Mush’s Crushing Defeat

The crushing defeat to Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf’s party in National Assembly elections shall be interpreted as a repudiation of the policies pursued by him since 2001 and those of his close ally, the United States. Mr. Musharraf’s heavy-handed dealing with ‘war on terror’, his use of the army against tribesmen in the border areas, the storming on the Red Mosque that left more than 100 people dead and the dismissal of the Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chowdary and 60 other judges last year, have contributed to his unceremonious defeat. The results opened the Pandora’s Box for the Bush administration, which was relying too heavily on Mr. Musharraf. Even as Mr. Musharraf’s standing had long back reached the nadir and the insurgency gained strength, senior Bush administration officials praised Mr. Musharraf as a valued partner in the war against terrorism. The American officials will have little choice now but to seek alternative allies from among the new political forces emerging from the vote.