How long can President Musharraf rule Pakistan

President Pervez Musharraf the defacto Head of Pakistan Government since 12th October, 1999 following a bloodless coup overthrow of the then existing Government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Since then he had full control of the administration of Pakistan and simultaneously appointed himself as the President of Pakistan on 20th June 2001. During this period he has been able to balance between the extreme Muslim Clerics and the moderates and also been able to garner good support from the Bush Administration of USA. <o:p></o:p>
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But Since March 9th, 2007 after the suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court, Justice Iftikhar Mukhammad Chaudhury, the situation has changed a lot. Justice Chaudhury was again reinstated as the Chief Justice of Supreme Court on 20th July 2007 against the wishes of President Musharraf and also Pakistan Supreme Court dismissed all the misconduct charges that Musharraf filed against him.  <o:p></o:p>
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Then again the standoff between the Pakistani government and the clerics of Lal Masjid in Islamabad finally came to a boil on the 8th July 2007 and the negotiation between the government delegations led by Shujaat Hussain failed. It said that the militants are holed up in the mosque. The militants have also held back several hundred students, many of who are young girls using them as human shields. The troops were given a go ahead to storm the complex with the objective to capture or kill the militants if they resist.<o:p></o:p>
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The Lal Masjid issue had put President Musharraf in a tough spot.  It was a difficult decision that President Musharraf made when he ordered his troops to storm the Lal Masjid. It was a decision he would rather not have made but was forced to do so. The battle lines had clearly been drawn and reflected the social strife that plagues Pakistani society today. It is the fight between secular and fundamental forces in Pakistan. It is a fight between radical extremism and moderation. It is a fight between fundamentalist Pakistan and Modern Pakistan. The entire fate of the Pakistani Society hangs in the balance, will Pakistan plunge into the darkness of religious fundamentalism or will the moderate voices will prevail.<o:p></o:p>
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President Bush’s top counter terrorism advisers have acknowledged on July 17, 2007 that the strategy for fighting Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda leadership in Pakistan has failed. The main reasons for United States losing ground was due to the hands-off approach towards the tribal areas by Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf who last year brokered a cease fire with the tribal leaders in an attempt to drain support for Islamic extremism in the region. As a result the US government stated that it might consider military force in Pakistan if necessary to stem Al Qaida’s growing ability to use its hideout in Pakistan to launch terrorist attacks. The President Bush homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend, said the US was committed first and foremost to working with Pakistan’s President General Pervez Musharraf, in his efforts to control militants in Pakistan Afghanistan border region, but also indicated that US is ready to take additional measures if there are growing concern to Protect the American people. <o:p></o:p>
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President Musharraf is probably having the toughest job in the World in terms of doing a balancing act between placating the hawkish forces within his country and yet maintaining a largely secular outlook. Can he manage to do this act which he had done for past seven years is to been seen in the days to come. His popularity has already fallen drastically and about 64 % of the population doesn’t want him to continue for another term even though he had expressed to continue in the office for another 5-year term. It needs to be seen how he fairs in the days to come. <o:p></o:p>

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