PESHAWAR: With the elections approaching, almost all political parties have unveiled their manifestos. Whether their proposed solutions to the problems of Pakistan are practical or not, they have, at least, rightly enumerated the problems. There, however, is one exception — the commando-turned-politician’s All-Pakistan Muslim League.
Having spent a long time abroad, General (retd) Pervez Musharraf is unable to fathom the prevailing situation. He seems to be oblivious to the real problems of his countrymen. While presenting the manifesto of his party, he made the fatuous statement that he plans to further strengthen the armed forces. One wonders what makes him feel that the country needs an even stronger army.
While the nation is looking forward to an era of cordial relations with its neighbours — so that we can finally focus on more important issues such as education and health — the commando and his henchmen are bent upon boosting our military might. If General (retd) Musharraf still considers strengthening the army and the use of force as the panacea for our internal security problems, then it seems that he has not learnt from his past mistakes.
Saim Khan Jhagra
Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2013.
