An interesting perspective brought to my attention today. The Economist: The latest confrontation, instead, should be a moment for Pakistanis, as well as foreign donors and friends, to rethink the role of the army. It claims to be a source of stability for the country. It battles Islamist extremists, is engaged in a campaign for control of North Waziristan and has long assumed the role of guarantor of stability in Pakistan—for example, against theoretical aggression from India. Yet over time it has proved to be the cause of immense pain and instability. Its past is riddled with destructive acts. For half of Pakistan’s existence it maintained outright control over politics and for much of the rest of the time it has sought to manipulate politics from afar. The army consumes the lion’s share of the country’s public spending; it involved itself in a near-genocide that led to the secession of Bangladesh; and deployed its spy service to usurp elections, murder journalists and collude with Islamist extremists. It quite probably provided shelter to Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda’s leader, and has been an active force in destabilising Afghanistan. It also remains the single-greatest obstacle to a peace deal with India. If it should now be barging its way back to outright control of politics—aided by the work of Mr Khan and Mr Qadri—that is something for Pakistanis and the rest of the world to lament.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 20:15:50 +0000