Future Pakistan

2010-05-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

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پابندی: فیس بک کے بعد یوٹیوب

یوٹیوب کا کہنا ہے کہ وہ سروس کی جلد از جلد بحالی کے حوالے سے کام کر رہے ہیں

سماجی رابطے کی ویب سائیٹ فیس بک کے بعد حکومت پاکستان نے ویڈیو شیئرنگ ویب سائٹ یو ٹیوب کو بھی پاکستان میں بند کرنے کے احکامات جاری کیے ہیں۔

ویب سائٹس پر پابندی کے بعد پاکستان میں انٹرنیٹ استعمال میں گزشتہ دو روز کے دوران بیس فیصد کمی واقع ہوئی ہے۔
پاکستانی حکام کے مطابق گزشتہ روز ’فیس بُک‘ کے ان حصوں کو بند کردیا گیا تھا جن پر پیغمبر اسلام کے خاکے بنانے کے مقابلے کا انعقاد کیا گیا ہے۔
اسلام آباد میں پاکستان ٹیلی کمیونیکیشن اتھارٹی کی جانب سے جمعرات کو جاری ہونے والے بیان کے مطابق تمام متعلقہ آپریڑز کو ہدایت کی گئی ہے کہ وہ یوٹیوب پر بڑھتے ہوئے قابل اعتراض مواد کی اشاعت کے پیش نظر اس ویب سائٹ کو بند کریں۔

بیان میں کہا گیا ہے کہ پی ٹی اے نے اس مواد (فیس بک پر پیغمبرِ اسلام کے خاکوں کا مقابلہ) کے خلاف یوٹیوب اور فیس بک پر دستیاب باقاعدہ چینلز سمیت احتجاج کا ہر ممکن طریقہ اپنایا کہ وہ قابل اعتراض مواد کی اشاعت سے گریز کریں۔
لیکن بیان کے مطابق وقت کے ساتھ اس مواد کی اشاعت میں اضافہ ہوتا گیا لہذا اس صورت حال کے پیش نظر پی ٹی اے نے ان ویب سائٹس کو پاکستان میں مکمل طور پر بند کرنے کا فیصلہ کیا ہے۔
خیال رہے کہ پاکستان میں دو سال قبل سنہ دو ہزار آٹھ میں یوٹیوب پر قابل اعتراض مواد کی وجہ سے جزوی پابندی عائد کی گئی تھی۔
پی ٹی اے کے مطابق انہوں نے قابل اعتراض مواد کے باعث اب تک ساڑھے چار سو لنکس بند کر دیے ہیں۔

وہ اس معاملے کو دیکھ رہے ہیں اور سروس کی جلد از جلد بحالی کے حوالے سے کام کر رہے ہیں

یوٹیوب

بیان میں کہا گیا ہے کہ انہوں نے یہ قدم پاکستان کے آئین، لوگوں کی خواہشات اور ہائی کورٹ اور حکومت کے احکامات کے تحت اٹھایا گیا ہے۔
پی ٹی اے نے الزام عائد کیا ہے کہ فیس بک اور یوٹیوب کی انتظامیہ کا رویہ ڈبلیو ایس آئی ایس کی قراداد اور ان کی ان پالسیوں کے برعکس ہے جو انہوں نے عوام کے لیے اپنی ویب سائٹس پر مشتہر کی ہیں۔
پی ٹی اے نے مزید کہا ہے کہ اس معاملے کا فوری حل نکالنے کے لیے فیس بک اور یو ٹیوب کے متعلقہ اہلکاروں کی طرف سے پی ٹی اے کے ساتھ رابطے کا خیر مقدم کریں گے تا کہ مذہبی ہم آہنگی اور احترام کو یقینی بنایا جا سکے۔
یوٹیوب کی جانب سے جاری ہونے والے ایک بیان میں کہا گیا ہے کہ ’وہ اس معاملے کو دیکھ رہے ہیں اور سروس کی جلد از جلد بحالی کے حوالے سے کام کر رہے ہیں‘۔

فیس بک پر پیغمبر اسلام کے بارے میں خاکے بنانے کا ایک مقابلہ ہورہا ہے اس لیے اس ویب سائٹ پر پابندی لگائی جائے: درخواست گزار

پاکستان ٹیلی کمیونیکیشن اتھارٹی یا پی ٹی اے کے چیرمین ڈاکڑ محمد یاسین نے بی بی سی سے بات کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ یو ٹیوب کی ویب سائٹ کو بھی اسی وجہ سے بند کیا گیا ہے کہ اس پر بھی ویسا ہی ’قابل اعتراض مواد‘ موجود ہے جیسا سماجی رابطے کی ویب سائٹ فیس بک پر موجود تھا۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ ’ہمیں ویب سائٹ پر اعتراض نہیں بلکہ مواد پر اعتراض ہے اور یہ کہ پوری ویب سائٹ اس لیے بند کرنا پڑی کیوں کہ ایک گھنٹے میں چالیس سے ساٹھ تک یو آر ایلز آرہی تھیں جنکو بلاک کرنا مشکل ہوگیا تھا‘۔انہوں نے کہا کہ یو آر ایلز کو روکنے کے طریقہ کار طویل، مشکل اور تکلیف دہ ہوتا ہے۔ڈاکڑ یاسین نے کہا کہ انہوں نے یہ کاروائی وزرات اطلاعات و ٹینکنالوجی کی ہدایت پر کی گئی ہے اور لوگ بھی شکایت کررہے ہیں۔
تا ہم ان کا کہنا ہے چار سے پانچ آپریڑز کل رات سے کام کررہے ہیں اور وہ مسسل شکایت وصول کررہے ہیں اور یہ کہ ہماری ای میل ایڈریس پر اور ویب سائٹ پر بھی لوگ شکایت کررہے ہیں۔ پی ٹی اے کے چیرمین ڈاکڑ یاسین نے کہا کہ اگر کسی اور ویب سائٹ سے قابل اعتراض مواد آیا تو اس ویب سائٹ کو بھی بلاک کیا جاسکتا ہے۔
اس سے قبل لاہور ہائی کورٹ نے پاکستان میں سماجی رابطے کی ویب سائٹ’فیس بک‘ تک رسائی پر پابندی لگانے کا حکم دیا تھا۔
جسٹس اعجاز احمد چودھری نے یہ حکم ’اسلامک لائیرز موومنٹ‘ کی اس درخواست پر دیا تھا جس میں کہا گیا تھا کہ فیس بک پر پیغمبر اسلام کے بارے میں خاکے بنانے کا ایک مقابلہ ہو رہا ہے اس لیے اس ویب سائٹ پر پابندی لگائی جائے۔
جسٹس اعجاز نے محکمۂ مواصلات کو ہدایت کی ہے کہ وہ پاکستان میں فیس بک کے استعمال پر پابندی عائد کر دے اور آئندہ تاریخ سماعت یعنی اکتیس مئی کو فیس بک کے بارے میں تحریری جواب پیش کرے۔
اسلام آباد سے ہمارے نامہ نگار کا کہنا ہے کہ فیس بک اور ویڈیو شیئرنگ ویب سائٹ یوٹیوب پر پابندی کے باعث پاکستان کے انٹرنیٹ استعمال میں گزشتہ دو روز کے دوران بیس فیصد کمی واقع ہوئی ہے۔
انٹرنیٹ کی سہولت فراہم کرنے والی ایک نجی کمپنی کے مطابق پاکستان میں انٹرنیٹ استعمال کرنے والوں کی کل تعداد اسی لاکھ کے قریب ہے۔
انٹرنیٹ کمپنیوں کی ملک گیر تنظیم کے رکن اور ’نیا ٹیل‘ کے سربراہ وہاج السراج کے مطابق فیس بک اور یو ٹیوب پر پابندی کے بعد سے ان کے ریکارڈ بتاتے ہیں کہ پاکستان کی ’انٹرنیٹ ٹریفک‘ میں بیس فیصد کمی ہوئی ہے۔

پاکستان میں انٹرنیٹ کے مقبول ہونے کے بعد سے اس کے استعمال میں اتنی اچانگ گراوٹ کی مثال نہیں ملتی

وہاج السراج

نیا ٹیل کے سربراہ کا کہنا تھا کہ پاکستان میں انٹرنیٹ کے مقبول ہونے کے بعد سے اس کے استعمال میں اتنی اچانک کمی کی مثال نہیں ملتی۔
’دو برس قبل بھی یو ٹیوب پر عارضی پابندی لگی تھی لیکن اس وقت بھی انٹرنیٹ ٹریفک میں اس قدر کمی ریکارڈ نہیں ہوئی تھی۔‘
وہاج السراج کے مطابق انٹرنیٹ کے استعمال میں اس کمی کے باعث انٹرنیٹ کمپنیوں کی آمدنی پر کچھ خاص فرق نہیں پڑا کیونکہ ان دونوں ویب سائٹس تک رسائی حاصل کرنے والے زیادہ تر افراد براڈ بینڈ انٹرنیٹ استعمال کرتے ہیں جس کا بل ماہانہ ادا کیا جاتا ہے۔
وہاج نے بتایا کہ انہوں نے ان دونوں ویب سائیٹس پر پابندی ٹیلی کام صنعت کو ریگولیٹ کرنے والے سرکاری ادارے پاکستان ٹیلی کمیونیکشن اتھارٹی کے حکم پر عائد کی گئی ہے۔
’دو روز قبل پی ٹی اے نے حکم دیا تھا کہ فیس بک کو بلاک کر دیں اور بدھ کی رات اسی طرح کا حکم یو ٹیوب پر چلنے والی بعض ویڈیوز کے بارے میں آیا لیکن تھوڑی دیر ہی میں ایک نیا حکم آ گیا کہ یوٹیوب کی پوری ویب سائٹ ہی کو بلاک کر دیں کیونکہ اس پر ناشائستہ اور غیر قانونی مواد شائع اور نشر کیا جا رہا ہے۔‘

ای میل کے جواب میں ہمیں بے شمار صارفین کی جانب سے جوابی ای میل آئی ہے جنہوں نے اس پابندی کی حمایت کی ہے

وہاج السراج

انٹرنیٹ کمپنی نے سربراہ کا کہنا تھا کہ وہ اس پابندی کے درست یا غلط ہونے کے بارے میں ذاتی طور پر کوئی رائے نہیں دینا چاہتے لیکن فیس بک پر پابندی کے ساتھ ہی انہوں نے اپنے صارفین کو ای میلز کے ذریعے اس پابندی کی وجوہات سے آگاہ کیا تھا۔
’اس ای میل کے جواب میں ہمیں بے شمار صارفین کی جانب سے جوابی ای میل آئی ہے جنہوں نے اس پابندی کی حمایت کی ہے۔‘
تاہم وہاج السراج نے امید ظاہر کی کہ ان دونوں ویب سائٹس کی بندش عارضی ہو گی۔
’پی ٹی اے کی انتظامیہ نے ہمیں بتایا ہے کہ وہ فیس بک اور یو ٹیوب کی انتظامیہ کے ساتھ رابطے میں ہیں اور اس مسئلے کو

حل کرنے کی ہر ممکن کوشش کی جا رہی ہے۔

2010-04-30T06:04:00.000-07:00

sawat in 2020

Pakistan in recent years has stumbled from one crisis to another. The future of the country, with 175 million mostly impoverished people and dozens of nuclear weapons, hangs in the balance. Regional rivalries, political instability, military dominance in the policy making arena and rising religious extremist trends are only making these challenges seem more intractable. Although Pakistan's vibrant civil society, relatively open (but often rumor-mongering) media, and assertive judiciary provide some hope, economic and development indicators are dismal.

Against this backdrop, the Asia Society is launching a Task Force and public program series entitled Pakistan 2020: A Vision for a Better Future and a Roadmap for Getting There to assess the political, social and economic challenges faced by Pakistan today and provide a series of recommendations for how the country can begin to pave a path towards peace and stability in the coming decade.

The Task Force will offer a roadmap for establishing stability, sustainable democratic order, and a pluralistic society in the country. Five core issue areas essential to realizing a sound future for Pakistan by 2020 will be examined:(1) improving the internal security situation; (2) moving the peace process with India forward; (3) enhancing the development sector; (4) strengthening democratic institutions; and (5) improving the rule of law. In each of these areas, a desired state of affairs for the year 2020 will be outlined and a road map will be developed to help find a way to get from here to there.

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Pakistani students sit on top of an overloaded mini bus as they ride home from school in Lahore SYNOPSIS SINO-PAKISTAN MILITARYALLIANCE: 2020-2025Col Virendra Sahai Verma ® Research Scholar Jawaharlal Nehru University,New DelhiSino-Pakistan ?excellent, strategic and permanent friendship? has been influencing the geo- strategic balance in South Asia for the last forty years. The main driver for this unique Sino-Pakistan friendship had been the common enmity with India and Pakistan?s perception of itself as a insecure small state. It has acquired a new dimension with growing Sino-Indian relationship and recent US India civilian nuclear accord. The aim of this presentation is to analyze the potential of this alliance in foreseeable future, next two decades or so.Width and Depth of Relationship The signing of Sino-Pakistan Border and Trade Agreement in March 1963 was a turning point in strategic south Asia which resulted in resolution of their border dispute and construction of Karakoram Highway which was completed in 1969. Thereafter, followed the massive Sino-Pakistan defense co-operation which provided cheap and fairly good quality armament to Pakistan. This kept the conventional arms balance between India and Pakistan within reasonable limits. In 1997, 78% of their main battle tanks, 63% of combat aircraft and 77% of patrol boats and missile crafts in service in Pakistan were of Chinese origin. The defense co-operation is multi- dimensional and has encouraged self reliance and indigenization. The most unique factor in the mutually beneficial ties has been the nuclear and missiles co-operation which has defied international forms and IAEA safeguards. The nuclear support to Pakistan has been in transfer of weapon designs, setting up of enrichment plants, conduct of nuclear tests on behalf of Pakistan, imparting training and supply of heavy water. Pakistani core arsenal of Shaheen 1 and 2 (latter recently tested) missiles are the product of M 9 Chinese missiles factory transferred to Pakistan in 1987-88. This transfer would keep Pakistan in favourable position with India in missiles systems for the next twenty years though it does not possess the requisite technological and industrial base as India does.Strong future potential is in Gwadar Deep Sea Port being constructed close to strait of Hormuz at the entrance of Persian gulf with Chinese financial and technological assistance. This project, the first phase completed in 2005, is being marketed as the future hub of commercial activity in the region linking China with Middle East and Central Asia and Afghanistan with Arabian sea.The negative aspect of growing trade via Karakoram has been the Pakistan based Osama Bin Ladin outfit?s support to Ughurs separatists fighting for independent Turkistan..However, both countries are keeping the issue confined to themselves and under check Growing Sino-Indian RelationsSino-Indian relations are moving towards resolution of their border dispute and booming trade. Trade would boost further with Nathula trade corridor opening shortly and extension of Gormo-

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2010-04-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad in 2020

Hyderabad (help·info) (Sindhi/Urdu:حیدرآباد) Haidarābād) is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the sixth largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot (Sindhi: نيرُون ڪوٽ). Formerly the capital of Sindh, it serves as the headquarters of the district of Hyderabad. Before the creation of Pakistan, it was known as the Paris of India, for its roads used to be washed with river water.

The political boundaries stage the city as a district and the region has seen major political turmoil. From the battles fought against the British occupation to the civilian unrest in the 1980s, the city has lost its glory of past and much of its cultural and architectural heritage lies in tattered ruins.

Hyderabad is a hot and humid city in the south of the nation and has been a staging point for literary campaigns particularly oriented towards the Sindhi language and a birthplace of a few influential poets and Sufi dervishes. Rich with culture and tradition, the city is the largest bangle producer in the world and serves as a transit between the rural and the urban Sindh.

Stationed close to important architectural digs like the pre-Harappan Amri at 110 km, the region holds extreme importance to palaeontologists world over. The city is also known for its medical and educational institutions. It is also home to one of the oldest universities in the region, the University of Sindh.

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Gwader in 2020

2010-04-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Gwader in 2020

Gawadar or Gowader, has been recently developed as a free port in Pakistan where there will be a tax holiday for the 40 years. The port has been handed over to the Singapore ports Authority to handle its operation from scratch. The port will serve the Pakistani exports as well as it will serve as hub for exporters of Middle east At present there may not be much for a pleasure seeking traveler but it is going to become a modern city. A 5 star hotel has already been stared in Gawadar and more will come soon.

Gawadar & Surrounding areas

HOTELS

Gawadar Pearl Continental Hotel Gawadar

Gwadar is located on the southwestern coast of Pakistan, close to the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. More than 13 million bbl/d of oil passes through the strait. It is strategically located between three increasingly important regions of the world: the oil-rich Middle East, heavily populated South Asia and the economically emerging and resource-rich Central Asia. .

Vegetation Gwadar

The vegetation in Gwadar consists mainly of grasses and spiny scrubs. Grass and fodder plants are fairly numerous in the district. The landscape is featured with chish (acacia), chigird, and kahur (prosopis spicigera) in the plains and gazz (tamarix galica) or tamarisk trees in the beds of torrents. Fodder grass is plentiful and found in places where water is scarce. Some plants of pharmaceutical importance including aishak, guldir, morpuzo, danichk (Ispaghol), keraich, udesh are also found in the district. A frequently found plant is pish (nannorhops ritchieana) or dwarf palm which is used for construction of huts in some areas of the district.

History

The Makran region surrounding Gwadar was occupied by unknown Bronze age people who settled in the few oases. It later became the Gedrosia region of the Achaemenid Persian empire. The region is believed to have been conquered by the founder of the Persian empire, Cyrus the Great. The capital of the satrapy of Gedrosia was Pura, thought to have been located near modern Bampûr, in Iranian Balochistan. During the homeward march of Alexander the Great, his admiral Nearchus led a fleet along the modern Makran coast and recorded that the area was dry and mountainous, inhabited by the Ichthyophagoi or Fish eaters - a Greek rendering of the ancient Persian phrase Mahi khoran, which has become the modern word Makran.[4]

After the collapse of Alexander's empire, the area was ruled by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander’s generals, but the region came under local rule about 303 BC. For several centuries, the region remained on the sidelines of history, until the Muslim Arab army under Muhammad bin Qasim captured the town of Gwadar in 711 AD. In the following centuries the area was contested between various powers including the Mughals and the Safavids.

2010-04-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

Lahore in 2010
What Lies in the Future for Pakistan
By A Khokar • Jul 13th, 2009 • Category: Politics, Worth A Second Look • 9 Comments

Presently Pakistan is now a nation caught up between its Army and the Taliban, fighting a war— not of its own making. Its population lives in continuous fear of bombings and suicide attacks - the next one could be at the local mosque, an Internet cafe, or a roadside restaurant. Most Pakistanis are now resigned to full-scale army action seeing it extended across the country supposedly to exterminate the evil of Talibanisation in the society that lately Pakistan has decided to eliminate and evict this evil out from their country. There seems to be many snakes in the grass that this nation has to deal with.

Pakistan Army may be fighting the miscreants in Swat-Dir area to restore the government writ previously lost at the hands of Taliban or busy clearing the Terrorists dens in FATA area but the world weigh the volatile war situation in Pakistan differently. The Western media and western governments are focusing their usual rhetoric on the possibility of take over of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal by US lead forces— fearing that these may fall into Taliban hands. On ground Taliban may not be able to take over the nuclear arsenal directly but they fear it may be by design; of some coupe with in military with the help of Taliban sympathisers and—– thus endangering the whole world security. Pakistanis, on the other hand, are the people consistently living under these threats forced upon them by Taliban through violence and terror and fearing imposition of Taliban coercive and concocted mythology.

The most ballyhooed Obama’s Egypt speech to improve America’s image of a brutal aggressor has actually turned to be more of despair than a hope, when Muslims world as a whole finds itself fixed in the grip of US lead foreign occupying forces. For last one decade millions of people have been massacred and many more millions are displaced and their lands reduced to rubbles destroyed. Life in Muslim lands is literally—- turned to misery in all its spheres.

As expected Obama has failed to address the main catalyst and US own implanted oppressive agent, the regime of Israel which is the source of all the anarchies in Arab world. Rather he ended up admonishing the other repressive Arab regimes for their human rights issues and dictatorial practices. He categorically blamed Pakistan for harbouring the Terrorist like Al Qaeda and others inside its territory and declares them an eminent threat for the world security. Ever since, Obama is reverberating to deal with it squarely by every possible means available at hand. This amounts to declaring a full fledge US war against Pakistan which happens to be US ally also.

The Ghost of Osama bin Laden also keeps on emerging from his grave to come and deliver the messages at the hour of need that United States wants it the most. These messages in turn grant a new life to Terrorism and mark it that purported Al-Qaeda Terrorism is live and kicking as ever. This is very conveniently used as the pretext and an enabler that United States has very successfully evolved to exterminate any opposition in the way in the name of elimination of Terrorism. Al Qaeda and its Terrorism have proved to be the umbilical cords for US, so called moral grounds to maintain her presence in occupied foreign lands in and around of Iraq and Afghanistan. US are now eagerly looking ahead and waiting in the wings to invade their next planned ultimate target - Pakistan.

The pundits forecasting the wide range future of this region say that China and India are the emerging regional super power of the future. Where as Russian after retreat from Afghanistan and Central Asian States would like to keep on simply roaring from their dens in Moscow for some times to come. EU forces may remain confined with in their European borders but will keep on supporting the excursions of United States to secure the economic and natural resources for them. Russia is found to be self sufficient to propel its national economy and may not be keen in asserting its authority in the other world’s natural resources found like in Middle Eastern lands and is not likely to resort to any aggressive or deceptive scheming as United States is carrying out to mark n establish her hegemony in Middle East and Central Asia and control the resources in the wake of threats of take over by the emerging powers like China and India in the region.

United States having got recognised itself a lone superpower and a big brother who has come travelling here all the way from across the seven seas on their unique excursion to unfurl her set agenda and the goals as per their known plans of; Project for the New American Century (PNAC). In pursuance of the same United States may like that:
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2010-04-08T23:47:00.001-07:00

KarachiFlyover in 2020While the assassination of Benazir Bhutto certainly plunged Pakistan into one of its works crisis in decades, the recent successful elections appear to have brought hope back again. The extremist parties did poorly, and even with a low turn out and election violence, it appears that the latest cycle of military rule is over.

Yes, much remains unresolved. Certainly as Nathan Gardels argues in his article, "Bhutto's elimination a big boost for al-Qa'ida," the West did lose track of the prize, focusing on Iraq instead of on Islamabad. It is in Pakistan where the future of the Islamic world lies. In addition to the Afghanistan Taliban, there is now a Pakistani Taliban. Nuclearization continues. Civil society is still vulnerable to internal and external shocks. Can politicians create a secular democratic Pakistan? Or will the politics of Jihadism continue, with Kashmir returning as the battle front?

While these issues are important in understanding Pakistan's future, we often forget the deep archetypes and structures (inner symbols and external patterns) in Pakistani politics. These delimit what is possible.

Syed Abidi's Doctoral dissertation at the University of Hawaii, titled Social change and the Politics of Religion in Pakistan made the observation that Pakistan's political system can best be understood as a pendulum between civilian rule and military rule.

The first stage was from 1947-1958 and was characterized by the Parliamentary system with the dominant class interest being the feudal land owners. The second stage was from 1958-1968. This was martial law with an American presidential system and saw the rise of the capitalist class. The third stage - from 1968-1977 - saw the end of Martial law (with a presidential and parliamentary system) and the beginning of the Bhutto era and the return of feudalism.

With the coup by General Zia in 1977, military rule returned and the capitalist class was back in power. The fourth stage had begun. This ended with his assassination in 1988.

The fifth stage was characterized by civilian rule (Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Shariff) until Pervez Musharraf conducted his own coup in 1999 and began the sixth stage. With the events of 9/11, globalization and the rise of the internet, this phase has seen the return of the capitalist class.

In 2008 the seventh stage of Pakistan's politics appears to have begun. The military era is about to end and the civilians will be back in power – either in the guise of Musharraf the democrat, the PPP, or Nawaz Shariff – or some power sharing formula. While the death of Benazir Bhutto is destabilizing, it does not challenge the deeper structure of Pakistan's politics. Pakistan thus swings back and forth between military and civilian rule one side and feudal and capitalist economies on the other. The archetypes are the general and politician/landlord.

But why has Pakistan been dominated by the poles of military and civilian power - and why the pendulum between these two poles? Noted political scientist and human rights advocate, Dr. C. Inayatullah in his classic State and Democracy in Pakistan argues that one creates the conditions for the other: "As the military became more independent and powerful controlling national politics, its top brass developed an ideology and a set of perceptions to justify their political role. Politics was projected as an irrational, disorderly, inefficient and corrupt method of running the affairs of society compared with the rational, efficient, quick and clean way the military runs itself." They believed they were morally bound to overthrow politicians if the politicians threatened the independence of the nation or if they meddled in the internal affairs of the military. As guardians of the nation, they believe they have the right to rule the nation. Once the civilians come into power, feeling threatened by the military, they attempt to control them. As well, with their feudal roots, a pattern of patronage and corruption sets in. This invites protests from other political parties, often leading to violence. Eventually to stop the violence and decay, – when there is weakness, public contempt of the political party – the military rises up and takes over. Weaknesses emerge from various factors – internal politics, feudal politics, corruption, external threats with the particular causes changing historically.

2010-04-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

NEXT TWO Y EAR PAKISTAN.

2010-04-01T23:13:00.000-07:00

Future of Pakistan2011

Recent history in Pakistan seems to bear a similarity to events in Iran during the rule of the Shah. The recent leadership of Pakistan has been similar in several ways to that of the Shah. In both countries the leaders were strongly backed by the United States. Both were involved in repressing or attacking their own people. In Iran, this led the revolution of 1979 which created an Islamic Republic. Could something similar happen in Pakistan?

In 1953, the democratically elected leader of Iran, Mohammed Mosaddeq, was replaced by the Shah in a US and British led coup. The US and their CIA provided funding and support to the Shah during his resign, and helped to establish the dreaded SAVAK secret police force. SAVAK tortured and executed thousands during the Shah's rule, and imprisoned many more.

In Pakistan, the democratically elected leader, Nawaz Sharif was deposed in a military coup in 1999 by General Musharraf. While the US was not involved in this coup, the Bush administration strongly supported Musharraf after 9/11 and provided him with significant funding. Musharraf was pressured to resign in 2008 and Pakistan did elect a new leader, Asif Ali Zardari, though he has maintained close ties to the US and has continued similar policies. Under the Obama administration, the US has remained a strong backer of Zardari and is continuing to provide aid to his government.

After 9/11 Musharraf was threatened by the US to side with them against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Under pressure from the US, and worried about closer ties between India and the US, Musharraf agreed and provided the US with the use of three airbases, as well as other support. In the following years, the Pakistan army took an active role in the war, with forces operating at the Afghan border and well as pursuing domestic al-qaeda and Taliban militants.

In recent years, Pakistan has supported and permitted (though sometimes reluctantly) the United States use of unmanned drones to bomb suspected militant sites within Pakistani territory. This bombing has escalated considerably in the past couple years. For nationalistic reasons, and concern over civilian casualties, the Pakistani public has been very critical of these attacks and many consider them attacks on Pakistani sovereignty or even acts of terror. In a recent visit to Pakistan, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was sharply questioned over these attacks.

2010-04-01T21:17:00.000-07:00