Folks - I have been here the last few weeks been talking to people on the ground including, politicians, lawyers and army men, and here is my assessment of the situation. Things ain't pretty.
Karachi in itself is as lawless as it gets. Musharraf is largely seen as a protector of Big Business (mostly with Army money involved) and his home city of Islamabad. the rest of the country is pretty much lawless,and the poor are being shafted with the essentials of life for a Southern Hemisphere country (rice, oil, bread) having become prohibitively expensive. People are operating on their own deceny scale. The law and order (as the Colonial Raj used to call it) has broken down and noone in Musharrafs govt. seems to give two hoots. No one, pretty much, stops at a Red Light anymore. the VVIP culture looms large where traffic can be stopped for hours so that some body in the govt can pass through freely.
I can go on ad naseum on the BB assisantion, but the long and short of it is that everyone has a hunch that there was govt. involvement at some level. The fact that the Govt estopped the doctors from an autopsy (which is required by Pakistan criminal procedure code), and the fact that they washed the crime scene within hours is helping fuel this belief.
BB and her rock star mentality and the high she got from the crowd did contribute to her demise, nevertheless, Musharraf does not want people to keep their eye on the ball, which is that SHE WAS ASSASINATED while under HIS protection. But people are not surprised, he has colluded in May 12 Killings before, where police and army were told to stay inside and the city was given up to rouge elements. The same thing happend this time around, for 3-5 days (Depending on where you were) the city was burned looted and people killed/injured, with no orders to control or actual ground presence of the police, Army Rangers ( a pseudo army police) or Army in sight. On paper things were happening, but the city was not protected in (as Musharaf likes to put it) ground reality. This all allowed the justification for the delay in elections.
Folks - Pakistanis are a resiliant people (I might be biased) but the History bears it out. They have seen many corrupt leaders (including Musharaf, dont let anyone tell you he is not corrupt), therefore they will live on. The Pakistani Taliban problem is HUGE and Musharraf can't handle it. The man does not leave his house (he is so unpopular and has no real political involvement among the people). The Chief Justice, and many prominent lawyers are still under arrest with their children not allowed to go to school. That is the ground reality.
BB WAS NOT the last hope for Democracy. Remember she was gambling it all for a Power Sharing Deal, her belief in all things democratic were flimsy and short lived till her speeches ended. It is a sad even regardless, because she symbolized the unity of the Federation (thats the reason Musharf courted her) BUT now something new has happend and most people on the ground want a SYSTEM, and even a layman can tell you that he/she has some rights (even if they might not know what those rights are.)
Folks - Musharraf is shaking in his breeches, as all Dictators one day MUST, Pakistani don't want Mushaarf, they belive he is a coward, and Pakistanis hate cowards. Pakistanis Dont want Taliban, for Pakistanis are a freedom loving people. Pakistanis want a SYSTEM OF GOVT. that gives them security and Musharaf is incapable of it,as has been proven over his 8 years.
Like I said Things Ain't Pretty, but there is HOPE,and HOPE is the difference between a Failed State and a State that refuses to Fail no matter what the pundits say. More later.