January 31, 2008	Thursday	Muharram 21, 1429

WASHINGTON, Jan 30: Pakistan will face yet another crisis if the government refuses to accept the election results or if an opposition-led future government tries to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, warns Ambassador Robin Raphel.

Ambassador Raphel, who was the first head of the South Asia bureau at the US State Department, felt that the Feb 18 elections in Pakistan might lead to a hung parliament with PPP as the single largest party.

The scenario she presented at a seminar in Washington sees the Bhutto party allying with PML-N to form a coalition government.

A victory for PML-Q, however, could spark violence and chaos.

President Musharraf trying to help PML-Q gain a majority will also lead to a crisis.

The best thing for Pakistan would be a PPP-led government reaching out to the military and to political parties for a process of reconciliation aimed at strengthening democracy.

If PPP and others try to impeach President Musharraf, it will hurt the democratic process and may force the military to get involved.

A coalition government may not be strong enough to challenge the president or accomplish much.

Ambassador Raphel also felt that the new army chief wants to withdraw the army from politics and also that whatever results the elections produce, the US will maintain its strong ties to the Pakistani military because it is the strongest institution in the country.

Daniel Markey, a former State Department specialist on South Asia, insisted that the government in Islamabad should hold the elections as scheduled.

He warned that a real or government-manufactured crisis may cause the elections to be postponed and if this happens, “it will have disastrous consequences for the country”.