Pakistan After Musharraf: The Media Take Center Stage

The protests ignited by General Pervez Musharraf’s 9 March 2007 sacking of Chief Justice Chaudhry provided a testament to the newfound importance of Pakistan’s media. Coverage of the lawyers’ movement protests and the government’s crude attempts to suppress it were brought to millions via satellite television and FM radio. The media’s role in the events that lead up to Musharraf’s resignation on 18 August 2008 is a study in unintended consequences; the dictator’s earlier efforts to liberalize media had unleashed a force for public transparency and accountability that he could not fully control, and democratic prospects improved as a result.