November 07, 2007

U.S. Officials Grapple With Pakistan Crisis

As tensions mount between the Pakistani government and the lawyers, students and activists demonstrating against President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule late last week, U.S. officials are assessing their options for handling the crisis.

The Hill reported yesterday that Musharraf's actions could boost Sen. Carl Levin's (D) proposal to cut military funding for Pakistan in the 2008 defense bill "unless the president certifies quarterly to the defense committees that Pakistan is making substantial efforts to eliminate safe havens for the Taliban, al Qaeda and other extremists in areas under its sovereign control."

Lawmakers aren't the only ones considering using the power of the purse to coax Musharraf to end the state of emergency. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack indicated yesterday that administration officials were reviewing the matter to determine whether Pakistan had taken any actions that would justify the suspension of aid. "People started work on it," he told reporters at a State Department briefing.

Meanwhile, the situation in Pakistan has not improved in recent days, and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's intervention today has only fanned the flames of conflict, the New York Times reports.

Bhutto's announcement that she would lead a mass demonstration Friday if Musharraf failed to lift emergency rule by then set off fresh clashes between Pakistani police and Bhutto's opposition-party supporters. Public protests are banned under Musharraf's emergency order, and authorities have vowed not to allow the Bhutto-led demonstration to occur. BBC News has more on Bhutto's demands.

Reuters' analysis notes that the situation in Pakistan presents a dilemma for U.S. officials trying to strike a balance between condemning Musharraf's autocratic moves and maintaining friendly ties with a crucial U.S. ally in the war on terror. The Gate also explored these challenges earlier this week.

The Washington Post has extensive coverage of the crisis, and PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" yesterday parsed the different roles of the key players involved in the conflict.

Posted at 2:02 PM
Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, Congress, Pakistan
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