TERROR strikes at Pakistans heart - KARACHI CRIES

May 12: Karachi cries after the horrendous attack on its denizens. No words can adequately describe the senseless and tragic attack on the the City of lights. The pulse of the nation. This city has seen many tragedies - from Bomb blasts to sectarian riots, but never something this outrageous, not to mention a planned attack on the city by a select few pro/anti government elements. Who were theses f**kers, what was there bloody objective?

Unaiza Naseem a blogger titled her post at Karachi Metroblogging as "Bandar Ka Tamasha" (Translated as Monkey's Show). Take a look at the following photos by a Jamal Shamsi - Bandar Ka Tamasha indeed it is...insanity at its hight if not vandalism of public property. The crowds appear to be cheering at a group of ruffians attempting to tare apart a KESC truck - this is pathetic, and sickening.

Moving on All-Things-Pakistan has as usual done a phenomenal compilation of the days event, though perhaps not a complete one. But then does anyone know the entire reasoning behind these horrendous terror attacks?

Further we have some extremely enraged Karachiites speaking out in disgust, take one Furshid a web developer by profession has posted on his blog: "Karachi situation and opinions about it" . An extremely expressive blog this is - he has attempted to portray the rage of the average Karachi denizen. How dare these hooligans violate our beloved Karachi.

Most of the blogs on Pakistan's blogosphere depict the anger and rage of the average Karachiite. A deliberate attempt, perhaps by a select few power mongers attempting to silence a highly vocal opposition force.

You can read the mainstream press they will tell you that this was all to prevent the ousted Chief Justice Iftiqhar Chuadry from delivering his speech at the Sindh High Court in Karachi.
Which prompts one to ask:prevented by whom? Naturally the only place the finger can be pointed to is the Musharraf lot. But then what about the MQM how do they fit in? Didn't the MQM officially claim to support the ousted Chief Justice? But then it they appear to be the ones on the offensive - so whats going on? What is the real picture - is what the average Karachiite, blogger and web user has been trying to figure out. From ranting and venting pieces of the larger puzzle are slowly trickling in.

What about the police - according to the mainstream media, particularly a report on AAJ TV the police were on the sidelines observing, yet taking no God dam preventive measures.

The general talk from the street is that these attacks were planned and orchestrated well in advance. Though to what ends? Was there any clear objective? Who are the benefactors? Are all questions people are asking - from the mainstream press to the individual blogger and Karachiite.

Amidst all this we find a report by Daily Times quoting Musharraf "The People are with me", a subscribed from the AOPP Pakeditor mailing list commented, and I quote:

"What a shame? President of a country, in uniform, supposed to be above politics as an Army Chief as well as President, boasting about a drama and not feeling remorseful of what happened because of their stupid rallies for show of strength .I strongly feel cases of murder should be registered against President Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz, Goverment of Sindh and all others responsible for allowing such a massacre.If it was some responsible nation, such an incidence would not go uninvestigated and unpunished."--M.A.

Yet within the chaos, confusion and anger there is a glimmer of hope a Karachi trait indeed where Ejaz Asi, a fellow blogger has designed a banner "I Love Karachi" which has fast become popular throughout the World Wide Web.

Ejaz Asi's reason for creating this banner is easily found on his blog, reprinted below:

Why I created these Banners?
In my understanding, Love is ever too great and powerful and forgiving as to let go of your false ego, your fears and insecurities. When you say I love Karachi, you are determined to seek every possible way to keep your city healthy, peaceful, good place to live and grow together etc… That’s the idea of Love towards your city, people and country, of course.

Loving Karachi, in my sincerest hopes, will instill a pride among its users to bring about a positive and healthy change and most importantly “tolerance” towards others. The stronger your tolerance level will be, the weaker your enemies’ ambitions and their cruel natures will succumb to the democracy of people and their deepest desire of living happily and freely without any fear.

When I say, I Love Karachi, I make an oath to myself, I make a commitment to myself that I will not let any negative force come between my integrity, my right of freedom and respect and my inalienable right of happiness and the prosperity of my city. That was the general idea, which, thanks to you, have come into words now.

P.S. An idea of possible car-stickers and t-shirts is also there. It’s only a matter of time and continuous motivation that you shall soon see them live.

Indeed Love is the most contagious of all human attributes. Love can overpower hate, and anger. I would personally call on all Karachiites and Friends of Karachi to take Ejaz Asi on his proposal to spread the Love around, show your fellow Citizens how much you care about your beloved City. Lets use to the POWER of LOVE to diffuse an already volatile situation. Build Karachi don't Destroy it needs to be our motto. Make it heard loud and clear.

This day, the 12th day of May 2007 will be remembered as a sad day for Pakistan. A pitiful day as one subscriber to the SV-PAK list described in the following poem:

Pity the Nation

"My friends and my road-fellows, ( even if you don't live near Share-ra-Faisal )
pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.

"Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave,
eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine
that flows not from its own winepress.

"Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and
that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.

"Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral,
boasts not except among its ruins, and
will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.

"Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox,
whose philosopher is a juggler,
and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.

"Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with
trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only
to welcome another with trumpetings again.

"Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment
deeming itself a nation.

"Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.

Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and
whose strong men are yet in the cradle. Khalil GibranThe garden of the
Prophet (1934 )http://www.quotewor ld.org/category/ men/author/ kahlil-gibran

--By Kidwai @ SV-PAK

Long Live Karachi - the City of Lights, the City of Life!

Copyright C. Abdulrahman Rafiq 2007

HardBall..To BE or NOT to BE...

Are Mush and Pinky actually being led by the uncertainty principle? Therein resides the fate of 160M+ people? Who will lead them? The Wadira Shahi's, Generals or is it Heisenberg, in whom rests the fate of a 160M+ people?

"Top emissaries of President General Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto have finalized a draft of a deal between their bosses, Daily Times has learnt." [Click to Read further]
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"Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad on Monday claimed that contacts between the government and the Pakistan People’s Party had entered the ‘final round’, but State Information Minister Tariq Azeem ruled out the possibility of any deal," [Click to Read further]
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"The PPP on Monday denied that party chairwoman Benazir Bhutto had told Sunday Times that she would back President Musharraf’s attempt to get re-elected through the present assemblies. PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.." [Click to Read Further]
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" In an interview to The Sunday Times, she also confirmed that the PPP was in "negotiations'' with President Parvez Musharraf on working together in case her party won the elections, proposed to be held later this year." [Click to Read Further]
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"She showered praise on Musharraf for his policies to protect minorities and women. Benazir was convinced that Musharraf would secure a second term as president by seeking re-election from the current parliament. However, she said it would be difficult to work with the general in case she becomes prime minister." [Click to Read Further]
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Back-channel talks between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto have reached the "final stage" and the "good news" would be announced soon, Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Monday. [Click to Read Further]

Copyright C. Abdulrahman Rafiq (ARR)

BHUTTO-MUSHARRAF Alliance ...warding off TALIBAN sympathizers

Is this possible? A Bhutto-Musharraf alliance, joining forces to defeat the Taliban'ites from the political arena. Sounds like a a great idea, perhaps the next best thing. Not only for Musharraf and Benazir but for Pakistan in general. According to the TimesOnline article Marriage of necessity men the least-wort option,

It does not look as though Bhutto is about to be prime minister again; under the Constitution, no one can serve a third term. But if Musharraf could strike a deal with her party, that would tackle some of the worst threats. It would mark an end to his dangerous courtship of the religious parties, which has boosted their influence above their natural level of support. It would also require him to step down as head of the Army.

It is hardly a done deal. But in a very difficult year for Pakistan, the possibility of the President bringing a large, secular political party into the centre of power is one of the few encouraging signs.

Though, then it may be wishful thinking on the part of the TimesOnline. As in a report in the HindustanTimes Musharraf says he introduced real democracy in Pak it appears like there may not be any such alliance taking place in the very near future.

As to the rumour about Musharraf stepping down from the post of Chief of Army Staff (COAS), it may end up taking permanent place in Rumors Galore, "Though I am in uniform, I have introduced real democracy in the country. Those who were in civil dress did nothing for democracy. My government worked for women rights and gave them authority," said Musharraf.

Further the following statement by the General is indicative to the fact there is no intention on his part to relinquish his Uniform Musharraf said he was concerned that his uniform was the chief subject and target of criticism of his adversaries, but vowed to serve the country whether he was in uniform or not.

With such a stance such an alliance may not be possible, Bhutto quoted by the Ireland On-Line Bhutto acknowledged having talks with Pakistan's government, but said the resignation was essential before her party entered any political pact.....she said: "PPP will not accept anyone in uniform."

The ultimate decision may very well rest on the issue of Musharraf letting go of the uniform or not? As Bhutto appears adamant on this point....thus we find that one again Pakistan's fate hangs in the balance.



Copyright C. Abdulrahman Rafiq (ARR)

Benazir's new book has some startling revelations

I wont dispute the content of the latest chapter to her book, perhaps there is some truth in it. As it does tend to go along with what I personally have heard and read. However, the very timing with which this revised autobiography has been published is yet another sign that confirms the rumors galore that Musharraf is definitely on his way out. Starting with the changing of guard at GHQ to changes of guards upon Constitution Avenue.

The cats out of the bag, it is not a case of how but when the the the Islamabad over haul will take place. The strategically placed pawns have been set in motion, the game has begun. Get ready for a bumpy, yet fascinating ride through the the melodrama of Pakistani politics.

[The following has been cross-posted from the sv-pak list]

SV-PAK member wrote

Benazir's new book has some startling revelations

By Mariana Baabar IN a revised edition of her autobiography, Benazir Bhutto's "Daughter of the East", which has been released in bookshops in London this week, some startling revelations have been made. According to 'Outlook', which is carrying the entire new chapter, the revised autobiography had not been published before, and the preface and this chapter was specially written for the revised edition of the book, now available on bookshelves. "Revision of the old book was necessary because many momentous developments had taken place in the life of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto during the last two decades", Farhatullah Babar, spokesman for the PPP told The News. 'Daughter of the East' was first published by Hamish Hamilton in 1988. The revised edition has been issued by Simon & Schuster, who also published Musharraf's autobiography last year. The new edition has a preface and a new chapter, 'Prime Minister and Beyond', which contains sensational revelations, providing an insight into the mindset of the Pakistani military and the ISI. Benazir records in detail her conversation with Pervez Musharraf in 1996 when she was prime minister in her second term, and Musharraf, director of military operations as major-general: "I once again heard how Pakistan would take Srinagar if only I gave the orders to do so. Musharraf concluded the briefing with the words that a ceasefire would be in place and Pakistan would be in control of Srinagar, the capital of Indian-held Kashmir. I asked him, 'And what next?í He was surprised by my question, and said, 'Next we will put the flag of Pakistan on the Srinagar Parliament'. "'And what next?' I asked the general. "'Next you will go to the United Nations and tell them that Srinagar is in Pakistan's control'. "'And what next?' I pushed on. I could see General Musharraf had not been prepared for this grilling and was getting flustered. He said, 'And you will tell them to change the map of the world taking into consideration the new geographical realities'. "'And do you know what the United Nations will tell me?' I looked General Musharraf straight in the eye, as the army chief sat silently by and the room grew still, and pointedly said, 'They will pass a Security Council Resolution condemning us and demanding that we unilaterally withdraw from Srinagar, and we will have got nothing for our efforts but humiliation and isolation.' I then abruptly ended the meeting." That was the second time an offer to conquer Kashmir was made. Benazir writes she had earlier received "offers" for Pakistan to take over Srinagar during her first term as prime minister from December 2, 1988 to August 6, 1990. Then Indian prime minister VP Singh had told her that Pakistan was arming and training terrorists in Kashmir, an accusation she denied. "What I did not mention was the offer I received from the Afghan Arabs and the Pakistan militant groups in 1990. Using the good offices of the ISI, they informed me that 'one hundred thousand battle-hardened mujahideen were willing to go into Kashmir to assist the Kashmiri freedom movement and somehow were confident about defeating the much larger Indian Army. Knowing that any such transnational support would hurt rather than help the Kashmiri people, I vetoed the idea." Then army chief General Aslam Beg had, she said, asked her to approve a new policy. "He said that if Islamabad went on 'offensive defence', it could capture Srinagar...General Beg told me, 'Prime Minister, you just give the order and your men will take Srinagar and you will wear the crown of victory and of glory.' I thought he had lost all sense of reality." Benazir makes clear she never liked or respected Musharraf. When she was prime minister, she writes, "I declined to make him (Musharraf) my military secretary. We initially refused his promotion because of his suspected though unproven links to the ethnic, often violent party known as the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM)." Equally revealing in her account is what the ISI and the military believed it can do, and presumably still does: they do not just want Kashmir, they want Afghanistan as well. Benazir okayed an ISI proposal during the days of the Najibullah regime in Afghanistan for the Pakistani military to take Kabul alongside the mujahideen. "When I insisted that we explore a peaceful, orderly transfer of power in Kabul with Shevardnadze (then Soviet foreign minister), my intelligence chief said, 'Prime Minister, will you deny your men and the Afghan mujahideen the right to march victoriously into Kabul and pray in the Masjid together after all the sacrifices they have made?' This emotional plea worked...surely the Afghan parties and our military boys deserved to validate their victory with a triumphal entry into Kabul, which I was assured would take place within days." It never happened, and soon the intelligence boys came back to her, suggesting a joining of Pakistan and Afghanistan so that 'there will be no borders between us'. Benazir writes: "I rejected the idea of a confederation with Afghanistan.íThis will give the Indians an excuse to intervene in Afghanistan. And without American, Saudi and Iranian support it will land us in bigger trouble,' I replied." But support and money was coming to madrassas and the ISI all through the days of Ziaul Haq's dictatorship, Benazir writes. "Fund-raising activities across the Muslim world were established where the faithful would make contributions for education, health and food for the poor and needy. The money went into the political madrassas that claimed they were teaching and feeding the orphans from the refugee camps, but in fact were proselytising hatred and terrorism. International funds poured in but were diverted to the ISI headquarters." Not unlike what the Indian government has been saying for years. One exchange gives some idea of the power of the ISI in relation to the Pakistan government. The ISI head, she says, proposed an intelligence corps to ensure continuity, make sure that all senior appointments are screened through the ISI so as to maintain security control to defend the ideological frontiers of the country. Benazir writes: "I was being asked to authorise and legitimise the creation of 'a state within a state' that would manipulate every aspect of life in Pakistan, including subsequent elections. I refused. However, after my overthrow, the interim prime minister brought by the ISI, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, put their scheme in place." Fighting off the ISI also meant taking on Osama bin Laden. "Although Osama bin Laden had not yet formed al-Qaeda in 1989, I first heard his name when he funded a no-confidence bill to overthrow my first government. Though he had returned to Saudi Arabia following the withdrawal of the Soviets in February 1989, he was called back to Pakistan when I asserted authority over the ISI in May. Bin Laden was asked by the ISI, with whom he had long and close relations, to help overthrow the democratic government and install a theocratic rule in Pakistan." Osama, she said, paid $10 million to buy off her political supporters. "Around this time I received a report that a Saudi plane had landed in Pakistan loaded with mango boxes. Since Saudi Arabia grows dates and not mangoes, we were quite suspicious. The civilian intelligence found that the boxes did not contain mangoes but rather money." One of the Saudi King's advisers, she said, "identified the source of the money as Osama bin Laden". And then: "I went to the US Embassy and personally called President George Bush (Sr). I told the president that the military hardliners who had supported the mujahideen were attempting to bring down my government with the help of extremists and that foreign money was pouring into Pakistan." She writes elsewhere that she was often hesitant to use her own phone because it was tapped by the ISI. Benazir lost the elections in August 1990. "I believe that the age of the terrorist war actually coincided with the conclusion of the Pakistani elections in 1990 and the formation of the Nawaz regime." The ISI, she writes, chose Ramzi Yusef, who planned the first attack on the World Trade Centre in 1993, to assassinate her during her election campaign that year. He failed, and "was extradited, on my order, to the United States". That was after Benazir was elected prime minister for the second time that year, and found herself, she says, taking on the extremists again. "I really do think that there is at least some degree of causality that most major terrorist attacks took place when the extremists did not have to deal with a democratic Pakistani government...this includes both the 1993 and 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre, the Bombay blasts, the Indian Parliament attack, the attack on the US embassies in Africa and the USS Cole in Yemen." Her government was dismissed for the second time on November 4, 1996. That, she said, brought in Nawaz Sharif. "Under Nawaz, the Taliban changed colour and character. They killed Iranian diplomats and allowed Bin Laden, in 1998, to declare war on the West from their (Afghanistan) soil." But Nawaz's "marriage of convenience" with the military and ISI did not last long. "They ostensibly fell out over fighting in the area known as Kargil, both blaming the other for the misadventure." Pakistan suffered heavy casualties, she said. "An army-connected friend informed me that the dead bodies of soldiers were kept in frozen lockers and released in small tranches to prevent the news spreading of the high casualties inflicted during the conflict." She sees Musharraf continuing the support to terrorism, though he's been trying to convince the international community that "he was the only obstacle in the way of a fundamentalist take-over of nuclear armed Pakistan", Benazir writes. "Tragically, there are still some that once again have bought into this charade." She adds, "The militant cells, meantime, are intact." Finally, Benazir writes: "So as I prepare to return to an uncertain future in Pakistan in 2007, I fully understand the stakes not only for myself, and my country, but the entire world. I realise I can be arrested...I can be gunned down on the airport tarmac when I land." But return she will, she says. "I do what I have to do, and am determined to fulfil my pledge to the people of Pakistan to stand by them in their democratic aspirations...Democracy in Pakistan is not just important for Pakistanis, it is important for the entire world."

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Copyright (c) Abdulrahman Rafiq (ARR)

Musharraf's Dillema...[Part 1]

The Recent protests challenging President Musharraf's authority have conjured up rumor after rumor with very little fact, or are there facts to back up all the rumors out there? This post is an attempt try and separate the fact from fiction.

Following are a number of news articles and blog posts gathered from the internet.

The RabitaZone (The RZone) will continue to monitor the situation in Pakistan and post any new data we learn. If any of our readership come across any thing new you may submit this via email or feel free to comment to this post.

===NEWS FLASH:

Chief of Lal Masjid gives one month deadline to govt for closure ...
PakTribune.com - Pakistan
We have not forced the owners of video shops to close down their business nor our students have taken such step, he underlined." ...

Protesters urge Pakistan's president to step down
Vancouver Sun (subscription) - Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada
ISLAMABAD -- Thousands of flag-waving protesters rallied at Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday to urge President Pervez Musharraf to step down for ...

Musharraf under siege: Endgame for Pakistan’s Military Regime
Asian Tribune - Bangkok,Thailand
In the unlikely eventuality that Musharraf heeds the call to step down as COAS, he will follow in Zia’s footsteps and continue as Pakistan’s de facto ruler. ...


US Congress team meets Nawaz
LONDON, March 31: A four-member delegation of the US Congress met former prime minister Nawaz Sharif here on Saturday to what PML-N sources said get Mr Sharif's assessment of the ongoing political turmoil in Pakistan....


Baloch asks Musharraf to step down http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=110429

Also see PublicGyna blog
http://www.publicgyan.com/blog/?p=45

U.S. Impatient with Musharraf http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_22219-US-Impatient-With-Musharraf.html

Blog: Battle brews over Military Rule
http://johnib.wordpress.com/2007/04/02/battle-brews-over-rule-by-military-in-pakistan/

Blog: BB coming back to Pakistan
http://www.themuslimwoman.org/entry/bhutto-coming-back-to-pakistan-is-the-province-ready-to-welcome-her/

CBS News: Musharraf a Problamatic Ally
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/29/terror/main2623620.shtml
CSM: Pakistan: US Ally, US dilemma
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070329/ts_csm/apaki_1


Copyright (c) 2007 Abdulrahman Rafiq (ARR)
The RabitaZone, The RZone are copyright trademarks of Abdulrahman Rafiq (2007)

Fwd: [pakeditor] Pakistan's Silent Majority Is Not to Be Feared - NYTIMES - THE GREAT GAME CONTINUES....

An Excellent piece by Mohsin Hamid. Indeed he is one the many Pakistanis who believed in Musharraf, but are now utterly disappointed. Many of us in the past went so far as to defend his policies claiming that finally Pakistan has gotten a leader who has put the best interest of the country before his/her own. Indeed this is what he portrayed when he first annexed the reigns of government from the "democratically" elected representative.

How naive could we have been, the writing was on the wall all around us. The pawns were being put in place, Musharraf but one of the many pawns in the Great Game played in recent years by imperialistic powers in South Asia and the greater Central Asian region.

So now whats next? Madam Pinky is it to be you, or who? Who will it be that convinces the powers that they are the next best thing for Pakistan, that they have the solution to regional stability? And so the Game continues - a Game it is indeed, a struggle for controlling a region that are considered "Emerging Markets" by some, or seen by others as a source of immense wealth, fueling economies around the world.

-ARR

[The article was initialed posted to pakeditor@yahoogroups.com]

Copyright (c) 2007 Abdulrahman Rafiq

Syed Asif Alam <asifalam@aopp.org> wrote:

To: editor@aopp.org
From: Syed Asif Alam <asifalam@aopp.org>
Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2007 16:07:29 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [pakeditor] Pakistan¢s Silent Majority Is Not to Be Fe
ared - NYTIMES

March 27, 2007

Op-Ed Contributor

Pakistan's Silent Majority Is Not to Be Feared

By MOHSIN HAMID

London

I WAS one of the few Pakistanis who actually voted for Gen. Pervez Musharraf in the rigged referendum of 2002. I recall walking into a polling station in Islamabad and not seeing any other voter. When I took the time required to read the convoluted ballot, I was accosted by a man who had the overbearing attitude of a soldier although he was in civilian clothes. He insisted that I hurry, which I refused to do. He then hovered close by, watching my every action, in complete defiance of electoral rules.

Despite this intimidation, I still voted in favor of the proposition that General Musharraf, who had seized power in a coup in 1999, should continue as Pakistan's president for five more years. I believed his rule had brought us much-needed stability, respite from the venal and self-serving elected politicians who had misgoverned Pakistan in the 1990s, and a more free and vibrant press than at any time in the country's history.

The outcome of the referendum — 98 percent support for General Musharraf from an astonishing 50 percent turnout — was so obviously false that even he felt compelled to disown the exercise.

Rigged elections rankle, of course. But since then, secular, liberal Pakistanis like myself have seen many benefits from General Musharraf's rule. My wife was an actress in "Jutt and Bond," a popular Pakistani sitcom about a Punjabi folk hero and a debonair British agent. Her show was on one of the many private television channels that have been permitted to operate in the country, featuring everything from local rock music to a talk show whose host is a transvestite.

My sister, a journalism lecturer in Lahore, loves to tell me about the enormous growth in recent years in university financing, academic salaries and undergraduate enrollment. And my father, now retired but for much of his career a professor of economics, says he has never seen such a dynamic and exciting time in Pakistani higher education.

But there have been significant problems under General Musharraf, too. Pakistan has grown increasingly divided between the relatively urban and prosperous regions that border India and the relatively rural, conservative and violent regions that border Afghanistan. The two mainstream political parties have historically bridged that divide and vastly outperformed religious extremists in free elections, but under General Musharraf they have been marginalized in a system that looks to one man for leadership.

What many of us hoped was that General Musharraf would build up the country's neglected institutions before eventually handing over power to a democratically elected successor. Those hopes were dealt a serious blow two weeks ago, when he suspended the chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

For General Musharraf, Justice Chaudhry had become a major irritant. He had opened investigations into government "disappearances" of suspects in the war on terrorism. He had blocked the showcase privatization of the national steel mill. He had, in other words, demonstrated that he would not do General Musharraf's bidding. With elections due later this year, and challenges to irregularities like the rigging that took place in 2002 likely to end up in the Supreme Court, an independent chief justice could jeopardize General Musharraf's continued rule.

Like many Pakistanis, I knew little about Justice Chaudhry except that he had a reputation for being honest, and that under his leadership, the Supreme Court had reduced its case backlog by 60 percent. His suspension seemed a throwback to the worst excesses of the government that General Musharraf's coup had replaced, and it galvanized protests by the nation's lawyers and opposition parties, including rallies of thousands in several of Pakistan's major cities yesterday.

More troubling still was the phone call I received recently from a friend who works for Geo, one of Pakistan's leading independent television channels. The government had placed enormous pressure on Geo to stop showing the demonstrations in support of Justice Chaudhry, and the channel had refused to comply. When my friend told me that policemen had broken into Geo's offices, smashed its equipment and beaten up the staff, I felt utterly betrayed by the man I had voted for.

Despite his subsequent apology for the Geo incident, General Musharraf now appears to be more concerned with perpetuating his rule than with furthering the cause of "enlightened moderation" that he had claimed to champion. He has never been particularly popular, but he is now estranging the liberals who previously supported his progressive ends if not his autocratic means. People like me are realizing that the short-term gains from even a well-intentioned dictator's policies can be easily reversed.

General Musharraf must recognize that his popularity is dwindling fast and that the need to move toward greater democracy is overwhelming. The idea that a president in an army uniform will be acceptable to Pakistanis after this year's elections is becoming more and more implausible.

The United States has provided enormous financial and political support to General Musharraf's government, but it has focused on his short-term performance in the war on terror. America must now take a long-term view and press General Musharraf to reverse his suspension of the chief justice and of Pakistan's press freedoms. He should be encouraged to see that he cannot cling to power forever.

Pakistan is both more complicated and less dangerous than America has been led to believe. General Musharraf has portrayed himself as America's last line of defense in an angry and dangerous land. In reality, the vast majority of Pakistanis want nothing to do with violence. When thousands of cricket fans from our archenemy, India, wandered about Pakistan unprotected for days in 2004, not one was abducted or killed. At my own wedding two years ago, a dozen Americans came, disregarding State Department warnings. They, too, spent their time in Pakistan without incident.

Yes, there are militants in Pakistan. But they are a small minority in a country with a population of 165 million. Religious extremists have never done well in elections when the mainstream parties have been allowed to compete fairly. Nor does the Pakistan Army appear to be in any great danger of falling into radical hands: by all accounts the commanders below General Musharraf broadly agree with his policies.

An exaggerated fear of Pakistan's people must not prevent America from realizing that Pakistanis are turning away from General Musharraf. By prolonging his rule, the general risks taking Pakistan backward and undermining much of the considerable good that he has been able to achieve. The time has come for him to begin thinking of a transition, and for Americans to realize that, scare stories notwithstanding, a more democratic Pakistan might be better not just for Pakistanis but for Americans as well.

Mohsin Hamid is the author of "Moth Smoke" and the forthcoming novel "The Reluctant Fundamentalist."

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