Impeaching Musharraf

Pakistan's Parliament convened this week to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf. The same day, radical Islamists staged a rally in support of the move and a purported al Qaeda tape also surfaced, praising the idea. That shows what's at stake here: Pakistan's very existence, and its future as a moderate, democratic state.

This is a treacherous crossroads for Pakistan and for its main ally in the war on terror, the U.S. For all his missteps, President Musharraf has understood that fighting religious extremism is as crucial to Pakistan's sovereignty as it is to the free world's. Under his eight-year rule, he netted al Qaeda operatives, supported the breakup of the A.Q. Khan proliferation network, made peace with India, and committed blood and treasure to crack down on the Taliban in Pakistan's border regimes.

In contrast, the weak governing coalition led by the party of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has shown little of the same resolve. Since February, when it came to power after democratic elections, the new government has overseen failure after failure. It lost control of the frontier provinces to the Taliban. It struck a "peace" deal with radicals in the Swat Valley, only later realizing that negotiating with terrorists never works. Radicals meanwhile set off bombs in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi, with the aim of undermining basic law and order. Pakistanis who are, on the whole, a moderate Muslim people, are afraid.

Pakistan is also facing an economic crisis. Foreign investment has fled the country as domestic violence increases. Inflation hit 21.5% in June, a 30-year high. The government can't pay its bills and negotiated a deal with Saudi Arabia to delay payment on oil imports. Citizens are dealing with daily power outages. Unemployment is rising, and the stock market and the domestic currency are dropping fast.

In that context, the impeachment proceedings carry the whiff of personal vendetta rather than a good faith effort to fix Pakistan's urgent problems. The coalition government is led by Nawaz Sharif, head of the Pakistan Muslim League, and Asif Zardari, the power behind the People's Party of Pakistan. Both men were exiled at the hand of Mr. Musharraf when he was in power. On Sunday, Mr. Zardari accused Mr. Musharraf of misappropriating funds. Law Minister Farooq Naek said that "the charge sheet will detail ways that Musharraf violated the constitution and the gross misconduct that the president has done." The government's list of grievances will say much about its real agenda.

Mr. Musharraf's spokesman said Sunday that the President has a "clean track record" and won't resign. Perhaps not. But with members of his own party now turning against him and the army, his usual base of support, indicating it will stay out of politics, it's not inconceivable that the President will decide to quit -- especially if he is promised immunity from prosecution. Even if he were to survive an impeachment vote, his days of influence -- at home and in Washington -- are past.

Pakistan is in the midst of a difficult political transition. This year's parliamentary elections -- whose results were accepted by Mr. Musharraf -- were the first step. But the nation's troubles will be resolved only when the civilian government demonstrates a better understanding of the dangers of militant Islam and shows a determination to fight it. The Musharraf era may be coming to an end, but the war on terror he led with some success is far from over.

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