One thing is clear: in Pakistan, the bullet is definitely more powerful than the ballot.
SAUDI ARABIA: The Pakistan military’s public relations department, ISPR, has issued a statement that the December 18 telephone conversation between President Asif Ali Zardari and Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani lasted for no longer than one minute and during which time the latter asked about the president’s health and that no other topic was touched upon. This statement itself speaks volumes of civil-military relations in Pakistan and which side holds the greater weight.
What was the harm if the nation misunderstood what transpired between these two gentlemen, because that could have helped stabilise the ongoing political uncertainty in the country? This is the same country whose central bank has just said in its quarterly report for 2011 that the GDP growth rate for the current fiscal year will be no more than 2.4 per cent and that much of the reason for this is political uncertainty and institutional weaknesses relating to governance.
One thing is clear: in Pakistan, the bullet is definitely more powerful than the ballot.
Masood Khan
Jubail
Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2011.
