I think when someone removes the democratically elected government of a country and declares themselves dictator they probably assume assassination attempts will become part of the "political" landscape.
And I agree "The Dawn" and other papers have been very critical of Musharraf declaring himself dictator of Pakistan. Though their criticism hasn't changed anything. Musharraf is still the dictator.
As for being brutal or not do a search on Pakistan's human rights record. Before you waste a lot of time though I can tell you its not good. Especially if you happen to be a Pakistani.
Don
Edit: Just Google -Pakistan's Human Rights Record-, and about 60,000 hits will come up. This one is at the top of the first page. It discusses the US state dpartments own report on the subject from last year. Not sure what you consider brutal? Sounds brutal to me.
http://acr.hrschool.org/mainfile.php/0170/286/
Pakistan's Human Rights Situation 2003: US Report {Report}
Pakistan has come under sharp criticism for its human rights record in the human rights report for 2003 issued by the State Department at a special ceremony addressed by Secretary of State Colin Powell. The report points out that the National Assembly has passed no bills since 2002, barring the budget, while President Pervez Musharraf, the intelligence services, and the military continue to dominate the government. Corruption and inefficiency remained acute, although reforms initiated by the Musharraf government to reduce corruption have had some effect on officials at higher levels of government. While the Supreme Court showed "a limited degree of independence", the overall credibility of the judiciary remained low. The report noted that during the year under review, the press was able to publish relatively freely; however, journalists practised self-censorship, especially on sensitive issues related to the military, and human rights groups continued to report acts of intimidation against journalists by the central government. Provincial and local governments occasionally arrested journalists and closed newspapers that were critical of the government or printed allegedly offensive material. The government retained near-monopoly control of broadcast television and radio, but cable and satellite channels were increasingly popular and uncensored. Journalists were targets of harassment and violence by individuals and groups. During the year, the government sporadically permitted several large anti-government demonstrations; however, it prevented other protests and arrested organisers, including for security reasons. The government imposed some limits on freedom of association, religion, and movement. Governmental and societal discrimination against religious minorities, particularly Christians and Ahmedis, remained a problem. The 42-page section on Pakistan states, "The government's human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few areas, serious problems remained. In 2002, citizens participated in national government elections; however, many observers found serious flaws in the legal framework for the election. Security forces used excessive force, at some times resulting in death, and committed or failed to prevent extra-judicial killings of suspected militants and civilians. Killings between rival political factions and sectarian groups continued to be a problem. Police abused and raped citizens. Prison conditions remained extremely poor and life threatening, and police arbitrarily arrested and detained citizens." According to the survey, several political leaders remained in detention or in exile abroad at the year's end. Case backlogs led to long delays in trials, and lengthy pre-trial detention was common. The judiciary was subject to executive and other outside influences and corruption, inefficiency, and lack of resources remained severe problems. The government took steps to control the judiciary and to remove itself from judicial oversight. Some aspects of the government's implementation of its anti-corruption campaign violated due process. The government also infringed on citizens' privacy rights. The report was critical of violence against women and children and singled out "honour killings" for special criticism. It said, "Discrimination against women was widespread, and traditional social and legal constraints generally kept women in a subordinate position in society. Sectarian attacks against Shia professionals remained a problem. The government and employers continued to restrict worker rights significantly. Debt slavery persisted, and bonded labour of both adults and children remained a problem. The use of child labour remained widespread. Trafficking in women and children for the purposes of prostitution and bonded labour was a serious problem. Terrorist attacks continued. Most notably, Islamic extremist groups attempted at least twice to assassinate President Musharraf, and Sunni extremists killed over 70 Shias in bombings at a mosque and a police training facility in Quetta." (The Daily Times 27/02/04)
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