Back to the Future in Pakistan?

Nawaz Sharif, head of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party, is urging the release of Abdul Quadeer Khan who developed and tested nuclear weapons beginning in 1998 when Sharif was Prime Minister of Pakistan. Sharif joined with Asif Ali Zardari, head of the Pakistan Peoples Party (Bhutto) to form a majority coalition in the recent election of the national assembly in parliament.

President Pervez Musharraf placed Khan under house arrest four years ago when he admitted to selling nuclear information to Libya, North Korea, and Iran. Reportedly, Khan was a popular figure in Pakistan for being the founder of their operational nuclear weapons program. Read more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/world/asia/03pstan.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Zardari was known as Mr. Ten Per Cent, allegedly for the fee he charged for doing business when his deceased wife Benazir Bhutto was Prime Minister. Nawaz Sharif was deposed by Musharraf in a bloodless coup and imprisoned on charges of graft.

This call for the release of a known dealer in nuclear arms secrets is a further illustration of the tangled web that exists within Pakistan political circles. The George W. Bush administration developed a cozy relationship with Musharraf who by all intents and purposes was the Dictator of Pakistan. The intent to have an ally in the region against the war on terrorism was aided with billions of unaccounted for funds from the U.S.

Now, aided by calls for democratic reform and the dislike of American interference in their country, both Zardari and Sharif have returned to power. Together, they supported and were responsible for the recent election of the new prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani. It is certain that more changes will follow while the fate of Musharraf remains unclear.

Stay tuned.