Dawn Correspondent
Saturday, 28 Aug, 2010
WASHINGTON: The United States believes that civilian government is the best for Pakistan, says the State Department while ruling out US support to yet another military coup in the allied nation. The statement followed a heated debate in Pakistan stirred by MQM chief Altaf Hussain who said earlier this week that he would back patriotic generals if they acted against corrupt politicians and feudal system.
Pakistan has a civilian government and we think it is the best form of government to take, State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley told journalists at his daily news conference.
Early this week, a Pentagon spokesman too had ruled out supporting any military coup in Pakistan.
US officials pointed out that the Obama administration under no circumstances could support any take over of governance by the military.
Officials said the entire effort of this administration was to promote democracy and strengthen democratic institutions.
Meanwhile, former army chief Gen (retired) Jehangir Karamat said that while the civilian government confronted many problems, there was no possibility of a coup in Pakistan.
In the wake of the flood, the governments capacity is being seriously challenged, as governance problems increase and fears of social unrest triggered by rising prices and energy shortfalls increase, said the former general in a paper he wrote for Washingtons Brookings Institute.
The internal security situation remains fragile after the politically motivated ethnic killings in Karachi and the religious-sectarian violence in Punjab and the ongoing ethnic targeted murders in Balochistan, he observed.
But the political leadership, after some initial missteps, came together to deal with the flood and its aftermath, he wrote.
Stephen P. Cohen, another Brookings fellow, however, warned that this wave of floods could trigger massive resentment against the present regime of Asif Ali Zardari, who notably was visiting family properties in Britain and France as the floods hit.
Mr Cohen noted that a dramatic change in leadership is still possible as no one trusts the government while the military remains credible.
The armys reputation, he noted, had rebounded after the disastrous Musharraf years and it has more relevant assets than the civilian government.
A big problem is that while the Zardari government and the international community struggle to get their act together the Islamist militants are already on the ground providing relief, said Bruce Riedel who played a key role in formulating the current US policy for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Elizabeth Ferris, another senior fellow at Brookings, warned that the devastation from the Pakistan floods will be epic and the people will have to contend with famine, violence, disease as well as corruption and insurgency.
Saturday, 28 Aug, 2010
WASHINGTON: The United States believes that civilian government is the best for Pakistan, says the State Department while ruling out US support to yet another military coup in the allied nation. The statement followed a heated debate in Pakistan stirred by MQM chief Altaf Hussain who said earlier this week that he would back patriotic generals if they acted against corrupt politicians and feudal system.
Pakistan has a civilian government and we think it is the best form of government to take, State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley told journalists at his daily news conference.
Early this week, a Pentagon spokesman too had ruled out supporting any military coup in Pakistan.
US officials pointed out that the Obama administration under no circumstances could support any take over of governance by the military.
Officials said the entire effort of this administration was to promote democracy and strengthen democratic institutions.
Meanwhile, former army chief Gen (retired) Jehangir Karamat said that while the civilian government confronted many problems, there was no possibility of a coup in Pakistan.
In the wake of the flood, the governments capacity is being seriously challenged, as governance problems increase and fears of social unrest triggered by rising prices and energy shortfalls increase, said the former general in a paper he wrote for Washingtons Brookings Institute.
The internal security situation remains fragile after the politically motivated ethnic killings in Karachi and the religious-sectarian violence in Punjab and the ongoing ethnic targeted murders in Balochistan, he observed.
But the political leadership, after some initial missteps, came together to deal with the flood and its aftermath, he wrote.
Stephen P. Cohen, another Brookings fellow, however, warned that this wave of floods could trigger massive resentment against the present regime of Asif Ali Zardari, who notably was visiting family properties in Britain and France as the floods hit.
Mr Cohen noted that a dramatic change in leadership is still possible as no one trusts the government while the military remains credible.
The armys reputation, he noted, had rebounded after the disastrous Musharraf years and it has more relevant assets than the civilian government.
A big problem is that while the Zardari government and the international community struggle to get their act together the Islamist militants are already on the ground providing relief, said Bruce Riedel who played a key role in formulating the current US policy for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Elizabeth Ferris, another senior fellow at Brookings, warned that the devastation from the Pakistan floods will be epic and the people will have to contend with famine, violence, disease as well as corruption and insurgency.
