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Analysis: U.S.-Pakistan Policy After Bhutto

Council on Foreign Relations

Updated: January 2, 2007
Author: Jayshree Bajoria

The assassination of Pakistan’s former prime minister and iconic opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, and the ensuing violence (NYT) there threatens the stability and the political future of the country. The United States had hoped for a deal between Bhutto and Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf, expecting that her return to power would lend legitimacy to Musharraf’s increasingly unpopular government. That plan died with Bhutto, and calls from President Bush for Pakistan to go ahead with a January 8 election also fell short, with the electoral commission announcing the vote will be delayed until February 18 (AP).

Options for Washington are limited. CFR Senior Fellow Daniel Markey looks at choices open to Washington in this new Policy Options Paper. He warns if major political parties boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections, “the United States will need to consider options for working with the army and civilian political leaders to manage the removal of President Musharraf.” But the situation remains quite fluid. Bhutto’s killing already has led to a backlash against Musharraf and the army and may even threaten Musharraf’s hold on power (Newsweek). The Guardian writes it is not clear what options the United States has, given its limited leverage with Pakistani citizens and their political leaders.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, like most political parties in the country, was anchored by her personally rather than a particular ideology. As this Backgrounder explains, Pakistan’s democratic institutions lack roots, and it is unclear how deeply Bhutto’s sympathy for the United States runs in the second tier of PPP leadership or in other parties.

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

Copyright 2008 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.