General Pervez Musharraf may not call it so but his proclamation to suspend Pakistan’s constitution in his capacity as Chief of Army Staff on Saturday amounted to a declaration of martial law. Pakistanis are used to their army taking over running the country. In the past, however, generals have suspended the constitution to remove from power unpopular rulers, usually weakened civilians. This is the first time an unpopular military ruler has suspended the constitution to save his position. In doing so, Musharraf may have overplayed his hand.

It is clear that Musharraf’s action was motivated by his desire to keep himself and his civilian cronies in power and had little to do with saving Pakistan from terrorism or internal chaos. If Musharraf’s position was not threatened by the prospect of an adverse Supreme Court judgment against him holding the dual offices of President and Chief of army staff, he would most likely not have acted.

If there is internal chaos in Pakistan today, it is of Musharraf’s making. After all, it was his arbitrary decision to remove the Supreme Court Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in March that initiated the political crisis leading to Musharraf’s latest move.

Ironically, Musharraf has turned to the army and his position as army chief to bail him out of a crisis created by the bad advice of his civilian advisers. Even now, the virtual imposition of martial law appears aimed at protecting the interests of the unelectable Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the King’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q).

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