Pakistan’s opposition leader Benazir Bhutto addresses her election rally in Lodhra, near Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday.
Two days ago:
LODHRAN, Pakistan, Dec 25–Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Tuesday accused President Pervez Musharraf of failing to stop the spread of militants and promised to crack down on the groups if she wins next months parliamentary election.
… “The areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan became a haven for extremists, and the extremism and terrorism is flowing down into other areas,” she said.
If elected, her party would clear the extremists from Pakistan, she claimed.
Jules Crittenden asks all the right questions:
Jihadis, ISI, or some combination?
Does this unite them against jihadis or just further fragment Pakistan to the jihadis benefit?
Does the election even go ahead, or is it straight to martial law? Short-term or long-term suspension, and in the event of an election, who rises?
If they buy the “dog Musharraf dog” line, or if it’s true, how bloody will the demonstrations be, and will they lead to a coup? If there’s a coup, who and what ends up on top?
No good answers to any of that yet.
Terrible, and terrifyingly destabilizing.
