Monday, April 6

Petraeus: "Pakistan could be facing internal collapse within six months"

Dire assessment of Pakistan in NYT today.

For an alternative perspective to Pakistan being a failed state, click here to read Wajiha Ahmed's second take on Long March. Pakistan is a country fighting itself, a fledgling democracy bravely figthing to survive. To quote Wajiha:

But Pakistani religious parties (JI, JUI) are more similar to some factions of the BJP or Shiv Sena in India than they are to any militant terrorists in FATA and Swat. And just to emphasis, they have never received more than 14% of the vote and lost the 2008 elections.

But democracy is not an event, it is a process. Therefore, rather than being reported with cynicism, this important civil disobedience movement should instead have been encouraged and celebrated. In the past year, Pakistanis have successfully forced out a military dictator (Musharraf) AND compelled an authoritarian leader (Zardari) to listen to their voices – a rare, uplifting story in these trying days.

Dire assessments were made of India's breakup, throughout its history, check out

India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy

No comments: