The Bush administration has strongly supported Musharraf through thick and thin, including turning a blind-eye to his sacking of the judges, excusing his imposition of martial law in the guise of emergency, and denying from the get-go any suggestion the military regime could have had a hand in Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. In a recent appearance on Capitol Hill, Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, defended the administration’s policy of support for Musharraf and the regime’s controversial elections of February 18.
He dismissed calls for the restoration of the sacked judges, declaring, “Our view is that the issue of an independent judiciary can’t be solved that simply.” He admitted the regime was likely to engage in electoral fraud. “We don’t necessarily accept a certain level of fraud, but if history is any guide and current reports are any guide, we should expect some ... On a scale from terrible to great, it’ll be somewhere in the middle,” he added.
Hence, it will not be too much to say that in the current situation, the military cannot be dislodged from its pre-eminent position in the politics, economy and society of Pakistan and political parties have little chance to emerge as real political arbiter.
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