Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak

Prologue
11
when he heard about the development back home as he came out of
a meeting with US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, in Washington. 20
Musharraf’s assumption of the presidency provoked strong
condemnation from the United States and other western countries, who
believed the move would lead Pakistan further away from democracy.
The development came just as the Bush administration was sending
signals indicating its desire to improve relations with Pakistan and lift
some of the sanctions placed on it following the nuclear tests. ‘That
process may be stalled at least for the time being,’ commented a
senior official. The Commonwealth, which had suspended Pakistan’s
membership after the coup, also warned of a tougher stance.
But as things turned out, the crisis unleashed by the events of 11
September provided Musharraf with an opportunity to end Pakistan’s
and his own isolation. The ‘you’re either with us or you’re against us’
mentality of the Bush administration gave him little choice but to take
it. He did so with gusto. By joining the US ‘war on terror’, Pakistan
once again took centre-stage in the international limelight, much as
it had after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Formerly ostracized
as a military dictator, Musharraf became a valued friend to the West.
He promised to steer Pakistan away from its long and troubled drift
towards Islamic fundamentalism and extremism.
Policy was one thing, reality quite another. The forces ranged against
Musharraf were not only non-state actors, but also their allies in the
powerful military establishment. Musharraf, the ultimate operator, had,
as he discovered on that day in December 2003, very limited space in
which to manoeuvre.