| The
West has invested a huge amount in Pakistan's General
Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in October 1999.
This newspaper was prepared to give him a chance
on condition that he acted swiftly and firmly to
rein in extremism and sort out the economy, and
then returned to barracks. He failed to do any of
that. After September 11th 2001, however, he was
recast as a provider of relative stability in a
dangerous neighbourhood, and an essential ally in
the “war on terror”. Money was showered upon him;
he was feted in Washington, DC, and London. Only
gradually has it started to dawn on his admirers
that, in the past five years, he has not done very
much to make Pakistan a less dangerous place.
The
Economist: The trouble with Pakistan |
