Pathetic Performance

Fatima Rizvi's Blog

No one in Pakistan is surprised by what Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US says because everyone understands that he has to brown- nose his masters to get brownie points so that he can stay on there and mouth the words that are music to his parent countries enemies and their lackeys. What does come as a surprise is the fact that he is invited to give testimony before a Congressional Committee and the consensus is that he in invited because they want to hear what they know he is going to say.

Mr Haqqani claims in his testimony to be speaking for the intelligentsia in Pakistan. Open any Pakistanis blog and you will find it littered with words like — scumbag, traitor, turncoat, tail-wagger, bootlicker, pathetic excuse for a man etc. totally missing are words of praise or appreciation from the so called intelligentsia he claims to represent.

He tells Congress that Pakistan is six times smaller in population and has an economy one tenth the size of India and in the same breath he says that Pakistan could ‘menace’ India if it is given F-16 aircraft and helicopters or if any kind of nuclear agreement with Pakistan is even considered. Does he think there are morons in Congress who will swallow such drivel and will they believe that Pakistan would be foolish enough to initiate conflict with India in today’s environment. He also informs what must be a singularly dense Congress that aircraft and helicopters will not be used by Pakistan in the fight against terror. So what is Pakistan using in the successful war being waged against terrorism? The US military could tell him and Congress what the Pakistan military is doing and with what and to whom and with what effect.

He goes on to say that the US has a policy of appeasement towards Pakistan and that this encourages Pakistan to have ambitions of rivaling India by achieving parity. The US appeasing Pakistan — shouldn’t it be the other way around? With the asymmetry that exists between India and Pakistan is it possible for Pakistan to rival India or aim for parity? Pakistan is doing what every other country is doing — developing capacity that deters aggression and Pakistan will keep doing this in its national interest. No one in Pakistan is drooling over the prospect of a nuclear agreement with the US — all that they want is for a special for India discriminatory policy by the US to end. This is what can fuel conflict in South Asia — conflict that neither India nor Pakistan wants. This is what having a strong military and nuclear capacity is all about — so all this talk of threats being created to match the size of the military is just pure and simple drivel.

He trots out an impressive figure in dollars that the US has given to Pakistan since 1950. He does not state what Pakistan has done for the US and what cost and not just in dollars but in human lives. The US and Pakistan have a relationship that has endured and they have the wisdom and maturity to look beyond their differences as current trends are indicating and surely Congress knows this.

Of Traitors and Patriots; India-Pakistan ‘Experts’

There is a common perception amongst SAARC countries about Indians and their lobbyists in Washington: If you ask them how their country is doing, they will talk about China. If you ask them what is wrong with their country, they will tell you what is wrong with Sri Lanka. If you ask how they can fix their country they will tell you what Pakistan is not doing to fix their country and also as a corollary create problems for the United States of America. If you ask what the future holds for India, they will tell you what the past (starting from the creation of Pakistan) looks like.

Perhaps this is why they start paragraphs with ‘gosh’ in news outlets and exclaim that Pakistani Foreign policy is hard to explain. After all, their writing is meant, it seems, to gain readership of the ever encouraged ‘pak-phobes’ which, unfortunately, the Huffington Post wants to tap into. All their narratives have the same tune, the USA is unwise when it comes to Pakistan and it must realize that its inhabitants are akin to the biblical people of Gog and Magog.

Keeping up with the ‘pak-phobes’ viewpoint means just one thing; write about Pakistan as an ‘expert’ while sitting comfortably in the land of ‘honey boo boo’ and ‘black lives don’t matter.’  Extra dollar pings if the ‘phobe’ is an American Pakistani with a massive chip on their shoulder. Peddling fiction as fact assured by the backing of influential media-types and their corresponding ‘brown sahib’ academics (read South Asian pawns who have been given inflated titles such as ‘analysts’).

Of the many such pawns, one twinkie eating ill-informed Malik Siraj Akbar pops up. His recent article titled ‘Sharif’s Futile Trip to Washington’ is laden with false claims and assumptions. He starts by stating that the recent trip by the Pakistani Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif consisted mostly of ‘whining’ about India and externalizing their problems. This is an interesting claim considering it is, in fact, India that is famous for blaming all its internal and external issues on others. For example, it has popularized the narrative that problems in Tamil Nadu are due to Sri Lanka, in Bihar because of Bangladesh, in NEFA the mischief is by China, any other problem anywhere even to the extent of beef eating is due to Pakistan and its ISI. If anything happens in Afghanistan then also it is Pakistan’s fault.

In his article, the writer says that the USA has taken the Indian side regarding the Kashmir dispute. This would be a rather perplexing development (if it were true), because it would result in the USA ceasing to support the UNMOGIP and the recalling of the peace keeping force deployed to monitor the ceasefire since 1948. Perhaps he needs to be reminded that it was India, and not Pakistan, that took the Indo-Pak Kashmir dispute to the United Nations, while Pakistan was urging for a localized resolution. Also never has the U.S. given a statement supporting the Indian claims on Kashmir, except insisting on a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Maybe Mr. Akbar was present during a confidential conversation the rest of us are not privy to.

Cementing his ‘pak-phobe’ credentials he begins to accuse Islamabad of being a rouge terrorist sponsoring state. This view point nauseating given the fact that Pakistan still continues to do more in the ‘war on terror’ than the architects of the phrase themselves. Pakistan is and has always gone against terrorism in all forms and manifestations.  LET and its likes have no state backing. The Jihadist culture is a left over agenda from the Afghan war. Has the world in which Mr. Akbar lives forgotten the Mujahedeen visiting the White House and Congress? They were treated like the Robin Hood's up to and until their utility ran out. The lethargic fact checking of this article further rises to the surface when Mr. Akbar attempts to justify his rants by stating odd things. He insinuates that the Pakistanis to one up India deliberately leaked the rumors of the talks of a Pakistan-U.S. civil nuclear deal. The fact that this was leaked by American journalists and not denied by the White House seems to have been missed by him. Then he attempts to distort historical facts by stating that the Kargil incident was linked to a jihadist movement. Again he must be sleeping because the Kargil conflict occurred in reaction to Indian aggression in Siachen.

It would seem that the joint statement after Nawaz Sharif's visit and the dossier kept by United States of Indian terrorism in Baluchistan, FATA and Karachi seems to have raised hackles in 'Whine land" or India. This is the reason a spate of articles claiming that generals wrote Nawaz Sharif’s brief on what to say in his meeting with President Obama seem to be flooding the news. It is clearly beyond these ‘analysts’ skill set to understand statecraft and how the prime minister would need input from all the institutions of the nation before proceeding for talks with any country. The fact that the U.S. has after a long time been fair in dealings in the subcontinent and has kept Pakistan and India on the same plane on all issues; whether Kashmir, Nuclear or Terrorism, seems to have led many a ‘pak-phobe’ to scurry about and distort the true picture. A picture in which  Pakistan is now being recognized as a geopolitical hub and road way to peace and economic well being of South and West Asia.

A SAD SPECTACLE

Much is being read into the recent so called ‘macho’ speech of the Co Chairman of the PPP. Some analysts are calling it some kind of a gauntlet thrown at the ‘establishment’ which they think and hope will be picked up so that fireworks can start. The media loves fireworks because it rakes in the moolah and these days that is the most important consideration. More experienced and savvy people know that the outburst by the Co Chairman was neither a speech nor a gauntlet — it was a sad and pathetic spectacle. It was the response much like the one a cornered rat makes as a last ditch effort to evade a fate that looks inevitable.

  

The Co Chairman forgot that for five long years he was the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Supreme Commander of Pakistan’s Armed Forces. You do not get to go any higher except when called to the eternal abode. For such an eminence to threaten the land that honored him with an end to end shut down that would only end on his say is the mother of all betrayals. To threaten the forces he commanded with public exposure to disgrace them is the mother of all come downs because it lowers one to the level of a blackmailer. Above all such a tirade is a tacit public admission that the Rangers’ operation in Karachi led by a no-nonsense soldier is dead on target and that the target feels the noose tightening and hurting.

Those expecting a response or a flurry of action are in for a surprise. The military will not stoop to pick up the gauntlet because there is no gauntlet to be picked up. The thought about three year military tenures in the top slot as opposed to the ‘permanence’ of the politician is a fallacy and those sitting around the speech-making table knew that. The petrified look on the face of the other Co Chairman under his warrior type turban and the frozen smile on the face of the lady who loves goggles gave away their true feelings as they heard their leader rant and rave. Altaf Bhai now has a rival. What was forgotten was the continuity in the military institution because it is an institution in the true strength of the word with enormous organizational and structural strength and a memory that would put an elephant to shame — so tenures and individuals are not important, the institution is. And above all the military is an institution of Pakistan that for the last seven years has been functioning under and in support of the elected governments. Right now it is fighting to give human and physical security in Pakistan and is unhesitatingly making supreme sacrifices. What is critical is the present and not the past in which the Co Chairman wants to wallow to dredge up failures and lapses.

If the Co Chairman was expecting political forces to rally around him and his party he must be disappointed. The political institution is not known for siding with losers or those about to lose. In fact that is the time the rivals go for the jugular. The PML(N) has wisely distanced itself by words and action. The others have taken the opportunity to condemn and point out the gross misgovernance and neglect that characterizes the government in Sind besides other unsavory doings. The Co Chairman has given the governing party a boost that they would be fools not to exploit. People are talking of their achievements — the decision on Yemen, the CPEC game changer, the improved relationship with the US, local government polls, the cooperative relationship with Afghanistan, the good civil-military interaction and the coming national census next year. The ‘speech’ was ill timed and has highlighted the fall of the PPP — another reminder that democracy works. Right now the military has the entire nation behind it as was evident from the reaction to the barbs from India and the military is being seen as a savior not just on the borders but deep within the country as its forces and intelligence assets not only combat threats but build capacity in civilian institutions to take on future threats. They are in no mood to waste time on mythical gauntlets and other distractions focusing on the past. As far as the advice being given to them by all and sundry — they will do what they think needs to be done and in a time frame that they think is appropriate — not under pressure from analysts and discussants.

Wake Up, Pakistan

Thomas R. Pickering
Working Group Chair
The Century Foundation Press • New York

The Report of The Century Foundation International Working Group on Pakistan

The time is long past for Pakistan to wake up to its present predicament and begin a serious reassessment of the fundamental policy challenges it faces. Decades of mistakes and misperceptions have compounded pernicious ideological choices to present Pakistani society with a series of ongoing crises it must address before its basic resilience is overwhelmed: a public sphere dominated by extremists, a crippled economy debilitated by corruption, and a deteriorating regional position. The Century Foundation International Working Group on Pakistan, comprised of a broad and diverse assemblage of American, Pakistani and international figures deeply concerned about the country’s future, believes it is time for Pakistan to address these problems vigorously and comprehensively, and for its international partners to assist where they can.

Read full report: Wake Up, Pakistan

Fair’s unfair affair with Pakistan

ZONEASIA-PK

Christine Fair’s most recent article (tirade) — ‘America’s Pakistan Policy is Sheer Madness’ is a true masterpiece of distortion and opinionated utterances. She calls members of the US Congress, White House, Departments of Defense and State pusillanimous besides faulting them for not just a flawed policy but a policy that harms US interests. Strong words from a lady who is now accepted as a major part of the anti Pakistan landscape and no doubt there is a good reason for what she has become — a bitter scorned woman who must claw, rip, smear and malign to vent her frustrations. In one of her face book postings she compared a Pakistani medium range missile to a ’Chihuawa’s penis’ — perhaps a psychiatrist needs to analyze and get to the bottom of her disturbed mind and vengeful anger.

As to the muddled arguments she puts forth the less said the better. She asks the US to forge a new policy for Pakistan. This is exactly what the US has done on the basis of past experience and in the US’ best interests. Today the US and Pakistan have a convergence of interests over a range of issues including Afghanistan. The result is a serious move towards Pakistan-Afghanistan cooperation against the common threat of the Taliban operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The past policies that she alludes to and in fact bases her arguments on are just that — past policies no longer relevant. Why were they there in the first place? They were there because of the uncertainty in US/NATO presence in Afghanistan and an ambiguous attitude towards the Taliban (Taleban). Once the uncertainty went away under Obama Pakistan policy crystallized and after President Ashraf Ghani came in this policy is being implemented. This policy best serves the interests of the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan and the region if not the world. So why go back into the past just bring down your own policy makers. If a new policy is needed then it should be one that extends greater support to Pakistan.

Ms Fair is critical of the arms given and sold to Pakistan and the funds released to Pakistan under various heads. She takes her figures from the Congressional Research paper. The figures are no doubt accurate and impressive when yo add them up but not so impressive when you look at the time span they cover and factor in the three decades of violence in Pakistan’s western neighborhood. These are a fraction of what Pakistan required. Also missing in the tally of human losses is the number of Afghans and Pakistanis killed and the atrocities committed on them. These need to be factored in. Consider also the NATO logistics that moved across Pakistan. Compute the tonnages and the damage to the infra structure.

Ms Fair has mentioned Osama bi Laden. Yes there are questions that a inquiry commission has no doubt answered but it has not been made public. Pakistan will decide what is best in its own interest. Ms Fair might want to investigate how 19 Arabs could live, travel, train over months and possibly years in the US till they hijacked three passenger planes and blew up the World Tower and the Pentagon without anybody knowing anything at all.

There are many madnesses going around. The Shia-Sunni conflict in the Middle East. Its origin bears investigation. The rise of radicalization and extremism also bears investigation. Pakistan is doing its best to ward off these dangers to the fabric of its society and it has to modulate its policy not to satisfy a frustrated female but to ensure its own interests and it is well aware of those. Pakistan is a victim of  and not a perpetrator.

India and Pakistan are fully aware of the danger that a war would create. There are no signs of any such conflict except in fevered imaginations. Pakistan is fully aware of the asymmetry in conventional power and so is the US. This asymmetry rules out any adventure or irresponsible action by Pakistan but Pakistan will never allow this asymmetry to reach a stage where one side can dictate. Pakistan’s policy is one of deterrence and good relations with all its neighbors. The Us understands this and does not need to be given tutorials.

Fair’s unfair affair with Pakistan

ZONEASIA-PK

Christine Fair’s most recent article (tirade) — ‘America’s Pakistan Policy is Sheer Madness’ is a true masterpiece of distortion and opinionated utterances. She calls members of the US Congress, White House, Departments of Defense and State pusillanimous besides faulting them for not just a flawed policy but a policy that harms US interests. Strong words from a lady who is now accepted as a major part of the anti Pakistan landscape and no doubt there is a good reason for what she has become — a bitter scorned woman who must claw, rip, smear and malign to vent her frustrations. In one of her face book postings she compared a Pakistani medium range missile to a ’Chihuawa’s penis’ — perhaps a psychiatrist needs to analyze and get to the bottom of her disturbed mind and vengeful anger.

As to the muddled arguments she puts forth the less said the better. She asks the US to forge a new policy for Pakistan. This is exactly what the US has done on the basis of past experience and in the US’ best interests. Today the US and Pakistan have a convergence of interests over a range of issues including Afghanistan. The result is a serious move towards Pakistan-Afghanistan cooperation against the common threat of the Taliban operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The past policies that she alludes to and in fact bases her arguments on are just that — past policies no longer relevant. Why were they there in the first place? They were there because of the uncertainty in US/NATO presence in Afghanistan and an ambiguous attitude towards the Taliban (Taleban). Once the uncertainty went away under Obama Pakistan policy crystallized and after President Ashraf Ghani came in this policy is being implemented. This policy best serves the interests of the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan and the region if not the world. So why go back into the past just bring down your own policy makers. If a new policy is needed then it should be one that extends greater support to Pakistan.

Ms Fair is critical of the arms given and sold to Pakistan and the funds released to Pakistan under various heads. She takes her figures from the Congressional Research paper. The figures are no doubt accurate and impressive when yo add them up but not so impressive when you look at the time span they cover and factor in the three decades of violence in Pakistan’s western neighborhood. These are a fraction of what Pakistan required. Also missing in the tally of human losses is the number of Afghans and Pakistanis killed and the atrocities committed on them. These need to be factored in. Consider also the NATO logistics that moved across Pakistan. Compute the tonnages and the damage to the infra structure.

Ms Fair has mentioned Osama bi Laden. Yes there are questions that a inquiry commission has no doubt answered but it has not been made public. Pakistan will decide what is best in its own interest. Ms Fair might want to investigate how 19 Arabs could live, travel, train over months and possibly years in the US till they hijacked three passenger planes and blew up the World Tower and the Pentagon without anybody knowing anything at all.

There are many madnesses going around. The Shia-Sunni conflict in the Middle East. Its origin bears investigation. The rise of radicalization and extremism also bears investigation. Pakistan is doing its best to ward off these dangers to the fabric of its society and it has to modulate its policy not to satisfy a frustrated female but to ensure its own interests and it is well aware of those. Pakistan is a victim of  and not a perpetrator.

India and Pakistan are fully aware of the danger that a war would create. There are no signs of any such conflict except in fevered imaginations. Pakistan is fully aware of the asymmetry in conventional power and so is the US. This asymmetry rules out any adventure or irresponsible action by Pakistan but Pakistan will never allow this asymmetry to reach a stage where one side can dictate. Pakistan’s policy is one of deterrence and good relations with all its neighbors. The Us understands this and does not need to be given tutorials.

THE INDIAN HUB

By ZoneAsia-Pk

Pakistan has officially and clearly indicated that India is involved in supporting terrorism in Pakistan. The Pakistan Army Chief is said to have personally handed over a dossier to the US during his visit to the US. It goes without saying that he must have given the information to the Afghan President, the British Prime Minister and the Chinese President during his visits and meetings. Pakistanis have always believed that India would never forego the opportunity to exploit Pakistan’s vulnerabilities to keep it destabilized. If any more proof is needed then there is the video of the Indian Security Adviser laying out a blue print for actions against Pakistan. The orchestrated violence on the LOC and the strange explosion in a boat on the open seas are the physical manifestations of the Modi-Duval policy against Pakistan.

What the US has done with the information given to it is not known besides the stated determination to eliminate the mastermind of the Peshawar atrocity. The recent visit of the US President to India was shrouded by the bonhomie generated by ecstatic first name mentions, bear hugs and wide smiles. The most tangible result seems to have been the progress on the globally destabilizing nuclear agreement, the region destabilizing defense pact and the China irritating document detailing the joint strategic vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. The Joint Communiqué and the Friendship document were just the standard cosmetic outcomes of all such visits. While answering a question on Pakistan the US President did highlight the importance of a stable prosperous Pakistan and in his departing comments he pointedly referred to the dangers of religious extremism—-knowing full well that Hindu extremist organizations had fully backed Modi’s rise to power and were still influencing policies. Pakistanis watched with amusement the public antics of a man once considered a pariah for the atrocities he had committed and the President of the country that had declared him persona non grata.

Read Complete Article Here: THE INDIAN HUB

THE LINE BETWEEN MAN AND GOD

There is a line separating man from God that should never be crossed. For when it is, hell breaks loose. We witnessed hell today in Pakistan. One hundred and thirty two children slaughtered in a barbaric attack on a school.

This time the line was crossed by Taliban – a serial offender. They gloatingly accepted full responsibility, adding that the children were murdered in response to Pakistan army’s offensive against them. One might question such logic. After all there are rules, even in war. Rules set by the very religion the Taliban profess to follow. Civilians are off-limits. The children for sure.

But such logic matters not. For when you have crossed the line, you are no longer subject to constraints put on men. You are “god” now – judge, jury and the executioner – all rolled into one. The Taliban want to impose “shariah”. We can never know what that means, except to know that it means whatever the Taliban want it to mean. Murdering children could be kosher, if “the god” Taliban so decides. We better submit, or our head could be next.

There is a word in the western world for crossing the line between man and God. It is called Fascism, and the line-crossers are known as Fascists. But we in Pakistan know them through more honorific titles such as Maulana, Allamaand Mashaikh – or even Generals and Prime Ministers.

Yes, make no mistake. The Taliban are not the first to cross the line between man and God. In fact, they are really one of the last to join this habitual pastime of Pakistani elite.

The line was first breached by Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1974 who, flanked by every political party and religious scholar, set out to determine who was a true Muslim and who wasn’t. General Zia took this initiative to the next level by inventing his own “divine laws” that prescribed precise penalties for a wide range of “blasphemous” acts.

The following generation of leaders, both within the army and beyond, became even bolder. Why not just decentralize the whole business of trespassing on God’s territory, they thought. Thus you no longer had to head the parliament, or be a General to decide “god’s will”. Anyone with the right length of beard could do it. The subtleties of law and due process were no longer a hindrance.

A local cleric would declare some poor Christians “blasphemous”, and they could be lynched, burnt alive, or their entire community set on fire. The cleric and his mob would never face justice. And if the “accused” Christian somehow managed to save her life, she would surely be picked up by police and banished behind bars for years to come.

Before the Taliban butchered our children in Peshawar, there was a Talibanesque mob in Gujranwala that went to punish the “heretic” Ahmadis. They locked up women, and children as young as 8 months old, inside a room before setting it on fire. The whole episode was video-taped with exuberant men chanting religious slogans. The government looked the other way because the “god” was on their side.  

This begs the question. Why blame the Taliban alone when so many in Pakistan are quick to impose divine punishment upon others? But let us not try to answer this question any more.

It is not easy to bury one’s own children. Not so many. And not so regularly. We must put an end to this. We must do the unthinkable. We must redraw the line between man and God in Pakistan, and promise never to breach it again.

This means getting rid of all discriminatory laws in Pakistan. All laws where the state interferes in matters of faith. It means getting rid of all blasphemy laws. The question is not whether Aasia Bibi committed blasphemy or not. The question is why should there be such a question in the first place.

We must respect the line between man and God. Let us all admit that there is no god, except God. May our children rest in peace.

scholar.princeton.edu

How best to destroy Pakistan

By Pakistanpal's Blog

This is not easily done. To even begin serious work on this project you first have to be a Prime Minister with a solid mandate. Then you need to have the covert support of a world power that is vested in this design. And lastly you have to be a very dedicated, hardworking individual, not lulled into inaction by the belief that if you left the country on auto pilot, it will destroy itself. Like a punch drunk boxer the country may have reached a state in which it can neither stand up straight, nor get knocked clean out, until you land a few clean blows to it, and know where you have to land them.

   

To destroy the country the very first essential is you ensure that you are not disturbed nor distracted when you have embarked on this exercise, because this is a task of both concentration and skill. You have to know the value of loyalty, and must surround yourself with people whose loyalty you can utterly swear by. Obviously the pool that you can draw such loyalists from is your own family. So draw them and deploy them in every vital nerve center of government, and proceed with them as a team dedicated to the great goal in mind. Just do not bother if you are accused of behaving like a king. The more you behave like this, the more your underlings will grovel at your feet, the stronger will be the image you project, and the more your people will fear you. And that is where you’d like to be. Any nobility you have should rest only in your words. Your actions should be ruthless, even if they are stupid.

   

But the country is too large and just one family’s human resource pool will be unequal to the task of providing you the numbers required. You therefore have to draw people from the bureaucracy as well. When making your choice make certain that you choose the sharp of mind and servile of manner i.e the type who are born to please, and wont mind selling off their grandmothers to reach and stay in your good graces.To ensure they stay there, allow them their pound of flesh. Free loyalty is a mark of sincerity, and sincerity is to be suspected. And remember whomever else you choose, just do not let your favour settle on a self-respecting officer. Such a person is a huge risk. He may have dormant germs of honesty which are often closely allied to patriotism. And patriotism in any form is poison for your design.

If you can do this in your first couple of months, you will have successfully built yourself the right platform, from which to launch your second phase. You have now to secure yourself against any possibility of losing power, so make your position unassailable. Immediately start by destroying the police, making it a personal force to be used effectively against your own people. Take a leaf out of Hitler’s book. Stuff this force with thugs who are totally loyal to you, and will demonstrate this loyalty by breaking, without the slightest compunction, the bones of people who dare agitate for their rights. Never forget, your downfall begins where their rights start. This is the first lesson of “democracy” which you and your loved ones must imbibe early. The trick is to keep hollering about democracy but keeping the rabble, who were stupid enough to vote for you, in their place. For if they had deserved anything better, they would not have voted for you to begin with.

Next, you go for the judiciary. The system of selection to the ranks of higher judiciary is so wonderfully flawed that you can infiltrate any number of squint-eyed, black-hearted, venal ignoramuses into the system, and then groom them all the way into CJs. And if you are careful with your selection, before you know it, you are likely to have the same majority on the benches, that you have in parliament. And what a feeling of smugness that should give you!

But for the while you are accomplishing the above, remember that countries are best destroyed, by destroying their economies. And economies cannot be destroyed by ham-fisted policies and extravagance alone. Plunder of national wealth is the most effective force multiplier you need to invoke. The multiple advantages of this are, that not only does this lead to hollowing out the country whose destruction you wish, but it simultaneously spreads injustice and bad governance throughout the land, which in turn, hastens the fall of a state like nothing else will; while at the same time you end up enriching your family and yourself in the process.

But as you thieve from your people, do not forget to align the members of parliament on your side, because they are yet another phalanx that has the capability of removing you from power. Yet this you cannot accomplish through sweet talk and smiles alone. You have to get them invested in the project by making them partners in theft. Unless you assuage their hunger, they will be conspiring with the army to get rid of you. Each one of them is exactly like you, a bunch of grasping blackguards nurtured on years of theft and plunder. In short they are your natural allies. Just lift slightly the lid of the till for them, and see how they wag their tails and slurp at your heels. Whores masquerading as leaders of the people.

But your own greed will counsel otherwise. It will suggest to you that sharing with them will make you poorer. But look at this the other way. Put a value on being able to commit theft without unnecessary disturbance, and you will see the value of sharing. And besides, when you have to loot the entire country, know that there is enough in it to make the whole lot of you rich beyond imagination. Just think. Only half the population is living below the poverty line. Imagine how many thousands of the privileged have the poor enriched to get themselves to their present level of wretchedness, and how many years it has taken them to do so. And you may have no more than a tenth of those years to live anyhow, yet you still have a full half of the population left to you to impoverish and despoil ! Looked at it this way, would’nt you say that the future looks terribly bright for you and your little ones, despite the sharing of loot with members of the opposition, which your largeness of heart has managed to make “friendly”? Besides wont this go down for times immemorial as your original contribution to the theory of trouble-free governance and democracy?

The huge incidental advantage of committing theft in partnership with the parliamentary opposition is that now you can amend the constitution the way you want. Through these amendments you can make certain that no matter how future elections go, you or your partners-in-theft will remain in power and will keep making hay . And nothing can give you a better guarantee of continued plunder with total immunity, than this arrangement.

You are now nearly there, and your goal is within easy reach of achievement, but your greatest hurdle still remains in place. You have neglected the dismantling of the army. Your idiotic advisers must surely have advised you to start this project by first dealing with the army, and to do so by your favoured technique of giving a dog a bad name, and then trying to hang him. This is exactly how this should not be done–remember what happened the last few times you attempted this? And remember how your mouthpiece ministers made a hash of it?

Next time you want to proceed with trying to subvert the army, please dont go looking for an army chief who will be loyal to you. Remember when a general becomes an army chief, he does not need to be loyal to anybody, and almost his first temptation to dispense with someone who is a stuffed Prime Minister. You have already made an ass of yourself many times—so learn a lesson. Either the Chief will leave in disgust leaving you holding the can or he will boot you out of the country.

It is the army which is really holding this country together, not “democracy” or the constitution, which you have already screwed up anyway. So when you have successfully subverted the army there is no time for you to rest. This is the time for you to pack up and leave because any day now , a whole lot of shit will hit the fan, and you dont want to get caught up in it, though no one will have deserved this more than you.

Bye for now. See you in London.