Number: RL34240
Title: Pakistan's Political Crisis
Authors: K. Alan Kronstadt, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division 
Abstract: The Islamabad government's harsh crackdown on political opposition apparently spurred former Prime Minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto to end what had been ongoing negotiations toward a power-sharing arrangement with Musharraf. Musharraf, for his part, called Bhutto "too confrontational" and himself ruled out further power-sharing negotiations. The U.S. government had supported a Musharraf-Bhutto accommodation as being in the best interests of both Pakistan and the United States. Bhutto's catastrophic removal from Pakistan's political equation thus dealt a serious blow to U.S. policies aimed at bringing greater stability to that country.
Pages: 26
Date: January 3, 2008