Columnist Pervez Hoodbhoy gives an in-depth look into how General Musharraf survives.
Musharraf flits effortlessly between personae. At one moment he is the “responsible” world leader who speaks charmingly to the international media about moderate Islam; at the next, he is the cunning conspirator who rigs elections, destroys political opponents, breaks promises on relinquishing power, enters into mutually beneficial relationships with mullahs, and castigates human-rights activists as “Westernised fringe elements” that “are as bad as the Islamic extremists.”
He shamelessly uses all opportunities to deflect the real issues of development and stopping terrorism, as The Acorn points out in yet another example.
With virtually all of Pakistani organisations being run by ex-\serving army officers, it won’t be too tough to see that the majority of the quake aid money being pledged will either go to the Jihadi organisations or some officers’ personal bank accounts. A Kashmiri and an ex-Pakistani ambassador Maqbool Ahmad Bhatty makes a timely plea to get some accountability into all the funds flowing in, after giving another example of how things can go wrong.
The [Pakistani] prime minister announced that Rs 25,000 would be paid to each family whose house has been destroyed. This fate has befallen the bulk of the over three million people living in the earthquake-hit area. This opens up a classical opportunity for corruption. This writer’s ancestral village in Shakargarh had been occupied in 1971 by the Indian forces. When they withdrew following the Simla Agreement, they systematically demolished all houses by removing wood used in roofs, doors and windows. The government decided to pay Rs 1,000 to each house owner. The local officials entrusted with the task would pay only Rs 500, and obtain a receipt for Rs 1,000. When the amounts being disbursed are much larger, the opportunities for corruption are greater.
