Musharraf Has Resigned in Pakistan, Now What?

The question in Pakistan and for Pakistan, now that Pervez Musharraf has resigned the presidency is, “Now What?”

Will the coalition government go through with the threatened impeachment of Musharraf?  Will Musharraf be tried for treason?  Will the terroroists including the Taliban and al Qaeda continue to be faced with a military assault in the tribal areas now that there are some 200,000 refugees in Bajour Agency alone?

Most importantly, “Will this coalition government survive?”

The coalition, led by Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, and Nawaz Sharif, the chairman of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, has shown little in the way of leadership or initiative on any issue except the removal of mr. Musharraf.  St first the coalition started discussions with the terrorists.  When the U.S. objected, including during a face to face meeting between president bush and Pakistan’s prime Minister Gilani in the White House, discussions ended and the pakistan Army attacked into the tribal areas.

Pakistan’s economy is suffering, services are failing, and even electricity in Islamabad is now no longer a 24 hour a day affair — for the first time in the memorory of any Western diplomats.

The situation in the tribal areas is far from certain, with the nation divided on the question of “have we removed the Taliban threat or not and do we really want to do that anyway?”