Emergency in Pakistan: A Setback for Democracy

While the imposition of emergency rule by Gen Musharraf is not unexpected, it is clearly a setback for democracy in Pakistan. Once again, we are faced with an unfortunate situation but I hope this time it's only a temporary setback in our journey toward democracy. While Musharraf is largely to blame for this situation, the responsibility for it must be shared by our incompetent and corrupt politicians, an unwise and unnecessarily aggressive judiciary and the radical religious element bent upon imposing its will through violence. While we watch the events unfold, let us act rationally and hope and pray that good sense will prevail in Pakistan to allow an early return to a peaceful and progressive democratic rule in the country we all love. Amen.