Musharraf and the Pakistani Army's Many Problems

Byoliveridley

Why has Musharraf failed so dramatically to stop the insurgency? One reason is that most of the public is hostile to government action against the extremists (and the rest offer tepid support at best). Most Pakistanis see the militants as America’s enemy, not their own. The Taliban is perceived as the only group standing up against the unwelcome American presence in the region. Some forgive the Taliban’s excesses because it is cloaked in the garb of religion. Pakistan, they reason, was created for Islam, and the Taliban is merely asking for Pakistan to be more Islamic. Even normally vocal, urban, educated Pakistanis — those whose values and lifestyles would make them eligible for decapitation if the Taliban were to succeed in taking the cities — are strangely silent. Why? Because they see Musharraf and the Pakistan army as unworthy of support, both for blocking the path to democracy and for secretly supporting the Taliban as a means of countering Indian influence in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s problems start at the top – Los Angeles Times

This is an excellent article on how the Pakistanis military’s long hold on power has created a situation where the Talibanization of Pakistan is tolerated even by the people who have a lot to lose from it. He has to step away and let Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto fight it out, but I don’t see it happening unless he loses control of the army.

While on the subject of Pakistan, this blog post by Samia Altaf summarizes the hollowness of Pakistan’s “democracy”. Bhutto and Sharif have, in their past incarnations, been about as corrupt and reliant on the army as Musharraf is. So, are they good alternatives to Musharraf? Not really.

Tags: ,

Similar Posts

  • Violence in North East India

    Byoliveridley

    ULFA attack has WB, Bihar on alert : ULFA, Assam, violence, Bengal : IBNLive.com : CNN-IBN

    In a brutal backtracking, after gunning down 17 non-Assamese workers on Friday in the Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts, the ULFA went on a rampage on Saturday gunning down migrant workers from Bihar and Bengal.

    Assam is a state in North East India bordering West Bengal, and Bangladesh, and there has always been a lot of tension between the ethnic Assamese and Banglas from both sides of the border. The United Liberation Front of  Asom (ULFA)  purports to  speak for the Assamese and has been waging a violent armed struggle. Unfortunately, they are not really powerful enough to take on the Indian army and usually take their frustrations out on innocent day laborers. The Assamese feel that Banglas and Biharis are coming into their state and taking their jobs and disrupting their culture. Like any other ethnic situation in India, it is complex, messy, and with no “right” or “easy” solutions. Clearly, increased development in neighboring states would keep the Banglas and Biharis from moving.  But, thanks to its oil reserves, the jobs are in Assam. The Indian army has been active in this area as a counter insurgency force since the ’80s. Complicating the matter are the mountainous  terrain and the remoteness of most of these attacks.

  • |

    Brotherless Night – Go Read

    Byoliveridley
    Brotherless Night is the book I wanted to read, so I wrote it. VV Ganeshananthan
    Book cover of the book Brotherless night by VV Ganesananthan

    I grew up in Chennai in the 80s and got to witness the Sri Lankan civil war from just across the border. I read about it mostly from the Indian English news media (The Hindu, Indian Express) and remember many parts of the conflict: The initial profusion of Tamil groups, the LTTE takeover, the quick suppression of peaceful/non-violent voices by the LTTE, the Indian “peace” mission, and then much of the mayhem that followed, including the killing of Rajiv Gandhi. My opinions were filtered through my pro-Sanskrit anti-Tamil Brahmin upbringing and I don’t remember being especially sympathetic to the cause back then.

    This book really took me back and filled in the blanks. I learn history best when told through the experiences of those affected the most, the women, children, “civilians”. It’s a beautiful, extremely challenging history lesson on the Sri Lankan war told from the viewpoint of a young woman growing up in Jaffna. VV’s writing makes you read through the horror of war, the clear and repeated threads of who suffers and how no one involved in violence is “noble” or “heroic”. Read it if you are able, trigger warnings all the way with violence, sexual violence, family violence 🙁 It is however a story primarily of resistance, survival and how important it is to catalogue the horrors of war as they are happening, and not let that story get buried in traditional war jingoism.

    In this world we’re in right now, dominated by war coverage and the daily unchallenged assertions by those committing war that they are “right”, “honourable”, “just”, etc., reading accounts of war from the perspective of those most affected are a reminder. They are a reminder that when you commit to continuous violence, even if it starts as self defense or resistance, there’s no nobility there, no heroism: you’re killing human beings, you’re destroying lives, homes, gardens, libraries, schools, music, love and everything that makes us human. I really wish all war coverage focused on what is lost, not on who gained a bridge or how the great leader sitting in his well-protected mansion is waging the war.

  • | |

    Colonialism, Pharmaceutical style

    Byoliveridley

    Legal wrangle puts India’s generic drugs at risk – health – 29 January 2007 – New Scientist

    Tens of thousands of people being treated for AIDS will suffer if Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis succeeds in changing India’s patent law, the humanitarian agency Medecins Sans Frontieres warned on Monday. Novartis is challenging a specific provision of India’s patent law that, if overturned, would see patents being granted far more widely, heavily restricting the availability of affordable generic medicines, MSF says.

    In 2000, antiretroviral (ARV) treatment cost was estimated at $10,000 per patient annually. But the availability of generic drugs produced mainly in India, allowed costs to plummet to about $70 per patient per year, Mwangi adds.

    You’ve got to love the friendly multinational arguing to make extra billions while people die. But I don’t think any Indian judge will overthrow Indian patent law. And there is a national interest  exemption built into most patent statutes, per the TRIPs agreements.

  • Terrorist Attacks in Uttar Pradesh

    Byoliveridley

    Terror struck Uttar Pradesh on Friday, when militants triggered near-simultaneous blasts in court premises in three cities across the state, killing at least 13 and injuring over 59 others.Six bombs — three in Varansi, two in Faizabad and one in Lucknow — went off within a span of 15 minutes in the crowded court complexes between 1310 hours and 1325 hours. Some of bombs are believed to have been planted on cycles.A little-known outfit, called Indian Mujahideen, has claimed responsibility. UN intelligence agencies said senior UP police officials have received an email in which the outfit has owned up to the attacks.

    Delhi on high alert following UP serial blasts

    Blogged with Flock

  • |

    UN Committee to probe Indian caste based hate crimes and apartheid

    Byoliveridley

    UN committee to review India’s compliance in preventing atrocities on Dalits

    A special committee of United Nations working for elimination of all forms of racial discrimination will be reviewing India’s compliance of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in the light of recent incidents of atrocities on Dalits, as highlighted in the Khairlanji killings.

    This is sure to elicit howls of “colonialism”, “interference in internal affairs”, and “everybody does it” kind of protests. I am sure that some effigies will be burned. But the caste/class based oppression of disadvantaged communities is still very prevalent in large parts of rural India. Will some international light on this problem fix this? Probably not. But it may force the government to appoint yet another “commission” to study the problem, I guess.

    How the other half lives has a good compilation of links on this issue.