Patently unfair to hold accountable the politicians alone without also holding accountable the powerful establishment.
LAHORE: Once again the sons of Pakistan have been slaughtered by attacks from across the Afghan border in a war that has its roots in General Ziaul Haq’s compromise on the security of the state. He did this by allowing rogue foreign elements to enter our soil and fight a war which extended his illegitimate junta, made many generals billionaires, but which also cost this country dearly in terms of lives and economic losses.
Who will compensate for the emotional loss to the families of the 24 soldiers who embraced shahadat in the Nato airstrike. And why should we blame the Americans only, when it is our own establishment that is responsible for giving them space.
Little will be served by creating hype and stirring up public sentiment. It is in our interest that, without confronting America, we set our own house in order. And in all of this it is patently unfair to hold accountable the politicians alone without also holding accountable the powerful establishment.
Also, this is not the first time when our sovereignty has been compromised, nor will this be the last, unless, as a nation, we analyse our priorities and policies. It is time for our political and military elite to decide whether this country and its 180 million people are there to serve them, or they are there to serve the country and its people.
Can somebody explain to me what right Musharraf had to hand over Shamsi airbase to a foreign country, which in turn leased it to another state for military use? Where in the world does a sovereign nation allow something like this to take place? Since the state of Pakistan has not stood to gain from such shameful compromises, the individuals responsible for them must have benefited.
Malik Tariq Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2011.
