Mail Call: Pakistan's Problem.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)

Readers of our Jan. 21 cover story on Pervez Musharraf's future unanimously blamed him for all of Pakistan's problems. "He destroyed national institutions so he can stay in power," said one. "Discontent is spreading," wrote another. A third opined, "The biggest threat faced by Pakistan is Musharraf."

Pakistan's Unpopular President

I think that "Toward The Dark Ages" would have been a more suitable title for Fareed Zakaria's Jan. 21 cover story "In the Dark Hours." Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf destroyed every institution in the country to remain in power. He didn't even spare the judiciary. Sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Supreme Court Bar Association president Aitzaz Ahsan and their companions are still under house arrest. Lawyers' protests are getting stronger every day. Even retired Army generals have been asking for Musharraf's resignation. Bomb blasts are killing innocent people. Basic necessities of life are out of reach for Pakistan's poor people. Questions are being raised about the country's nuclear assets. It's time for America and Europe to review their policies toward Musharraf and listen to the people of Pakistan.

Hasan Raza Gondal

Birmingham, England

For now, it would seem, Pakistan is surrounded by insurmountable odds. We have a serious food shortage (wheat, rice, sugar, cooking oil), an energy crisis, falling gas supplies, social and political chaos, burgeoning sectarian conflict and a quagmire of economic stagnation. As if that weren't crisis enough, suicide bombers have killed more than a thousand people in the course of the last year. As a result of this mayhem, the common man finds himself unwittingly entangled in daily torment. Discontent is spreading while our political leaders have been doing their best to exploit the unrest by playing the blame game.

Mehreen Ali