Musharraf Opponents Seek To Form Coalition With Islamic Extremists
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Opponents of President Pervez Musharraf are wooing Islamist extremist politicians to bolster their drive to curb the powers of the U.S.- allied leader following his party’s loss in parliamentary elections.
The negotiations bring together opposition forces who have promised to tackle extremism and Islamists who sympathize with the Taliban—highlighting the extent of the former military strongman’s political isolation.
“We believe that the problems are so big that as far as possible we should take along all the political forces,” Farhatullah Babar, the spokesman of slain leader Benazir Bhutto’s party, told The Associated Press on Friday.
Bhutto’s widower and political successor, Asif Ali Zardari, warmly embraced Fazlur Rehman, the bearded leader of the Muttahida Majlis-e- Amal, or MMA, when they met in the capital, Islamabad, late on Thursday.
The meeting went well and Babar said the two sides were meeting again on Friday to discuss forming a “government of national consensus.”
The MMA, an alliance of religious parties, as well as the main pro- Musharraf group were thrashed in the Feb. 18 elections. Voters turned to the moderate parties of Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, raising Western hopes of a firm push against Islamic extremism.
Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party, which had vowed to root out extremism before she was killed in a gun and suicide-bomb attack on Dec. 27, seems to have little in common with the Islamists beyond a wish to tame Musharraf.
MMA spokesman Abdul Jalil Jan said the alliance wanted commitments on “Islamization” from a new coalition government.
The MMA rose to prominence after the 2002 elections, when religious parties entered the government in both of the provinces bordering Afghanistan, sparking concern about the increasing influence of fundamentalist mullahs in running nuclear-armed Pakistan.
Musharraf’s government accused it of vetoing tough action against Islamic militants.
(AP)
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Gee… I wonder how long it will take for this to come back to bite them in the ass…
February 29th, 2008 at 7:13 amAnother episodic mistake, pushing this nimrod Bhutto on Mush…I wonder what Kerry, Biden and Hagel were doing in Pakistan during that election?
February 29th, 2008 at 7:56 amCondi for Prez anyone?