And not because Sharif is a good leader. It demonstrated Musharraf’s unreconstructed authoritarianism in the face of a growing yearning in Pakistan for democracy. It also evidenced his preparations for a political arranged marriage in which his chosen prime minister is elected solely to anchor him in power. According to a senior aide to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Musharraf even offered, earlier this year, to rig the elections in favour of her Pakistan People’s Party, if she guaranteed not to return to Pakistan to contest them.

The logic behind this kind of managed democracy is that only the military can hold together a fractious Pakistan that is strung out on incendiary religious fault-lines that threaten its stability and the West’s safety. With nuclear weapons comes great responsibility, too, and the Pakistan military is the West’s best guarantee that it remains secure. Then there are the powder kegs of Kashmir, al-Qaeda and the Taliban, which the Pakistan military, too, are best-suited to tackle. You wouldn’t want the Islamists to take charge of Pakistan and these forces too, would you?

However, backed by an estimated $10bn in US aid handed over since 9/11, the military’s naked greed has been demonstrated by their sandbagging, according to the analyst Ayesha Siddiqa, of one third of the country’s economy — making them a political class rather than the constitutionally-appointed force to guard the country’s internal security and geographic integrity. Under Musharraf, extremism has blossomed, as have the republic’s jihadi-infiltrated madrasas.

The Taliban, too, have regrouped and merged with a leaner al-Qaeda that has taken succour from Pakistan’s Sunni extremists, who although banned in 2002 re-emerged in 2005 with newly-minted global goals. The Pakistan military even vacated the troubled province of Waziristan, having signed secret truces with the Talib-supporting militia there.

Musharraf’s reluctance to tackle extremists suits him well. While the West wants to drain the swamp in Afghanistan, the Pakistan military is eager to topple Hamid Karzai and raise a conservative Pashtun government, akin to the Taliban, that will loath India and be thankful to Islamabad.

But the US sees none of this. It is intent on Musharraf remaining in power, judging by Washington’s refusal to comment on Nawaz Sharif’s removal. The US is ploughing ahead with a deal to couple Musharraf with Benazir Bhutto, a feat that aims to legitimise Musharraf, buying him another five years, but at what cost to Pakistan and the West, which Musharraf has repeatedly betrayed?

Rather than find out, many authoritative voices on Pakistan are arguing that it is time to step away from the generals, to stop prefiguring Pakistan’s democracy and let the people decide.
Guardian