The democratic government in Pakistan is a mirage. The power lies in the hands of the military which decides everything. It is above the law hence not accountable to anyone. During the 1990s the military was playing the role of puppeteer - after General Zia was killed in 1988 - it was assumed the end of a military dictatorship. It was not so - the military was very much in control and remains so.The generals may change - but within the armed forces there is a central command. It does not have to show its face.
The military consumes 90% of Pakistan's budget. There is no money left for anything else. There is no room for development of infrastructure or anything else. When a general is removed the central command offers the people a political government of its own choice. All the failures of the military, all the allegations of corruption of decades is dumped on the new civilian government. The generals and the central command which run their affairs are the ones to blame. The central command prefers to have complete criminals in power - it is easier to get rid of them.
Everything which is happening in Pakistan is because of the military and the military never owns the blunders it has made. It is in the interest of the military that there should be anarchy, sectarian violence, militancy. It funds these activities. When the civilian government cannot do anything about this - the military conveniently moves and 'restores order'. MQM was a creation of the military and Altaf Hussain the interests of the military by resorting to urban terrorism.
Every attack is staged. Within the military there are officers who extremely loyal to General Zia - they consider him a messiah - the religious extremism is a product of these fanatics. They still believe they can mould to their ideals. The military controls and runs Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) - the majority of TV channels are endless religious sermons. Cable operators are not allowed to show anything without the permission of PEMRA. The news and views on TV channels are tailor made to suit the hidden policies of the military. TV anchors lose their jobs - because the military does not like them. The media is entirely controlled and run by the military.
The parliament is a rubber stamp entity. It approves everything the military proposes. The fugitive General Musharraf cannot be arrested and hanged for different crimes he has committed - because the military does not want this to happen.
In every business which exists in Pakistan the military is involved in one way or another. The military considers Pakistan a regiment which should obey orders without any debate. The drone attacks are a hidden interest of Pakistani military not the interest of the people of Pakistan. All SMS were blocked which condemned the drone attacks initially. Which shows the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is controlled by the military not any civilians. If anyone imagines that Pakistan's military has the best interests of Pakistan and its people, it should set such illusions aside.
The only time the military be tamed and controlled is when a major crisis hits. It is defeated badly or so elements arise within the military which breaks away from the existing state of affairs. Soldiers kill soldiers. Most of the coups in Pakistan have been bloodless. The future coups are going to bloody. Many generals will be killed on both sides. Once this battle starts there will be no end to it -either one will defeat the other or the situation is terrible stalemate only which a civilian government would be able to resolve.
Cracks are already appearing in the military. A real estate operator Raja Riaz has exposed the depth of corruption the military is involved. Military officers stealing from fellow military officers. This incident orchestrated the removal of news anchor of a TV channel. Only goes to show the games the military is playing. But the mess is too big and cannot be cleaned up so easily. Factions within the military will emerge. The infighting will spill over and show the deep resentment which exists. Perhaps in time the military will be removed from all business activities and will have to accept whatever a civilian government allows it to have as a military budget. The luxurious lifestyle of our military officers will come to an end. The day there is a bloody coup that is the day when the military realise the limits of its power.
The military consumes 90% of Pakistan's budget. There is no money left for anything else. There is no room for development of infrastructure or anything else. When a general is removed the central command offers the people a political government of its own choice. All the failures of the military, all the allegations of corruption of decades is dumped on the new civilian government. The generals and the central command which run their affairs are the ones to blame. The central command prefers to have complete criminals in power - it is easier to get rid of them.
Everything which is happening in Pakistan is because of the military and the military never owns the blunders it has made. It is in the interest of the military that there should be anarchy, sectarian violence, militancy. It funds these activities. When the civilian government cannot do anything about this - the military conveniently moves and 'restores order'. MQM was a creation of the military and Altaf Hussain the interests of the military by resorting to urban terrorism.
Every attack is staged. Within the military there are officers who extremely loyal to General Zia - they consider him a messiah - the religious extremism is a product of these fanatics. They still believe they can mould to their ideals. The military controls and runs Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) - the majority of TV channels are endless religious sermons. Cable operators are not allowed to show anything without the permission of PEMRA. The news and views on TV channels are tailor made to suit the hidden policies of the military. TV anchors lose their jobs - because the military does not like them. The media is entirely controlled and run by the military.
The parliament is a rubber stamp entity. It approves everything the military proposes. The fugitive General Musharraf cannot be arrested and hanged for different crimes he has committed - because the military does not want this to happen.
In every business which exists in Pakistan the military is involved in one way or another. The military considers Pakistan a regiment which should obey orders without any debate. The drone attacks are a hidden interest of Pakistani military not the interest of the people of Pakistan. All SMS were blocked which condemned the drone attacks initially. Which shows the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is controlled by the military not any civilians. If anyone imagines that Pakistan's military has the best interests of Pakistan and its people, it should set such illusions aside.
The only time the military be tamed and controlled is when a major crisis hits. It is defeated badly or so elements arise within the military which breaks away from the existing state of affairs. Soldiers kill soldiers. Most of the coups in Pakistan have been bloodless. The future coups are going to bloody. Many generals will be killed on both sides. Once this battle starts there will be no end to it -either one will defeat the other or the situation is terrible stalemate only which a civilian government would be able to resolve.
Cracks are already appearing in the military. A real estate operator Raja Riaz has exposed the depth of corruption the military is involved. Military officers stealing from fellow military officers. This incident orchestrated the removal of news anchor of a TV channel. Only goes to show the games the military is playing. But the mess is too big and cannot be cleaned up so easily. Factions within the military will emerge. The infighting will spill over and show the deep resentment which exists. Perhaps in time the military will be removed from all business activities and will have to accept whatever a civilian government allows it to have as a military budget. The luxurious lifestyle of our military officers will come to an end. The day there is a bloody coup that is the day when the military realise the limits of its power.
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