Comments on: Bhutto, Musharraf and the West

By: Debbieanne

Debbieanne — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 07:10:14 +0000

I am sorry I don’t know to link. But if anyone is interested, Winter Patriot, a US web site has really good posts about Pakistan. I read Tariq Ali’s article from there.

By: Down and Out of Sài Gòn

Down and Out of Sài Gòn — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 07:08:57 +0000

This is the funniest thing I've read about Bhutto's death.

By: adrian

adrian — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:01:07 +0000

“That most of the PPP inner circle consists of spineless timeservers leading frustrated and melancholy lives is no excuse. All this could be transformed if inner-party democracy was implemented. There is a tiny layer of incorruptible and principled politicians inside the party, but they have been sidelined. Dynastic politics is a sign of weakness, not strength. Benazir was fond of comparing her family to the Kennedys, but chose to ignore that the Democratic Party, despite an addiction to big money, was not the instrument of any one family.

The issue of democracy is enormously important in a country that has been governed by the military for over half of its life. Pakistan is not a “failed state” in the sense of the Congo or Rwanda. It is a dysfunctional state and has been in this situation for almost four decades.

At the heart of this dysfunctionality is the domination by the army and each period of military rule has made things worse. It is this that has prevented political stability and the emergence of stable institutions. Here the US bears direct responsibility, since it has always regarded the military as the only institution it can do business with and, unfortunately, still does so. This is the rock that has focused choppy waters into a headlong torrent.

This is one of the best summations of the current situation in Pakistan that I have read, apportioning responsibility where it surely belongs.

By: Tony D

Tony D — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 04:52:32 +0000

Islam/Israel? Iraq? Iran? India?

All good ‘I’ words that could be included in a discussion on Pakistani politics.

There’s a thought; how would India react to a failed Pakistani state with all those nukes are lying around?

By: Kim

Kim — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 04:51:49 +0000

What possible insights

Why don’t you read the article and see instead of boring us with your usual ad hominem judgemental nonsense?

By: John Greenfield

John Greenfield — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 04:42:27 +0000

Tariq Ali? Oh, FMD, now I have heard at all. What possible insights can an unreconstructed Trotskyist Luvvie, educated exclusively at private Catholics schools and Oxford have of interest to any of us here. I attended a lecture by him at the Seymour Centre a few months back. A dire ignoramus, whom nobody has told his train left the stattion 30 years ago.

By: John Greenfield

John Greenfield — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 04:38:42 +0000

And of course none of you dares mention the elepahnt in the room. The “I” word.

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 03:23:26 +0000

Great article. Acropolis Review has some good coverage of this as well.

http://acropolisreview.com/

By: Tony D

Tony D — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:50:34 +0000

Yes Dan, the HAMAS election is one example of ‘the west’ really, really needing to get over themselves and pull their collective heads in.

And Desipis, that kind of comment prevents it – if you think that HAMAS is just ‘a political party that has a sole purpose of destroying another country”, then you’ve totally ignored the reality on the ground in Gaza.

First things first: Face the facts.

By: Katz

Katz — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:23:45 +0000

Here’s a list of all the parties and alliances with members in the present Parliament of Pakistan:

Awami National Party – Balochistan National Party – Jamhoori Wattan Party – Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakhtun-khwa Milli Awami Party – Pakistan Awami Tehrik – Pakistan Democratic Party – Pakistan Muslim League (F) – Pakistan Muslim League (N) – Pakistan Muslim League (Q) – Pakistan Peoples Party – Pakistan Peoples Party (Sherpao) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal: Jamaat-e-Islami – Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) – Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan – Tehrik-e-Islami

Without peeking, see if you can guess which of these parties has the largest representation, whom they are alligned with, how they run their internal organisation, and what they stand for.

You can check your answers on the links beginning here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehrik-e-Islami

Once you have done that you will be impressed by:

1. How unstable Pakistani politics are.

2. How personalised and dynastic Pakistani politics are.

3. How powerful Islamism is as a popular force. (this amazed me)

4. How outsiders who don’t understand the above are likely to make a horrible hash of intervention in Pakistan.

5. How it will be sheer luck if you click first on the biggest party/alliance in Pakistani politics.