Headlocks and Cricket

Things in Pakistan are moving fast these days (at least when it comes to politics). One of the latest developments was that Imran Khan, a cricket-star-turned-politician was arrested. In talks to friends here at Pakistan, I had got the impression that he's one of the few politicians who aren't considered to be corrupt. Even though he most probably wouldn't play a big role in an election, his arrest was quite significant. He had been hiding from the police for eleven days (many opposition leaders were arrested after the declaration of the state of emergency). This did not prevent him from talking to foreign newspapers like the BBC though. The circumstances of his arrest are as strange as sad. Apparently, he wanted to address a demonstration at Punjab University in Lahore. There, he was more or less violently kidnapped by members of the Jamaat Islami, Pakistan's largest Islamist party. They then handed him over to policemen waiting outside the university gate.

The whole affair shows how much different parts of the opposition are at odds with each other. The Islamists are not very strong however and one ray of hope was news of an understanding between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif of cooperating towards ending the present situation.

While our lives here continue to be more or less unaffected by the political situation, from the news I get the impression that there will be some change soon. If Musharraf doesn't lift the state of emergency and goes ahead with the January 9 elections, these will most probably boycotted by the biggest opposition parties. This will not help him in regaining the trust of the Pakistanis and his supporters abroad (especially the US). The latter play a very decisive role as the Pakistani army has been receiving billions of dollars per year in military aid. If the US government should come to the conclusion that Musharraf is more of an obstacle than a help in creating stability (and in the notorious war on terrorism) then they do have some leverage over him.

Anyway, many people here are so fed up with politics that they are much more interested in today's cricket match against India.