Fresh Batch of Wikileaks Confirms Pakistani Leaders' Duplicity

[RiazHaq]

The latest batch of revelations by wikileaks website about Pakistan paints a picture of a country where the self-serving political and military elites heavily rely on foreign governments for support, and confide their most private thoughts more to the American ambassador in Islamabad than their own colleagues and the people to whom they supposedly owe their allegiance. This harsh reality shows in many diplomatic cables about Pakistan leaked by wikileaks to date, and it brings a great deal of despair and frustration to a people in dire need of good leadership to effectively lead the nation as it faces multiple national crises of economy, energy and security.

The leaked cables from the US embassy show that Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari thanked the United States governmemt for forcing former President Musharraf to pardon him and his colleagues, thus enabling them to gain power. Another leaked document reveals that the JUI President Maulana Fazlur Rehman sought US help to become prime minister of Pakistan. The Pakistani Army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani is reported to have confided in US officials that he seriously considered replacing Zardari as president with ANP leader Asfandyar Wali, and Zardari reportedly talked with the US officials about his fears of assasnination, and his wish for his sister Faryal Talpur to succeed him as Pakistan's president.

In one of the leaked documents, Saudi King Abdullah is quoted as saying about Zardari that "when the head is rotten, it affects the whole body". The King goes on to describe Mr. Zardari as the "greatest obstacle" to Pakistan's progress.

Not only do I fully agree with the Saudi King's charaterization of Zardari as the "greatest obstacle" to Pakistan's progress, I would extend it to include Pakistan's entire political class, including Zardari's coalition partners and Nawaz Sharif's PML reportedly favored by the Saudi King.

Noam Chomsky has recently reacted to the latest disclosures by wikileaks website by describing the ruling elite's penchant for secrecy as follows:

"One of the major reasons for government secrecy is to protect the government from its own population...[The WikiLeaks cables reveal a] profound hatred for democracy on the part of our political leadership."

I think Chomsky's assessment has much greater applicability to democracy in Pakistan than many democratic governments elsewhere in South Asia and the rest of the world.

The fresh wikileaks revelations about Pakistani leaders' duplicity will further add to the widespread conspiracy theories and breed greater cynicism about politics among Pakistanis. As the current crop of politicians are thoroughly discredited, my hope is that a new generation of leaders will emerge from the current chaos to lead Pakistan out of the prevailing depths of despair.

Haq's Musings: Wikileaks Disclosures Expose Pakistani Leaders' Disdain for Democracy

 

[T-Faz]

The reliance on foreign governments is directly linked to our economic and social deterioration that has been in place for a significant part in the life of our young nation.

One this that is often overlooked is that soon after the creation of Pakistan. Pakistan became the new rising star for western powers who invited Pakistan and our foreign minister Sir Zafarullah Khan maneuvered Pakistan into a state that was worth noticing and one that should be partnered with.

But the short sightedness of the our military and political leaders who rather than look for the best interest of our state, gave into unreasonable demands by such as the US spy planes which were used to spy on USSR.

Sure we had great economic development and progress but our leaders were far too naive when they assumed that these partnerships were indispensable. Once the relation turned sour and because we had not learned to develop ourselves independently, we drifted into economic and subsequently social chaos.

Since then, our relation with other western countries are sporadic and only occur because of some geo-political goal that needs to be achieved. Because we have been used in such a manner due to our economic condition, other countries take advantage of this. The Arab nations take advantage of 'Ummah' card and they themselves are complicit in conspiring against Pakistan.

We have to pursue a different policy, a policy which strengthens us. Strengthen our economy, our social structure and institutes. Pakistan must welcome all its citizens so that they can contribute as they have the ability to do so.

Once we have a strong nation, we would not have to rely on others and only then we will be free of foreign interference.

Till then, suffer from the same cycle till we wither disintegrate.

 

[RiazHaq]

I believe competent and honest leadership in Pakistan would have extracted much greater and much more meaningful investments as well as strategic and trade concessions given the stakes for U.S. in Afghanistan. Instead U.S. is busy rewarding India knowing it has leverage with Zardari, Kayani and Sharif to get most of what it wants from Pakistan.

The fact is that Pakistan holds most of the cards in the US War on Terror.

Without Pakistan's help, the US would be unable to sustain its military presence for even a short period of time, much less fight the Taliban or Al Quaida in the region. A few days of NATO supply route closure by Pakistan earlier this year clearly illustrated this absolute US dependence on Pakistan.

What Pakistan has received from US in return is a very tiny fraction of just a few billion dollars of what the US is spending in Afghanistan, and the US actions (with the support of self-serving Pak leaders) have seriously divided and destabilized Pakistan and badly hurt its ability to grow its economy toward self-sufficiency, espcially in the last two years.

Longer term, Pakistan's geostrategic location gives it huge advatanges as an energy and trade transit route for the landlocked but resource rich central Asian nations. Whether or not Pakistan can leverage its location to serve its people depends largely on the competence and honesty of the leadership in Islamabad.

The potential for serious multi-billion dollar multi-year foreign investments in Pakistan to build energy pipelines and trade routes from and to central Asia and western China is not just a pipe dream.

Argentina's Bridas and US Unocal (with American blessing) were competing to build oil and gas pipelines from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan when the bidding process was interrupted by 911 terror attacks. Turkey and Russia have been the main beneficiaries of problems in Afghanistan, but the Europeans resent such dependence on them for their energy needs.

And China is already a big investor in Afghanistan working on a multi-billion dollar Aynak copper field, most of which will flow through Pakistan.

Chinese are also clearly interested in Pakistan's coastline and landroute to supply Western China region. Their projects along Karakoram, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan confirm their long term interest in Pakistan.

Besides, South Asia itself is a huge market for oil, gas and various other natural resources, minerals and commodities and Pakistan represents the shortest and the cheapest route for delivering these.

 

[Majnun]

RiazHaq if the US was unable then to sustain their military presence in Afghanistan without Pakistan's help, who's to stop them from withdrawing, leaving Pakistan facing the mess?

 

[RiazHaq]

RiazHaq if the US was unable then to sustain their military presence in Afghanistan without Pakistan's help, who's to stop them from withdrawing, leaving Pakistan facing the mess?

The presence of US troops in Afghanistan has become a magnet for the extremists and terrorists from around the world...they are joining the war in large numbers to fight the foreign occupation army.

There were no suicide bombings in Pakistan before the US forces arrived in the region, and there can be no return to peace and security in Pakistan as long as the US forces remain in Afghanistan.

Please understand that the US military will leave eventually...it's better if they leave sooner rathar than later to save as many inncocent lives as possible on all sides.

Once the US military withdraws, it will become possible to talk peace with the Taliban (both Afghan and Pakistani Taliban) as they lose the key argument they use to recruit fighters and suicide bombers to fight foreigners and their collaborators.

Haq's Musings: Afghan War Costs US Taxpayers $50 Million Per Dead Taliban

 

[Parthvi]

And what about the duplicity of the Pak Army Generals?
Mr. Riaz you sound like Kamran Khan in one of his shows after the wikileaks, pounding the politicians and then sparing the army.

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

And what about the duplicity of the Pak Army Generals?
Mr. Riaz you sound like Kamran Khan in one of his shows after the wikileaks, pounding the politicians and then sparing the army.

I think u should not drag urself in our internal affairs..... Also post constructive stuff instead of irrelevant affairs.
Or open another thread.