MANIPAL, India, March 10 (UPI) -- Say
this for Pakistan's army -- its aftershave works. It seems to reduce to blobs of
helpless jelly the critical faculties of U.S. "experts" on Pakistan
within the CIA, the State Department and the Department of Defense.
Since the jihadization of the military by
Pakistan's former president Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in the 1970s, the officer
corps has continued as a force multiplier for the numerous terror groups
headquartered in urban and rural communities across the country.
Except for Jehangir Karamat, the former
chief of army staff who accepted his 1998 dismissal by Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif, no chief of army staff since Zia-ul-Haq (1976-1988) has paid heed to
the elected civilian government of Pakistan in matters considered by the
military to be within its purview.
These include the portfolios of defense,
interior, foreign affairs and now the prime minister's office, as well as
subjects such as assistance to terror organizations and the nuclear deterrent.
Such an arrangement has had the tacit acquiescence of every North Atlantic
Treaty Organization country -- including those that specialize in delivering
sermons on democracy and human rights.
Despite the armed forces' control over
areas considered key to the functioning of government in any major country,
both India and the United Kingdom are enthusiastic in insisting that Pakistan
remain within "value-based" forums like the Commonwealth. They also
back every loan application Pakistan makes to the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund, despite the kleptomania of its higher echelons.
Admittedly, this trait of Pakistan is shared with many countries in the world,
including India.
