Is Benazir Bhutto the new Corazon Aquino?

Following four days of relatively tepid statements, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on Wednesday issued a rousing call to action against President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule, setting up a possible direct confrontation between two titans of Pakistani power.

Bhutto, whose legions of rank-and-file supporters have been conspicuously absent from anti-Musharraf demonstrations this week, urged her backers to attend a major rally Friday in Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the army, which Musharraf heads. After that, she said, opponents of emergency rule would begin "a long march" from the eastern city of Lahore to the capital, Islamabad. The 250-mile journey will take them through the heart of Punjab, Pakistan's largest and most politically influential province.

For reasons that are not always clear, Bhutto is often seen as the great symbol of Pakistani democracy, despite her somewhat checkered history. Ity may be that her call for people to march peaceful for a change will be very effective. And any effort to break up her rally will be seen quite negatively in the West, and will make even tepid support of Musharraf from the West completely untenable.

Looks to me like any outcome will be bad for Musharraf, unless he can cut a deal with the opposition along the lines of what President Bush indicated must happen -- resignation from the army, free elections on schedule, and an end to the state of emergency. But has the situation already gone beyond the point where that can happen?

Posted by: Greg at 11:03 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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