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Extremists threaten fledgling democracy
| The author is trying to convince us that things could get worse in Pakistain. I suppose that's possible ... |
Pakistan's 2008 election marked a historic turnaround after years of military rule but the fledgling democracy is mired in record violence and accusations it is a breeding ground for terrorism.
| The "fledgling democracy" is the same old oligarchy of kleptocrats that the military threw out. It's not a change, it's a pendulum swing. They've "Mr. Ten Percent" as president in preference to having Uncle Fester, who's on the side of the Islamists. |
Pakistan entered 2008 on a wave of international sympathy following the December 27 assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.
| Benazir was tossed for Gomez' financial depredations as much as for anything else. And they couldn't come up with an alternative to her when it was election time. Politix is dynastic everywhere -- witness our own Kennedies and Bushes and Daleys -- but some dynasties are better than others. |
Twelve months on, the country is battling a huge increase in violence and is once again accused of being a haven for terrorists in the wake of the devastating Mumbai siege.
| That'll happen with a "government of national unity" like Zardari started out with. Having to accomodate Nawaz, there was a push to declare peace in the tribal lands, whether the tribals stopped shooting our not. Recent events show that the accomodation with the military and with ISI is back in place, with another coup probably five years in the future when the next falling out occurs. |
Analysts say Pakistan's new democratic government under President Asif Ali Zardari has failed to capitalise on international support to tackle the insurgency plaguing the country.
| Pakistain has a democratic government? Since when? |
| They still haven't stopped trying to use their Frankenstein's monster as a tool. The oligarchy, the monster, and the military all have different ideas about who's really in charge. |
"There was international sympathy when the year ended last year but now we seem to have been isolated again," political scientist Rasul Baksh Rais told AFP. "(Instead) the same extremist forces are so much emboldened that they have the capacity to a cause a conflict between India and Pakistan," Rais said.
| So emboldened, in fact, they had the ISI and the navy provide training to the krazed killers. |
Rais said the ousting of former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf in August marked a 'momentous turning point' for Pakistan. Instead, 2008 saw a rise in suicide attacks, widely seen as retaliation for army operations against Al Qaeda-linked terrorists in the Tribal Areas.
| Yes, it was a turning point all right ... |
A fresh standoff with nuclear-powered neighbour India over the Mumbai attacks, which New Delhi blames on Pakistani elements, poses a further threat to a nation already reeling from record violence.
Analysts warn that if the Pak-India tensions descend into outright hostility, democracy could collapse. "The whole thing might collapse and in that case anything can happen," political analyst Shafqat Mahmood said. "And the army has always been a contender in politics."
| If Pakistaini democracy collapsed would anyone notice? |
Pakistan has also been hit by rising inflation and a sharp decline in its international reserves over the past year as terror attacks, the insurgency in the northwest and the global financial turmoil took their toll.
Posted by: Fred 2008-12-08 |
