The U.S. should not hesitate to suspend aid to Pakistani dictator Gen. Pervez Musharraf to protest what human-rights activists already are calling his “second coup” — his weekend declaration of an emergency that allowed him to disband Pakistan’s Supreme Court and rule by decree.
Musharraf first seized power when he ousted an elected government in 1999. He justified his latest coup this weekend by citing an increase in “the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks.” But in fact he seemed most afraid that Pakistan’s Supreme Court would spoil his plans to rule five more years by declaring that his Oct. 6 election to the presidency was invalid because he had not surrendered command of the armed forces, as required by Pakistan’s constitution.
The U.S. has funneled billions in aid to Pakistan since sanctions against the world’s second most populous Islamic nation were lifted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Musharraf from her plane as she was returning to Washington from the Middle East to make it clear the United States was deeply disappointed in the weekend move and wanted Musharraf to rescind the decision as well as hold parliamentary elections as scheduled in January.
Rice told reporters traveling with her that U.S. aid to Pakistan would be reviewed but indicated the U.S. would not suspend aid wholesale.
“Some of the aid that goes to Pakistan is directly related to the counterterrorism mission,” Rice said. “We just have to review the situation. But I would be very surprised if anyone wants the president to ignore or set aside our concerns about terrorism.”
Joseph Biden, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, took a stronger stand Monday, urging the Bush administration “to move from a Musharraf policy to a Pakistan policy. President Bush should personally make clear to Gen. Musharraf the risks to U.S.-Pakistani relations if he does not restore the constitution, permit free and fair elections and take off his uniform as promised,” Biden said.
We hope Biden’s counsel prevails. Reflexively blessing dictators because they momentarily advance U.S. policies is a policy that has led the U.S. to disaster before, notably in the case of American support for the Shah of Iran. This time, let’s make it clear that we stand with Pakistan’s brave and growing pro-democracy movement.
