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Inside Pakistan's struggle for democracy.

Article Excerpt
The current democratic surge in Pakistan has shaken the government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf to its core. This surge was sparked in March when Musharraf fired the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Ninety thousand Pakistani barristers, drawn from more than 120 districts, took to the streets. This in turn converted the country's pent up passion for democracy into a revolt against Musharraf.

As many as ten million citizens poured onto the streets to greet the barristers' caravans in town after town and city after city. In their struggle, the barristers had the support of all political parties of the right, left and center, with center-right Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and center-left Pakistan People's Party (PPP)--listed alphabetically--in the lead. This struggle culminated in a landmark judicial ruling on July 20, in which 13 Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled to reinstate the Chief Justice.

In victory the barristers went back to their work, only to take to the streets again on September 6 to protest Musharraf's planned run for president in uniform. In their nation-wide marches that day, they pledged to continue what they called the "second phase of their struggle" for the restoration of democracy. Their slogan is "Ub Raj Kuray Gee Khalq-i-Khuda" (Urdu for "Now is People's Turn to Rule"). Faced with these challenges, Musharraf's hold on power is fast slipping.

In panic, he is contemplating every option to survive. On August 9, he was all set to declare an emergency rule, which would allow him to suspend the basic human rights and exempt his actions from judicial accountability. The U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called him at two a.m. (Pakistan Standard Time) to advise him to step back. [1] The U.S. encouraged him to broaden the base of his political support instead by sharing power with mass-based parties, such as Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which is headed by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

In fact the Bush administration has long been working behind-the-scenes to stitch an alliance between Ms Bhutto and Gen. Musharraf. [2] The administration apparently prefers Ms Bhutto's center-left PPP over center-right Pakistan Muslim League (PML) that is headed by Ms Bhutto's fellow former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The administration believes that Bhutto-Musharraf alliance can unite the moderate majority against gathering extremism in Pakistan.

Persuaded, and more importantly weakened, Musharraf heeded U.S. call. On July 27, he flew into Abu Dhabi to meet Ms Bhutto, where the two huddled for three-and-a-half hours to forge the terms of an agreement. It would allow Musharraf to retain the presidency for another five-year term, beginning in November of this year, and would give Ms Bhutto her safe passage to Pakistan after eight years in...