Tom Fudge: Yesterday was a very big day of news for the troubled country of Pakistan . President Pervez Musharraf resigned as the country's military ruler. He was sworn for a second term as president, and he announced that martial law in Pakistan would end in less than three weeks.
Musharaff seized power in Pakistan in a military coup in 1999. Two years later, Pakistan became an important ally of the United States in the War on Terror and the War in Afghanistan. But Musharraf's hold on power has always been precarious. In fact, members of the Pakistan Supreme Court were reviewing the legality of his re-election to the post of president just a few weeks ago. That's when Musharraf imposed martial law and placed several members of the Supreme Court under house arrest.
Today, two former prime ministers, who were in exile, are back in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif want to oust Musharraf from power. But it's still unclear whether they will boycott national elections early next year. What does all this mean? Well, the worst case scenario is that a significant U.S. ally in a very dangerous part of the world could descend into chaos. This is even more disturbing because Pakistan is a country with nuclear weapons.
Guests
- Dr. Dipak Gupta , Fred J. Hansen professor of peace studies and program chair of the International Security & Conflict Resolution Program at SDSU.
- Dr. Neil Joeck , research associate at the Center for South Asian Studies at University of California, Berkeley.
