Pakistan News Roundup | A View From Abroad

Former MNA Chitral Abul Akbar Chitrali addresses protesters at Chitral, Pakistan while some 300 people are present. Photo by G.H. Farooqi Chitral Photo by Flickr under the Creative Commons License. Election update - Pakistani media outlets continue to report back-channel negotiations between Musharraf and the Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz group (PML-N). It is alleged that they have discussed the possibility of forming an alliance in order to thwart the rise of the PPP in the upcoming elections. Nawaz Sharif has categorically denied such meetings and has refused to compromise with Musharraf until all deposed judges have been restored. Rumors however abound. - There is also speculation of an election delay if Musharraf’s party is unable to form an effective coalition (and consequently a pliant parliament) before February 18th. - In the run up to elections, the main controversy surrounds the role of the district and nazims or mayors who have allegedly used their influence on district administrations to support and facilitate the campaigns of their favored candidates. - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also been criticized for its indifference regarding complaints registered by parties of the opposition. (op-ed on election manipulation) (FAFEN report on election campaigns) War on Terror - It is said that the Pakistani government has rejected offers made by Mike McConnell and Michael Hayden on January 9th to combat the Taliban in Pakistan’s tribal belt. Musharraf refused both the expansion of covert CIA operations and the prospect of joint operations with Pakistani security forces to hunt down militants. (There are people in Pakistan who wonder whether Pakistan’s apparent rejection of the offer is just a front to prevent anti-Musharraf sentiments from increasing. Others, such as retired Air Marshall Riazuddin Sheikh believe that such a partnership would indeed benefit Pakistan which is having trouble fighting extremists on its own. He also feels that Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US should engage in a tripartite military effort to subdue militants in the tribal areas) Civil-Military relations - Pakistan’s new COAS, General Pervez Kayani has made significant changes within the military establishment by removing military officials from Pakistan’s civilian bureaucracy. He has also warned the military intelligence against interference in Pakistan’s political process. It is unclear at this time whether he has Musharraf’s support in doing this or whether these are changes he has made independently. There is also speculation that if popular support for Musharraf continues to dwindle and the security situation deteriorates, Kayani might withdraw his support from Musharraf altogether.

You are absolutely correct.

Submitted by on Wed, 01/30/2008 - 4:18am.

You are absolutely correct. The military's business operations are worth billions of dollars and have served to increase the clout of the military. Unfortunately, civilian governments in Pakistan have also contributed to the military's economic might by extending economic favours in exchange for its support. All this is documented in Ayesha Siddiqa's ground-breaking book, Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy in which she writes, "economic and political interests are linked in a cyclic process: political power guarantees economic benefits which, in turn, motivate the officer cadre to remain powerful and play an influential role in governance."

While the military's economic entrenchment will take a while to reverse, Pervez Kayani's attempt to decouple the military from politics is a step in the right direction. Just today his spokesperson issued a statement in which he confined the role of the military to maintaining law and order in the upcoming elections and placed the responsibility of conducting elections entirely with the Election Commission of Pakistan. This further reinforces his approach of distancing the military from the electoral/political process and is cause for hope.

At first glance, I think the

Submitted by on Tue, 01/29/2008 - 3:59pm.

At first glance, I think the civil-military news is most important. That said, I've heard much of the clout of the Pakistani military comes form their involvement in the economy, not just the government.