The greatest threat to the world right now may very well be Pakistan. President Musharraf is essentially a military dictator, though one the west has been forced to consider the lesser of a number of very bad options. Now he may be on the brink of losing control. Suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is to address his supporters in Karachi, and already eight people have been killed in clashes between opponents and supporters of Musharraf.
Rival political activists exchanged gunfire, and vehicles were set on fire as 15,000 troops patrolled the city, with many streets blocked off.
Mr Chaudhry was suspended in March, but he denies any abuse of power.
Since his suspension, Mr Chaudhry has become the focus of widespread opposition to the government of President Musharraf, who took power in a coup in 1999.
Mr Chaudhry's supporters say that President Musharraf wants the judiciary headed by a lawyer whom he can more easily manipulate.
Karachi has been divided into three security zones for the day, and 17 areas have been designated high-risk zones, says the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan.
A public holiday has been declared, and the city roads are largely deserted. A large number of streets have been blocked with lorries and water tankers.
There is now speculation that Musharraf may declare a state of emergency.
Opposition to General Musharraf’s alleged attack on the independence of the judiciary was initially led by lawyers’ associations and rights groups striving to bring Pakistan under the rule of law. But the protests have evolved into a pro-democracy movement, with broad support across Pakistan that extends well beyond earlier antigovernment demonstrations that were led by radical Islamic groups.
The protests, which were declared illegal, escalated after a series of violent clashes with security forces, and have grown to present the most serious challenge to General Musharraf since he seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999. On Thursday unidentified gunmen fired gunshots at the residence of Munir Malik, the president of the Pakistan Bar Council, who is also an attorney for the sacked judge. A 14-judge bench of the Supreme Court is due to start hearing a series of petitions challenging the suspension of the judge.
Shaukat Aziz, the Prime Minister, last week hinted at the imposition of a state of emergency if police were unable to restore order. Opposition leaders gave a warning that any such action could push the country towards civil strife.
As we all know, Pakistan is a nuclear power with a strong base of Islamist extremists even in positions of power in the intelligence and military. In addition, the tribal areas of North Waziristan are de facto independent, ruled by Taliban and its allies.
Open conflict between Musharraf and the pro-democracy movement may not be a prelude to an extremist takeover, but the situation is looking to become very, very dangerous.
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