US paper asks Bush to have faith in Pakistani people, not Musharraf

President George W Bush should put his faith in the Pakistani people rather than with the countrys military ruler, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has urged.

Washington, Sep 13 : President George W Bush should put his faith in the Pakistani people rather than with the country's military ruler, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has urged.

In an editorial, the newspaper says, "We hope the Bush Administration's patience with Pakistani strongman Pervez Musharraf ran out on an airport tarmac. If President Bush is half as committed to democracy as he likes to think, the time has come to put faith in Pakistan's people."

The paper wrote that when former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif flew back from exile, Musharraf's forces surrounded the plane. Sharif was eventually allowed off but was soon put on a plane to Saudi Arabia.

Criticising Musharraf's action to bundle Sharif back to Jeddah, the paper said that the abuse ought to tip the Bush Administration, which has long exercised great patience with Musharraf as an ally against terrorism, toward open support for reform, full-scale democracy and the rule of law in Pakistan.

The editorial quoted Sharif as saying that, "It's a final battle now between democracy and dictatorship. Civil society is there now struggling for the restoration of the rule of law."

Sharif also said that Bush's friendship should be "with the people of Pakistan, not with an individual who is becoming more and more unpopular."

"Ultimately, Pakistan's strong legal traditions would provide the best defence against the tendencies toward extremism in parts of the populace. If Musharraf's repression ever served any purpose for his country, it is long past time for Pakistan to nurture its democratic roots," the paper observed.

ANI