabad :jhanda:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/world/asia/08pakistan.html?hp
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 7 — Amid a deepening crisis in Pakistan, Bush administration officials have begun pushing Gen. Pervez Musharraf on several fronts to reverse his state of emergency, quietly making contact with other senior army generals and backing Pakistan’s opposition leader as she carries out back-channel negotiations with the general.
At the same time, two aides to General Musharraf acknowledged that aides to the general and the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto were engaged in negotiations, even as her supporters clashed with police outside Parliament and she threatened larger protests on Friday.
Western officials have also begun praising Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, General Musharraf’s designated successor as army chief. General Kayani, a moderate, pro-American infantry commander, is widely seen as commanding respect within the army and, within Western circles, as a potential alternative to General Musharraf.
“He’s somebody we know well, and he’s tough on Al Qaeda,” said one Bush administration official who works on Pakistan issues. “He’s somebody we can work with.”
Known as a “soldier’s soldier,” General Kayani rarely mixes with politicians and is not thought to have used previous senior postings — including heading the country’s powerful military intelligence service — to expand his own wealth and contacts.
Even as the pressure on General Musharraf builds, one Bush administration official who works on Pakistan issues said that the White House was **concerned about any appearance that the United States was interfering in the country’s politics. “We can’t reach ourselves into the Pakistani political process more than we already have,” he said, referring to recent attempts to broker a power-sharing arrangement between General Musharraf and Ms. Bhutto. **
**
In a sign of the closeness between Ms. Bhutto and Washington, the opposition leader met after a news conference with the American ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W. Patterson. The perception among Pakistani analysts is that Ms. Bhutto is being guided by Washington. “She’s listening to the Americans, no one else,” said Najam Sethi, the editor in chief of The Daily Times and a sympathizer to her cause.**