The PPP’s choice of its new leader does not auger well for democracy in Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto ended her life with a view of her as a courageous politician and fighter in the struggle for democracy. Unfortunately her wishes indicated in her will lead to what Tariq Ali calls a “charade” and “feudal” act by nominating her own family to succeed her.
In the emotional climate following the tragedy of this assassination rational thought becomes clouded. Benazir had Western backers, and as we know only too well they have their own agendas. US involvement in particular in country after country has lead to tears and more tears, but in the case of Pakistan they have followed the trail started by British imperial rule.


Tariq Ali is clearly emotive in his Independent article (31.12.2007) but it is counter to that unleashed by events in Pakistan.

One thought on “The PPP’s choice of its new leader does not auger well for democracy in Pakistan

  1. Linda

    Do Republicans ever have a bad day?This drives me crazy, too. I’m glad you pointed it out.If things don’t go our way, then the enemy’ is desperate and it means we must redouble our efforts.If things do go our way, then our leaders are brilliant, and it means we must redouble our efforts.I’m all for democracy, but it’s not a panacea and it isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition, either. Democracy didn’t prevent the American Civil war, and it won’t solve any of the problems in Pakistan for the forseeable future. It certainly hasn’t done much for Iraq, either. Forcing democracy on an unstable social, ethnic, or political situation is like pouring gasoline on a fire in hopes of making it burn out faster .Pakistan has been, directly or indirectly, a major player and promoter of terrorism in the region for decades. The Pakistani government has lost control of the terrorists it has spawned and groomed. Somehow this means we have to support the Pakistani government even more, and somehow democracy is the way to make things right again. The stupidity is breathtaking.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.