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Analysis: Pakistan's Tricky Transition

Council on Foreign Relations

November 29, 2007
Author: Jayshree Bajoria

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has stepped down as army chief and is set to rule as a civilian president (WashPost) for the next five years. On December 16, he is also expected to lift the state of emergency (BBC) he imposed earlier this month before parliamentary elections set for early January. But questions remain over the country’s transition to a viable democratic system in which the judiciary, media, and civil society can function freely. Concerns also linger over the power vested in the army and what role the new army chief will play, given the history of army chiefs’ interference in politics.

Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, two former prime ministers returned from exile, remain Pakistan’s most prominent political leaders. Yet they are tainted in the public eye. Both are tied to charges of corruption and Bhutto’s image has been tarnished for her aborted attempt to enter a power-sharing deal with Musharraf. The United States, Musharraf’s main international backer, had been hoping Bhutto could provide the democratic face to Pakistan’s politics. Sharif’s past alliances with Islamist parties as well as his reluctance to partner with the United States in the past worries Washington (WSJ).

They remain divided on the issue of whether they should participate in January’s elections. So far, Bhutto seems to be leaning toward having her Pakistan People's Party run in the upcoming polls, while Sharif's faction of the Pakistan Muslim League is leaning toward boycotting (Newsweek.com) the vote if the emergency is not lifted.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2007 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.