Pakistan and Saudi Arabia

Submitted by Vijay Dandapani (United States), Jul 29, 2005 at 10:33

Daniel Pipes is right about the Saudis and the need to compel them to do more before we address the need for democracy in that tribal culture. However, he is wrong on applying the same yardstick to Pakistan. The Mullahs of Pakistan do not have real power - evidence of that appears as recently as last week when he moved to overturn the "Hisbah" or accountability law passed by the NWFP, the only state ruled by the Mullahs. The Mullahs gained power only because Musharraf prevented more moderate politicians from contesting the polls in a bid to keep them from the power and to placate radical elements in the Army.

Pakistan has had a democratic government for nearly half of its 57 years of existence and in each instance it was the army that overthrew them. Every military government saw fit to wage war over its democratic neighbor, India either directly or through a proxy war carried out via terrorists operating within Pakistani territory. Arming and sustaining a military regime in Pakistan has proven costly to America and the world in the past as evidenced in the Afghan war that ended in the 80s. It is far worse to do so now when the civilized world is in an existential war against terrorists. The way to unravel the terror training camps that continue to exist in Pakistan is not by asking Musharraf to bring that about but by ensuring his departure. Pakistan has a number of politicians who are willing to step up to the leadership mantle and address terrorism in earnest.

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