Musharraf in a way exploits the Muslim extremists' presence in Pakistan to gain American support for his regime. In reality, if elections were held in Pakistan, the religious parties would probably get only about 15 per cent of the vote. Democracy could return in Pakistan. But Musharraf prevents that by playing up the threat from the religious extremists and the terrorist organisations, which are present in Pakistan. To some extent, he tolerates their existence in order to justify his existence.

The top leadership of Al Qaeda is hiding in Pakistan, and the resurgence of the Taliban is supported by elements within Pakistan. In my book, I note that Musharraf says the choice is between him and the fundamentalists; with Pakistan in possession of nuclear weapons, that makes the choice obvious. But Musharraf is in alliance with the religious parties, making it difficult for him to exert pressure on them.

Little effort has been made to reform the madrassas (Islamic seminaries) in Pakistan, and the government spends just about two per cent of its budget on education. Nonetheless, the religious parties would get only a minority of votes in national elections. This is in contrast to Egypt, where elections would bring the Muslim Brotherhood to power.

I have faith in Pakistan's potential, that elections will actually bring a secular party to power that would push for reforms in Pakistan. This is a case where free elections could resolve what is thought to be an intractable problem. I believe the real problem is persuading the military to hold free elections.

Do you think that could happen and Washington's attitude towards Musharraf could change?

No, not with Bush. Maybe the next President will have a different view.

Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images Also read: Pakistan: Geopolitical epicentre of Islamist jihad

Back

|

Next