Washington: Slamming Bush administration for praising President Pervez Musharraf despite his action against the Chief Justice, a leading US daily has accused the General of ‘systematically dismantling’ liberal and secular institutions in Pakistan that are "already threatened by Islamic extremism".
"Far from leading Pakistan toward democracy, Musharraf is systematically dismantling liberal and secular institutions in a country already threatened by Islamic extremism. One of those is the Supreme Court, which has a strong record of independence and is looked to by many Pakistanis as a guarantor of the rule of law," The Washington Post said in an editorial.
In the editorial titled "Democracy Under Arrest: Why is the Bush administration 'proud' to support Pakistan's military ruler?" the paper said Musharraf's attempt to neuter the court is matched by his implacable refusal to come to terms with Pakistan's secular democratic political parties and former civilian Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.
It also lambasted the Bush administration for praising Musharraf over his handling of the situation in Pakistan.
Both houses of Congress have passed legislation linking further aid to Pakistan to steps against the Taliban. Yet the administration stiffly opposes the measures. Boucher publicly assured Pakistanis that there would be no aid restrictions.
It's hard to understand why. Does the Bush administration really believe that its unqualified declarations of support will change this military strongman's behavior? " the Post asked.
"To protect his own grip on power, Musharraf prefers to make deals with the extremists while repressing the secularists" it said.
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