DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./PAKISTAN: THE UNITED STATES SHOULD NOT SUPPORT A MILITARY DICTATORSHIP IN PAKISTAN

Bush Support for Musharraf Challenged

President Bush's alliance with Pakistan's leader came under fire from a Republican congressman who said Thursday the U.S. should not support what he branded a military dictatorship. At a House hearing on human rights, shortcomings in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Uzbekistan were the designated topics.

But an official from Human Rights Watch added Pakistan to the mix. Tom Malinowski, a former State Department official, characterized the government of Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, as "the most egregious and harmful example of a human rights double-standard in American foreign policy today."

Bush's support for Musharraf, Malinowski said, "appears to align the United States behind one man against virtually every decent segment of Pakistani society - against the very people in the country who are most likely to be America's friends and to support a moderate, modern course for Pakistan."

Musharraf is estranged from moderates, relies politically more on Islamists and refuses "to crack down on the Taliban elements who are killing American and NATO troops in Afghanistan," Malinowski said.

"It is a classic case of muting human rights concerns to protect a security relationship," Malinowksi said. "But it is in fact as contrary to U.S. security interests as it is to America's commitment to democracy."

The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on human rights, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California, endorsed Malinowski's criticism.

Pakistan's army "is allied with radical Islam and always has been," the lawmaker said. "Let's not support a military dictatorship in Pakistan."

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Pertinent Links:

1) Bush Support for Musharraf Challenged