Pakistan: US policy after Musharraf, Islam and the West, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and the West

Pakistan: US policy after Musharraf

By Teresita Schaffer

General Pervez Musharraf's resignation after nearly nine years at Pakistan's helm should take the brakes off the transition to an elected Government. This is good news for a country whose political institutions have nearly suffocated under years of military-dominated Governments. It is not the end of Pakistan's political crisis, but it gives the United States an opportunity to recalibrate US-Pakistan relations without the complication of the personal connection with Gen Musharraf.

The US Administration was slow to realise that Gen Musharraf was no longer capable of being the face of US-Pakistan relations. It continued to see him as a 'factor for stability' even after he had been decisively rejected in the elections and had lost control of the machinery of Pakistan's Government. But in the weeks prior to his exit, the Bush Administration made clear its intention to let Gen Musharraf's future play out according to Pakistan's political dynamics. So, more importantly, did the Pakistani Army.

Now Pakistan needs to come to grips with its urgent problems, and the US needs to help it do so. This will require determination and sophistication in dealing with an elected Government and a population that blames the US for many of its problems. It will also require some attention to the long-term reforms that the country has needed for decades.

http://newageislam.com/pakistan--us-policy-after-musharraf/islam-and-the-west/d/693