Egypt changes will impact Pakistan, says Pakistani daily

ISLAMABAD - The consequences of the changes in Egypt will “inevitably impact us”, a Pakistani daily said Monday, adding this will serve as a “stark lesson as to what happens when rulers fail to hear the voices and heed the wishes of those they rule”.

An editorial in the News International said the events in Egypt “are moving at a pace faster than the global diplomatic community is able to keep pace with”.

It said the actions of President Hosni Mubarak have done “nothing to quell the anger of the crowds calling for his ouster”.

Observing that the police have “mostly left the scene everywhere,” the editorial said “the army appears to be taking a role that is less than proactive but not actively pro the demonstrators”.

The editorial said, “Thus far the protests have been secular rather than driven by religious fervour…”

“There seems little doubt that, revolution or not, the days of President Mubarak are numbered. Politically, the military have been the guarantors of every regime since 1952, and former prominent members of the military have found places in every civil administration.”

“Now, with the political infrastructure crumbling, the army may have to assume responsibility for the state, and with the state under Mubarak being the fuel of unrest, it is doubtful that the army is going to continue to support him.”

The News International went on to say that Israel will be viewing “events with concern, and wondering if the relative stability that has characterised the region since 1978 is at risk - and unless the situation is swiftly brought under control, this is a possibility”.

Noting that Egypt is a “pivotal” Arab state, and an engine of change in the Arab world, it said: “The consequences of those changes will inevitably impact upon us, and already serve as a stark lesson as to what happens when rulers fail to hear the voices and heed the wishes of those they rule.”