Pakistan goes to the polls Monday. Doubt exists about the possibility of free and fair elections..
The elections are of great concern to the free world because Taliban/Al Quaeda allies inside Pakistan, are seeking a pretext to push their agenda in a nation that has the only nuclear arsenal of the Muslim world. By that I am not suggesting that it’s a problem that Muslim’s have the bomb, per se, but the risk of nuclear weapons faling into the hands of militant ideologues, like the Taliban or Al Quaeda, is of real concern.
General Pervez Musharraf will stand for election as a citizen, but as the incumbent power he has substantial resources at his disposal to prejudice the electoral hopes of other candidates. With 65,000 polling stations it is very difficult for electoral observers to ensure fair play, so the rumors of vote rigging will be hard to preempt.
If Musharraf does win illegitimately, it is possible that life will just go on as normal anyway. But a backlash against his unpopular hold on power is inevitable. It could come now or later, but when it does it could put this peace-loving nation on a perilous path that would play right into the hands of Taliban/Al Quaeda sympathizers.
Regardless of how the elections turn out, a rigged vote is going to increase support for alternative views, although for now extremism still remains a non-option for most Pakistanis. Unfortunately for the extremists, they have not helped their cause by attacking civilian targets inside Pakistan. But, Musharraf remains a unifying force for all who are opposed to his rule and that factor would potentially provide common ground for extremist and more moderate groups.
The Pakistani foreign minister has said publicly that he believes the Taliban are winning the war in Afghanistan and has said that Pakistan will no longer intervene militarily in the region. They also believe that NATO forces should start withdrawing from that country. It means that the Taliban are regrouping and could influence radicals inside Pakistan or at least exploit any instability that will result from internal frustration with the political status quo.
I remain of the view that a crisis is in the making and that powerful forces could ultimately place Pakistan on a collision force with the west and with its powerful neighbors, India and China. As the sole custodian of nuclear weapons in the Islamic world, Pakistan is a big prize for political extremists and all who seek to destabilize the Middle East. A future crisis could provide the pretext for a biblically-predicted entrée into Middle Eastern politics by China. Such an outcome could be triggered by a serious threat to the status quo in the disputed Kashmir region, which is also the gateway to the Islamic Axis.
The elections are of great concern to the free world because Taliban/Al Quaeda allies inside Pakistan, are seeking a pretext to push their agenda in a nation that has the only nuclear arsenal of the Muslim world. By that I am not suggesting that it’s a problem that Muslim’s have the bomb, per se, but the risk of nuclear weapons faling into the hands of militant ideologues, like the Taliban or Al Quaeda, is of real concern.
General Pervez Musharraf will stand for election as a citizen, but as the incumbent power he has substantial resources at his disposal to prejudice the electoral hopes of other candidates. With 65,000 polling stations it is very difficult for electoral observers to ensure fair play, so the rumors of vote rigging will be hard to preempt.
If Musharraf does win illegitimately, it is possible that life will just go on as normal anyway. But a backlash against his unpopular hold on power is inevitable. It could come now or later, but when it does it could put this peace-loving nation on a perilous path that would play right into the hands of Taliban/Al Quaeda sympathizers.
Regardless of how the elections turn out, a rigged vote is going to increase support for alternative views, although for now extremism still remains a non-option for most Pakistanis. Unfortunately for the extremists, they have not helped their cause by attacking civilian targets inside Pakistan. But, Musharraf remains a unifying force for all who are opposed to his rule and that factor would potentially provide common ground for extremist and more moderate groups.
The Pakistani foreign minister has said publicly that he believes the Taliban are winning the war in Afghanistan and has said that Pakistan will no longer intervene militarily in the region. They also believe that NATO forces should start withdrawing from that country. It means that the Taliban are regrouping and could influence radicals inside Pakistan or at least exploit any instability that will result from internal frustration with the political status quo.
I remain of the view that a crisis is in the making and that powerful forces could ultimately place Pakistan on a collision force with the west and with its powerful neighbors, India and China. As the sole custodian of nuclear weapons in the Islamic world, Pakistan is a big prize for political extremists and all who seek to destabilize the Middle East. A future crisis could provide the pretext for a biblically-predicted entrée into Middle Eastern politics by China. Such an outcome could be triggered by a serious threat to the status quo in the disputed Kashmir region, which is also the gateway to the Islamic Axis.
(c) Peter Eleazar at http://www.bethelstone.com/
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