Daily Times, Pervez Musharraf and China

Let us be clear about how the forces are stacked at the moment before we jump to any conclusions. The PMLN and President Musharraf are true foes in the sense that they can’t share power under any circumstances. The PPP is in the middle, it wants the president to go but it doesn’t want the PMLN to gain advantage out of it, and thus far it has been trying to survive by balancing one off against the other. The ANP has its hands full in combating terrorism in its province and needs the army and ISI on its right side. The JUIF is looking over its shoulder to see which way the wind blows. So we have the President, Army, ISI, MQM and PMLQ on one side, fully united, and the PMLN, the PPP, the lawyers’ movement and most Pakistanis on the other, with one critical qualification — the lawyers’ movement is fatigued and lacks the potency of last year, while “the people” are not ready to risk their necks for their anti-Musharraf beliefs. The Supreme Court, ANP and JUIF are seemingly in the middle but their short term interests are more likely to be tilted in favour of the former than the latter.

If President Musharraf cancels his China visit, it will mean he takes this threat seriously and is going to quickly rally his forces. If he shrugs and goes to China, it will mean he isn’t worried. Daily Times