The Pakistani cabal

Nothing reveals more clearly how small the cabal that runs Pakistan is than the private deals being made between Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto. The two act as if it were merely a matter of their coming to an agreement and then they will pull it off. And they will call it a democratic process. The Chief Justice’s move to allow Nawaz Sharif to return as well as Bhutto is a finger in the eye of both Musharraf and Bhutto. But the prospect that Bhutto and Sharif – both of whom have stayed outside of Pakistan in part because they are subject to trial for corruption – will via for control of Parliament further reveals how small the circle of “deciders” is in Pakistan. It is as if the “key three” – Musharraf, Bhutto, Sharif – will work out what to do among themselves and so resolve how to manage the affairs of that strategically important nuclear-powered country. So how many – or how few – key people actually have their hands on the mechanisms of power in that country? It seems only too evident that Pakistan has been and is being managed by a tiny group of elite folks acting in their best interest and calling it a kind of democracy.

This helps us to understand the strange contradiction: On the one hand this small cabal can manage affairs for the whole country among themselves; on the other hand, they lack the resources to find Osama Bin Laden. At least so they say.

For a late assessment of the situation click on the title.