During an interview with CNN on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Pakistani premier Parvez Musharraf criticised the west of not understanding his country’s inherent problems. In an outright angry statement the controversial leader has been quoted as saying,
Why doesn’t it understand that we may be are a developing country, we have our flaws, we believe in constitution, we know how to run government, we are not such clueless people who do not know how to run a country, we have our own brains. Unfortunately there is a degree of, may I say, intellectual arrogance that I see in the West which thinks that these developing countries are some kind of people who do not know how to govern, they do not know anything.
The question then arises, will President Musharraf back his critical words by proving the West wrong in judging his leadership? February 18 is a critical day for the under pressure former army chief. The elections could provide a clearer picture of Pakistan’s immediate future and with it would determine Musharraf’s credibility.
It is a fact that the Pakistani people have lost faith in their President, particularly after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. With a declining support base, President Musharraf has his eyes firmly set on the west to rally some of the support in his favour. Those critical statements against some sections of the western world are ways of influencing the European Union and the United States to lend more support to his faltering leadership. The militancy across Pakistan’s troubled tribal regions are gaining grounds by the passing of each day and Pakistani troops are facing unbearable resistance in controlling the spate of violence. Suicide bombings have become common occurences in Pakistani streets and the economy is being hit hard. Mr.President, for your kind information, this is a concern to the west and particularly to the Europeans, who feel instability in Pakistan is harming thousands of NATO troops based in Afghanistan and Brussels feels if Pakistan fails to eradicate Islamic fundamentalism, streets of Europe would be engulfed with uncertainty and radical violence.
One thing is clear, Pakistan alone cannot tackle this menace. Musharraf is aware of the domestic dangers in taking US help in tackling terrorism in his country, but to be fair at this moment it looks the only way in achieving some sort of success in the battle against tribal Taliban and Al Qaeda. Washington has offered Islamabad of joint missions inside Pakistani territory to pursue militants and keep the nuclear weapons in safe hands. Truly, it is a difficult decision to ponder upon by the Pakistani strongman. But sometimes hard decisions could prove to be momentous in the long-term. As of now, the world looks forward to the elections on February 18 and hopes that the country returns to full normalcy which can only be achieved by a complete civilian rule.
Source Link: CNN
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