As Pervez Musharraf on Thursday embarked upon a new five-year term as a civilian president after shedding his military uniform, the Pakistani media has predicted another troubled presidency for him, but an opportunity for his successor to improve the image of the army by keeping it strictly out of politics.
'It will be another troubled presidency that Pervez Musharraf will begin on Thursday as a civilian, with uncivil powers,' The Dawn said.
'The political crisis gripping Pakistan will not allow him any honeymoon period at the start of the new five-year term in the face of a wave of unpopularity at home and abroad and a raging controversy surrounding his disputed election,' it said.
The Dawn said, 'President Musharraf will wield too much power, which is the main cause of the prevailing turmoil. It promises a continuing confrontation with most political parties and other sections of society seeking Pakistan's return to full democracy after eight years of military-led rule'.
'A nation that has often literally eaten grass to keep its armed forces well-fed and well-armed can only hope that the new full-time chief lives up to his billing as a professional soldier who is not distracted by the razzle-dazzle of the world of politics,' The Dawn said in an editorial, 'The change of guard'.
The Nation, in a hard-hitting editorial, described the handing over of the military command by General Musharraf as 'long overdue' that 'provides General Ashfaq Kiyani an opportunity to improve the image of the army by keeping it strictly out of politics'.
The Dawn newspaper said the goodwill the Musharraf regime claimed to have won from an economic turnaround, a move towards the so-called 'enlightened moderation' and development work done through local bodies, seems to have been greatly eroded.
'An erosion of that position could be gauged from a nearly universal condemnation of the emergency proclamation, threats of aid cut-off, non-stop demands from United States president George W Bush's administration to do more to ensure free elections and democratic transition, and the second suspension of Pakistan from the Commonwealth since he seized power in the October 1999 coup,' the paper noted.
It also observed, 'While General Musharraf's political role will continue to figure in public discussions for some time, observers will closely look at his track record as a military leader and commander'.
On the high-profile Kargil war, it said, 'What was tactically a masterstroke, turned out to be a strategic nightmare. An operation designed to bring the Indians to the negotiating table in a weakened state, had to be wound up as it incurred the wrath of the international community'.
The Nation, in an editorial titled 'Change of Command', maintained that the Pakistan army can enjoy the nation's undivided support 'only by keeping itself strictly confined to its professional duties'. Calling for 'a change in the present mindset', it pointed out that 'long-term measures are required to inculcate respect for democratic institutions in the army's rank and file. A genuinely elected government taking over as a result of fair and free elections can play a vital role in extracting the army from the quagmire where it has been landed'.
