http://military-security-review.blogspot.com/,A Milestone on the Road to Anarchy

http://military-security-review.blogspot.com/

Elections 2008-A Milestone on the Road to Anarchy

25 March 2008

A.H Amin



General Musharraf the military usurper of Pakistan in an article in Washington Post has claimed all credit for holding free and faor elections ! The article appears to be a lobbying attempt with USA in order to get another extension as president of Pakistan for himself.

Not after months of turmoil , but after years of turmoil which have its origins in Pakistani military junta's unconditional collaboration with USA , elections were finally held in Pakistan in 2008.



It is essential that Pakistan should achieve democracy.It is so because a truly democratically elected government will not make the compromises with USA or any other external power like a general who usurped power through the backdoor.When Pakistan's military dictator General Musharraf states that "The government worked tirelessly to ensure that Monday's vote would be free, fair, transparent and peaceful. A broad range of new procedures were put in place -- such as the public counting of ballots at each polling station -- to make certain that this would be the fairest election ever held in Pakistan" this is an insult to Pakistani masses intelligence.A military dictator who usurped power thinks that he did a favour to Pakistan by holding free and fair elections ! What a jugglery of words designed to introduce a conflict of principle ! More so because Musharrafs head of ISI's political section General Zamir admitted in an interview that he rigged the elections of 2002 as Musharraf had ordered !

General Musharraf was fored to hold free and fair elections under severe pressure of USA and its western allies.No compliment to the self proclaimed sincerity of General Musharraf !

The election is historically significant because it has in principle increased political instability in Pakistan by producing a hung parliament.Ripe ground for Pakistani military junta's intelligence agencies to further divide all political forces and make the resultant coalition weak and thus the office of the president stronger.

According to General Musharraf the Pakistani nation faces "three main tasks: defeating terrorism and extremism; building a stable and effective democratic government; and creating a solid foundation for sustained economic growth." He thinks that he can accomplish them and is ready to work with the newly elected Parliament to achieve these objectives.A chronic job seeker , here we have a man who destroyed democracy and now claims credit for restoring it and now wants to work with political parties whose leaders according to him some years deserved to be kicked.In 1999 he created a military organ called NAB and used it to blackmail the vast majority of these politicians.Later the same politicians were blackmailed into joining the kings party called PML Q.

General Musharraf thinks that great challenges are there but also great opportunities exist.He thinks that he is the most suitable man to defeat the challenges and to harness the opportunities.A claim far from reality when in Waziristan the commanding general cannot travel 45 kilometres in jeep by road from Miranshah to Bannu.When Balochistan has been subjected to a massive genocide by military action.When 5 divisions of Pakistan army are struck in tribal areas of Pakistan !

General Musharraf thinks that he is the best bet of USA to fight terrorism.Thus writing an article in Washington Post was part of a strategy to gain extension from USA .

As the Pakistani experience in Bangladesh,Balochistan and Tribal Areas has shown, military force alone is not sufficient. A successful counterinsurgency requires a multi-pronged approach -- military, political and economic.General Musharraf's strategy was to catch some Al Qaeda leaders and sell them to USA as he confessed in his biography.This he did in his own words because Armitage threatened that he will bomb Pakistan to stone age !

He wants the continued support of the United States for Pakistan but above all for himself . He has asked Americans to remember that building democracy is difficult in the best of conditions; doing so in a complex country such as Pakistan -- with its uneasy political history, with its centuries-old regional and feudal cleavages, and with violent extremists dedicated to the defeat of democracy -- is even more challenging. He wants the USA to understand that General Musharraf (Retired) is indispensableif , a peaceful transition to democracy has to be achieved . Although the people of Pakistan clearly demonstrated by their voting that they dont President Musharraf, Musharraf still thinks that he is indispensable.Like Hitler in the last days of power in his bunker thought that some miracle would lead to his triumph or at least survival.General Musharraf thinks that he is indispensable for Pakistan and above all for USA.If USA still believes this theory expounded by Musharraf then the scene is set for diasaster.

General Musharraf is all set to make sure that the parliament elected by Pakistanis in 2008 does not survive for more than an year or two.The horse trading and buying and selling has already commenced.Pakistan is condemned to remain unstable because USA has more faith in Pakistan's generals and its mercenary army which is doing the job of USA's tactical garbage collector than the people of Pakistan.A sad conclusion to the elections of 2008.Pakistan is condemned to greater civil strife and continued instability.That appears to be part of USA's long term strategy !