Cracks widen beneath Musharraf's pro-US platform

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As Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf heads towards an election that is expected to secure him another five-year term, his alliance with the United States in the war on terror is increasingly alienating members of his cabinet and the ruling party. In remarks well received by the opposition, a prominent member of the Musharraf-approved cabinet, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Sher Afgan Niazi, told a parliamentary session in Islamabad recently that it would be a "mistake to consider the Unites States as a trusted ally."
Niazi condemned recently passed US legislation linking aid to Pakistan with its performance in counter-terrorism as insulting and demanded that "we must return and refuse to accept such assistance."
Other members of the ruling Pakistani Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) have expressed outrage at the bill adopted by Congress and the stated intention of US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to authorise unilateral strikes against al-Qaeda and Taliban targets in Pakistan's tribal areas if he is elected next year.
The last straw for many in Musharraf's ranks was a comment by a Republican candidate Tom Tancredo that the US should attack Muslim holy sites in the event of nuclear terrorism on its soil.
Two weeks ago, Tanveer Hussain, PML-Q member and Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, even urged the government to end its "fictitious love affair" with the US and back the Taliban instead.
Although generally defending foreign policy, State Minister for Environment Malik Aslam joined calls for a rejection of US aid and said Parliament should pass a bill to identify the limits of the so-called Pak-US friendship.
"It's an embarrassment for the government that its own people do not endorse its policies, especially the main one of counter-terrorism," defence analyst Hassan Rizvi said.
But he added that some of the remarks are more patriotic posturing than open revolt as politicians prepare for parliamentary polls that are due before the end of the year or in early 2008.
Since Pakistan sided with the US after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks - largely owing to US threats to "bomb it back to the Stone Age" if it didn't - the country is thought to have received more than 10 billion US dollars in military aid and around half as much in civil assistance.
Islamabad is now a regular stop for senior US officials as they try to tighten up border control and stop infiltration into Afghanistan by Taliban militants and the al-Qaeda terrorist network, which US intelligence says is regrouping in Pakistan's tribal belt.
US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher recently described the relationship as "healthy and positive." But Pakistani politicians are generally irked by the "do more" mantra of visiting diplomats and also by the US decision to enter into a civil nuclear agreement with India instead of Pakistan.
While growing criticism over the US ties may not threaten Musharraf's planned re-election by the current parliamentary assemblies before October 15, the president has fended off suggestions that he is at the beck and call of the White House.
Speaking on the eve of Pakistan's August 14 celebration of 60 years of independence from British rule, he stressed that foreign policy decisions were not taken at the behest of any other country.
"We are not fighting terrorism and extremism for the sake of America, but we are confronting this menace in our own interest," said Musharraf, an army general who came to power in a coup in 1999. "I do not blindly pursue policies of others and see everything from Pakistan's point of view," he added.
Meanwhile, some commentators note that the "for or against" argument around the alliance with the US is misconstrued abroad as a direct struggle between moderates and extremists.
"Anti-Americanism is not synonymous with Islamic extremism," wrote the editor of the liberal Pakistani daily Dawn, Zaffar Abbas.
"Many liberal and moderate groups in the country and a large section of civil society remain opposed to American policies, ranging from its invasion of Iraq to its intervention in Afghanistan, its policy towards Iran, or its support for dictatorships in countries like Pakistan," he added.
Nonetheless, dissent within Musharraf's power base is reflective of the growing range of problems he has faced this year, from rising militant violence to mass protests over his suspension of the country's chief justice in March.
"This is part of a weakening of the president that is so obvious in all areas," defence analyst Talat Masood said. "It shows how divided (his supporters) are." — EARTHtimes.org