WASHINGTON, March 20 (UPI) -- Threats of Islamic extremism in Pakistan can't be eradicated by Musharraf's government; only a democratic approach can make changes, say experts.
Extremists in the northwestern region of Waziristan now pose an especially difficult challenge to President Pervez Musharraf following his unsuccessful attempt in 2002 to expel Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents from the region using military force, according to Zahid Hussain, author of "Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle with Militant Islam."
The unstable province needs to be brought under mainstream government control through democratic processes in order to reduce the threat of extremists, he said.
"Militancy can in no form, in no shape be used as policy," Hussain said.
Because the country borders Afghanistan, Pakistan's position at the front line in the war on terror has allowed Musharraf to strengthen the military and destroy government institutions critical to forming a strong democracy, Hussain said, referencing the president's suspension of Pakistani chief justice Iftikhar Mohommad Chaudhry earlier this month.
With a military government in place, however, the move towards a democratic society is "frozen," Hussain said, because it prohibits fundamental changes in society from taking place. History has shown Pakistanis tend to support military dictatorships, he said, which shows a lack of long-term thinking on how to solve the problem of extremism.
"To hope in present circumstances for radical change through a democratic system is something, I fear, of a circular argument," Hussain said.
