James Rupert writes: Protests erupt as Bush lands in Pakistan



The capital, Islamabad, and many other cities were eerily quiet, although thousands of men marched in Peshawar, Multan, Karachi and other cities to condemn Bush and the United States -- and Musharraf for allying with them. The protests, plus Thursday's bombing in Karachi that killed a U.S. Consulate official, have overshadowed the White House's goal for the trip: to depict a friendly and broad U.S.-Pakistani relationship that reaches beyond simple joint defense in the "global war on terrorism." Journalist James Rupert, head of Newsday's international bureau in Islamabad, Pakistan began his career abroad as a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching mechanics and welding in Morocco.

James Rupert writes: Protests erupt as Bush lands in Pakistan

Protests erupt as Bush lands in Pakistan

Pakistanis call nationwide strike to condemn alliance with U.S.

By James Rupert

Newsday

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistanis shut down their country with a nationwide strike and protests Friday as President Bush flew from India for talks with President Pervez Musharraf.

Anti-U.S. protests: Pakistanis burned the U.S. flag during an anti-U.S. rally in Karachi, Pakistan, on Friday, shouting, "Death to Bush!" and other condemnation. Bush landed in Rawalpindi on Friday night. - Shakil Adil / Associated Press

After Air Force One landed at an air base in Rawalpindi on Friday night -- with its window shades down and its running lights turned off -- Bush's entourage was whisked into a bubble of protection and an official welcome.

The capital, Islamabad, and many other cities were eerily quiet, although thousands of men marched in Peshawar, Multan, Karachi and other cities to condemn Bush and the United States -- and Musharraf for allying with them. The protests, plus Thursday's bombing in Karachi that killed a U.S. Consulate official, have overshadowed the White House's goal for the trip: to depict a friendly and broad U.S.-Pakistani relationship that reaches beyond simple joint defense in the "global war on terrorism."

Before the missile attack, Pakistani opinion polls and analysts have registered simmering anger at the United States for years over the deaths of Muslim civilians and abuse of Muslim prisoners at the hands of U.S. forces in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The mix of old anger and new was on display in the hours before Bush landed.

Pakistan's alliance of Islamic political parties, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, called a general strike Friday that left bazaars silent and shuttered and streets empty in Islamabad and other cities. In Multan, in southern Punjab province, the alliance leader, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, rallied an estimated 10,000 people and criticized Musharraf for inviting an American leader he said had abused Muslims. In Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad, as in Chaman on the Afghan border and Peshawar in the northwest, crowds ranging from 100 to several thousand shouted, "Death to Bush!" "Bush go home!" and other condemnation.

Pakistani officials said they deployed 6,000 police in Rawalpindi and Islamabad to enforce calm.

The eastern end of Islamabad, where the main government buildings are clustered, was sealed off by police.

The government complex is adjoined by a fenced and guarded diplomatic enclave, where Bush reportedly was to stay the night at the ambassador's residence within the fortresslike U.S. Embassy. Spending a night in Islamabad is one way Bush seems to be trying to show confidence in Musharraf.

Last month, Bush effusively praised Musharraf to Pakistani journalists as "my buddy and my friend" and described his personal relationship with Musharraf as one that "can set a tone" for the two countries' relations.

Musharraf, a general who ousted Pakistan's elected government in a 1999 coup, promised to build an "enlightened" and moderate Pakistani state. But he reneged on promises to give up his simultaneous position as chief of army staff and to restore civilian rule within three years. The lives of Pakistan's impoverished majority have improved little in his six-year administration, and popular support for Musharraf has eroded deeply.

When this story was posted in March 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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