Western reaction to the Emergency [merged]

[saieen]

Re: Musharraf snubbed Brown and Rice on emergency rule

@Reza_Pahlavi

Pakistan First. :jhanda:

Musharraf snubbed Brown and Rice on emergency rule | World news | The Guardian

Musharraf snubbed Brown and Rice on emergency rule

President Pervez Musharraf gave a firm commitment to Gordon Brown and Condoleezza Rice that he would hold elections on schedule by January just before imposing a state of emergency, it emerged yesterday. But hours later his government suggested he might renege on that pledge. British and US efforts to clarify the situation were ignored by the Pakistan government at the weekend. Calls to Islamabad by the foreign secretary, David Miliband, were not answered, and Ms Rice, the US secretary of state, reportedly fared no better. The showdown has instead been put off until today’s scheduled meeting between the Pakistani leader and western ambassadors in Islamabad. The breakdown in communications was partly a result of chaos in Pakistan but it also reflects the limits to US and British influence in a volatile part of the world. London, in particular, relies on the Pakistani government for help in the battle against the Taliban, including lines of supply to British troops in Afghanistan through northern Pakistan, and surveillance of the flow of would-be suicide bombers between the two countries.

The US is similarly caught between the desire to show muscular support for democracy and fear of destabilising further a nuclear state already under pressure from religious extremists. Ms Rice threatened yesterday to review US aid to Pakistan, which amounts to about $11bn (£5.27bn) since September 11 2001 - most of it military. **But she later added that she would be “very surprised” if cooperation on counterterrorism was affected. Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said Pakistan remained an important ally in the “war on terror”. “Close coordination with the Pakistani military on operations continues.” **British economic influence is smaller. Civilian aid has totalled £480m over the past three years, and the government appeared even more reluctant than the US to use it as a stick. The Foreign Office said it would “consider the implications for our development and other programmes in Pakistan”. British officials said they would coordinate with their US counterparts and make a decision after today’s scheduled meeting between General Musharraf and western ambassadors.

Gen Musharraf appears to have calculated that the threat of western ire was less immediate than the political challenge to his authority within the country. The head of the US Central Command, Admiral William Fallon, was in Pakistan on Friday, reportedly to warn him not to impose the emergency, but the declaration was made while the admiral was still in town. Ms Rice said she told Mr Musharraf that “even if something happens, we would expect the democratic elections to take place”. British officials have been more coy over the extent of their prior knowledge of Saturday’s events, but it is clear the prime minister conveyed a similar message to the Pakistani president in their telephone conversation on Friday, which came two days after rumours began to circulate that Gen Musharraf was on the brink of a crackdown. A Foreign Office official said Mr Brown urged Mr Musharraf not to resort to emergency rule. The response from Washington and London to the declaration was muted, with Britain expressing “concern” and the US “disappointment”. Stephen Cohen, of the Brookings Institution thinktank, and the author of a new book, The Idea of Pakistan,said: “The American and British governments have dug such a big hole for themselves, they have no choice but to support Musharraf in whatever he does.”

**“The American and British governments have dug such a big hole for themselves, they have no choice but to support Musharraf in whatever he does.”

**so they have created another monster thats out of their control now and ppl of pakistan will have to suffer in return. all the money/aid coming into pakistan is being distributed amongst the already filthy rich and powerful. common person is still struggling to maintain a decent living.