Jun 22, 2011

Parliamentary control of the Pakistani military.

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The civilian government of Zardari is weak, and a puppet government brought to power by the JEWSA which controls it. The JEWSA hopes to utilize the weakness of the Zardari government to foster the JEWSA agenda in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Zardari bhen is a corrupt character who has made a few billion looting Pakistan since the early 1990's, and naturally given his life choice he has surrounded himself with similar ministers, especially Mr. fix it Rehman Malik. Given such a personality the Pakistani people can't expect him to forcefully advocate what is best for Pakistan viz a vi the all powerful nemesis of Pakistan, the military. Pakistan became a Failed State officially under Zardari's tenor.

It says a lot about Pakistani politics that one of the leading parties chose such a person as Zardari with such a poor reputation going back many years to lead the party, at such a critical time in the party's and country's history. Is 10 paratha a day Nawaz Sharif any better? Is any other political party or leader?

Be that as it may, somehow the nation of 180 million Pakistanis have to find the characters, personality, spirit, Izzat and political will to mobilize the nation to bring the disastrous Coolie Kuta's in uniform under the purview of parliament.

ALL STRATEGIC DISASTERS THE NATION HAS FACED SINCE 1951 is due to the PAKISTAN MILITARY, OFTEN WORKING WITH GORA POWERS FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD........often again working against the Pakistan people, often in secret.
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Pakistani activist urges civilians to challenge army


By Michael Georgy at Yahoo News and antiwar.com

Pakistan's civilian leaders should capitalize on public anger with the military and try to ease its grip on power, a leading human rights activist and lawyer said on Tuesday.

(You don't say...really???)

The army's image has been dented by a number of setbacks starting with the killing of Osama bin Laden last month by U.S. special forces on Pakistani soil.

(Its image should have been dented when it carried out the coup in 1958...and there after)

Traditionally seen as untouchable, Pakistan's generals now face strong public criticism.

(These Coolie Kuta's are untouchable all right-----Harijan untouchable)

Asma Jahangir, a leading human rights campaigner and head of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said the mood in the country provided an opportunity to start correcting a lopsided balance of power between the army and the civilian government.

(Turkey and India have succeeded, so why not Pakistan?)

"I am hopeful that public opinion will finally embolden civil society, including politicians. But it's not going to happen tomorrow morning," she told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"It's going to be a perpetual struggle. They are not just going to hand over and say 'thank you very much we are now under civilian control'. But at least they know that's what people want now."

The military has ruled nuclear-armed Pakistan for more than half of its history. Generals set security and foreign policy, even when civilian governments are in power, as is the case now.

(But they are not qualified any more than Zardari bhen)

The 600,000-strong army also runs a vast business empire that includes oil and gas interests, cereals and real estate.

(Ayesha Siddiqa: "Military Inc." Think of it as one big mafia organization with its own set of laws/codes unto themselves)

"Our parliament has to strengthen itself for anyone to change because nobody hands over power just voluntarily," said Jahangir.

(Who is going to lead this campaign, certainly not Zardari or Sharif?)

"The parliament will have to be more forceful and also begin to realize that they (the army) can't hold the economy of this country hostage, foreign policy hostage."

Pakistan's civilian leaders don't seem willing to stand up to the military in a country prone to army coups. Generals often orchestrate Pakistani politics from behind the scenes.

"They have selfishly overlooked the interests of the people of Pakistan. We think that it's time to change," said Jahangir.

The army says it does not interfere in politics and reiterated its commitment to democracy in a statement issued this month.

(Obviously untrue given the reality)

Jahangir said she is hopeful of change because the military has been on the defensive.

The United States kept Pakistan in the dark over the raid that killed bin Laden, humiliating the army and then piling pressure on it to crack down harder on militancy.

Then a handful of militants besieged a naval base in the city of Karachi last month, further embarrassing the military, which eats up a large chunk of state spending.

About 25 percent of government expenditure flows to the defense budget, according to some estimates, in a country with widespread poverty and social inequalities.

"The government needs to make legislation on intelligence agencies. They need to debate the defense budget. They don't need to cut it but at least they need to debate it," said Jahangir.

"There are parliamentary committees that are oversight structures for them. And there needs to be more parliamentary committees which are more effective."

(Pakistan needs to have OPEN committee hearings where the senior generals such as Shuja Pasha and Kiyani answers questions asked by the defense and intelligence committees. They have to be asked real questions, not soft ball ones)

To make matters worse for the military, suspicion fell on its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency after a prominent Pakistani journalist was tortured to death and dumped in a canal. The ISI said it played no role in his death.

Then the killing of an apparently unarmed man by paramilitary forces which was caught on videotape further eroded what little public confidence remains in Pakistan's security forces.

Jahangir said politicians and Pakistanis should move swiftly, but cautiously, to try and strengthen civilian institutions while the military seems vulnerable.

(Emphasis on swiftly.........if the Arabs, why not the Pakistanis?)

"Momentarily they are a bit worried. They are vulnerable to the extent that people are besieging them to change. It is critical," she said.

"They have a way of overcoming it too. They know that this is momentary. They will soon start getting their civilian counterparts to change public opinion to confuse the issue, to demonize people. We have seen it happen before."

(Editing by Myra MacDonald)