Pakistan's government calls for President Musharraf's impeachment even as the country reels under mounting pressures of economic anxieties, religious fundamentalism and political wrangling, writes Gamal Nkrumah It hardly matters. Schism might not unavoidably be a terrible condition in a thriving democracy. It is for this reason that recent political developments in Pakistan do not necessarily bode ill. The Pakistani government, a coalition led by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), has in an unprecedented development called for the impeachment of Pakistani President . Does it matter if members of the Pakistani political establishment fall out? The political pendulum is starting to swing again in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. To complete the impeachment process might turn out to be a messy business. Pakistanis desperately need change. The political tide may turn against the PPP and other civilians. Everything is possible in Pakistan. Political parties in Pakistan are riven by tensions. Pakistanis squabble like mad in public. And, it is no secret that the army cannot stand the civilian bigwigs. Pakistan's gradual assumption of its responsibilities in the regional and international arenas is a potentially monumental development in world affairs. Not only is Pakistan strategically located at the crossroads of the most perilous of militant Islamist bastions. Musharraf is no victim of political conspiracy. He promptly rejected the government's call for his impeachment. The bulk of the army is behind Musharraf. Senior members of Pakistan's omnipotent intelligence agency the so-called Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is also reputed to be in favour of Musharraf, who as chief-of-staff suspended the constitution in November 2007 and jailed judges and lawyers including Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohamed Chaudhry. The state of emergency he imposed was lifted in December 2007. Still, that was of little consolation since the United States, Pakistan's main and most powerful ally and benefactor, is determined to reduce its dealings with the Pakistani military and strengthen ties with Pakistan's civilian leadership. This about face might work against Musharraf's plans to hold on to power. It is clear that the civilian politicians' views would now have to be taken more seriously into consideration. The Western press has printed a lorry-load of angst-ridden articles about Pakistan. The growing strength and influence of the Pakistani Taliban is alarming many of its allies overseas. This week alone, 13 people were killed in a bomb attack on a Pakistan air force bus near Peshawar, the notoriously volatile capital of the Northwestern Frontier Province. It hardly seemed like a significant event in war-torn Peshawar, but it was. Pakistan's politicians, military and civilian, ought to heed the alarm bells. Musharraf can, if he so desires, choose to appear before the Pakistani parliament or the investigating committee to defend himself. Whether he would actually muster the will to do so is another matter. Attempting to find a way to square the circle has not been an inspiring task. Pakistani political entanglements are hard to decipher. Voicing dissent is no longer harshly silenced. Pakistanis yearn for provocative perspectives and ideas and the president's likely impeachment is one such idea. Since its formation in February, the Pakistani government has lumbered under the ghosts of the past. It is a bit easy for people in the West to deplore the inadequacies of Pakistani democracy. Political correctness is not a concept that is easily applicable to Pakistani political jargon. The country has long laboured under the yoke of authoritarianism, be it military or civilian. The politicians in the populous and predominantly agricultural provinces of Punjab and Sind produce a confusing cacophony of complaints and promises that have long eluded the electorates there. Charismatic leaders are in short supply. None of Pakistan's political bigwigs attract huge crowds of adoring fans. That is a distinct drawback. The point, however, is that pervasive poverty and deep inequalities have inflamed religious passions. While the actual number of Pakistanis that vote for ultra-religious parties are still small -- at most ten per cent of the vote -- religion itself is a hugely contentious subject. The reality on the ground is more complex. Political Islam is favoured by many, but there are many who abhor the mixing of religion and politics even in a state that was founded on religious grounds. The PPP is widely regarded as left of centre and secularist. Its leaders, however, have long been associated with ostentatious living and a most virulent brand of feudalism. There are some common threads in the stories of how the civilian rulers of Pakistan have come to power. Pakistani voters, like their counterparts in India and elsewhere, will undoubtedly punish governments that disappoint. That is the strength and the beauty of a vibrant democracy. The history of the PPP remains tangled in controversy. The personality of its new leader only complicates matters. He is regarded by many as a sinister widower who has made much political capital out of his murdered wife. Zardari's late charismatic wife Benazir Bhutto, was the star attraction of the PPP. Without her the party has degenerated into a loose alliance of rival factions. An unseemly fight within the PPP would spell disaster. The PPP leader Asif Zardari is not in the least popular with the generals, and it would not take much for one of his foes within his own party to do much damage by siding with the generals. He is also a political novice. Whether the PPP will pull it off this time and succeed in impeaching Musharraf is anyone's guess. Much will depend on whether Zardari and his henchmen would conduct themselves in the months to come. There are worries as to how far Zardari's zealous supporters may go. The PPP's biggest coalition partner the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its leader Nawaz Sharif the former democratically-elected prime minister who was ousted from power in a bloodless coup in 1999 by none other than Musharraf, are not faring much better than Musharraf. Sharif's stronghold is in Punjab, by far Pakistan's most populous state. His party, too, is divided. The PML-Q -- Q for Quaid-e-Azam Mohamed Ali Jinnah -- the founder of Pakistan, has aligned itself with the Musharraf regime. Quarrels are also swirling around the political parties that make up the coalition government. All this is reminiscent of past political misadventures. With Musharraf gone, the PPP-led government might decide it is about time to be gunning for the widely loathed and dreaded ISI and even the army itself. That would undoubtedly stir the most politically potent emotions in Pakistan. In the final analysis it is unclear if this refreshing zeal would endure once Musharraf is sidelined, or even impeached.
