‘Musharraf’s role in government is to wait and watch’

Fatima Bhutto, the daughter of slain Murtuza Bhutto, has said that so long as there is an American occupation of Afghanistan, President Musharraf will remain viable and indispensable. In an interview carried by CounterPunch she also says that Musharraf came into power because people were fed up with Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto.Then, according to her, Nawaz and Benazir came back to Pakistan, because people were fed up with Musharraf. “And when people are finished with Asif Zardari and Nawaz, they will go back to Musharraf.” Answering a question about Musharraf’s future, she says Musharraf has played his cards badly inside the country. He has lost a lot of control and power within the country.”Personally, I think his role in the government is to wait and watch. He has enabled this government to come forward and perhaps quite wisely. This is the government that has to deal with price inflation, greenage shortages; it has to deal with a civil war that is brewing across the country, which is no longer in the tribal areas. This is the government that has to deal with renewed American strength in Pakistan.We’ve seen since 2008 a tremendous amount of American air strikes, and they are reported as having great accuracy and tremendous precision, but it is never explained to us who is allowing the Americans to come in almost directly and conduct their business on Pakistan soil. So this government has to deal with a de facto American invasion and occupation of parts of Pakistan.”She adds: “I think Musharraf prefers that these other politicians and parties deal with that, while he sits on the sidelines and waits for them to fail. But the question is will they allow him to do this and have any part of it? Will he have any future once this government disintegrates? I think that is looking increasingly unlikely as time goes by.”