Pakistan

I'm sure many of you get Joel Rosenberg's email telling you of global events. But for those of you who don't, I am posting his comments on Pakistan and the resignation of Musharraf. As we talked about in adult education last winter, Pakistan already has 35 nuclear weapons and if they held democratic elections today, it is possible that Al Qaeda could win considerable power. What would Al Qaeda do if they got access to the launch codes on those missiles? It would make the problems we are facing in Iran look very minor, that's for sure. Read Rosenberg below and remember to pray for Pakistan.

By Joel C. Rosenberg (Washington, D.C., August 18, 2008) -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf resigned this morning, telling his country of 167 million people in a televised address, "I hope the nation and the people will forgive my mistakes." Pakistan now enters a dangerous moment of instability.

It is not yet clear who will replace Musharraf, and as I've written before, Pakistan has long been one car bomb away from a bin Laden-ally seizing power. Should an al Qaeda-type Radical gain control of the country and its nuclear weapons, we could be facing an apocalyptic moment. Let us pray without ceasing that a Reformer will emerge who is respectful of Islam but is committed to true freedom, democracy, and the rule of law and who can root out corruption and protect minorities throughout the country. Note, however, that the last Reformer who began emerging there was Benazir Bhutto who was then assassinated after returning from exile.

For all his many flaws, Musharraf was steadily becoming a Reformer. After 9/11, he became a key ally of the U.S., helping us in our war against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan rather than interferring. He and his security forces worked closely with us to capture numerous top jihadists, including Khalled Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11. He was also supportive of protecting Pakistan's rapidly growing Christian minority, which has been very important because Muslims are turning to Christ there in record numbers (I just met with a top Pakistani Christian leader for lunch last week and learned that there are now more than 2.5 million MBBS or Muslim Background Believers there.) Musharraf, to his great credit, also dramatically reached out to Israel, in defiance of the jihadists in his country. He once shook hands with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, something the Saudis won't even do, and gave a remarkable speech to the American Jewish Congress in New York City in 2005.

Let us pray for this important nation as it enters a time of great change and risk.