Past Relationships.

A worried Pakistani writes;

Sir: This is in reference to Dr Hasan Askri Rizvi’s article (Musharraf’s new campaign against extremism, Daily Times, July 24, 2005). As usual, the writer hit the nail on the head but he was mild in his criticism. By now we all know our general inside out.

With 9/11, he took a “V” instead of a “U” turn. For a “U” manoeuvre, you need time and distance to turn back but with “V” you can turn back without thinking for a moment. Musharraf is complying with western demands to the extent of national humiliation. Now with the 7/7 bombing in London, he has once again focused his energy on extremists, whose patron saints he shares his political spoils with. Is he kidding himself or us or the world?

Two extremist entities have brought the country to the verge of disaster again and again — military and mullahs. The military has destroyed our political culture while the mullahs are destroying our society through violence. The two have a marriage of convenience to keep away the genuine political parties.

Today, the military is trying to disentangle itself from its past relationship with the mullahs but it is not easy, as the offspring of this union inhabit the military itself.
ASLAM MINHAS
Karachi   ...... link Daily Times, Lahore. Letters col. July 25, 2005