Pakistani security analyst Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha writes
(90):
It is important to note that Pakistan’s armed forces
especially the army operates like a fraternity. In this
environment, severe punishments to individuals or
extraordinary treatment of a similar nature are viewed as
undermining the morale of the institution. Sidelining
undesirable individuals or rewarding others discreetly
is, thus, a preferred choice.
90. Soldiers in business, “Power, Perks, Prestige and
Privileges: Military’s economic activities in Pakistan -
Dr Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha
111
competitors or people who try to question their
activities. Corruption in running these businesses has
been noted by Siddiqa-Agha and others (96):
“When you dig into them, you find out they are
inefficient, and there is evidence of corruption,”
Siddiqa-Agha said. “There is also evidence of corruption
linked to monopolization of government contracts.
In another report in August 2002, the South Asia Tribune
reported (99):
..a list of over 100 armed forces men who allotted to
themselves at least 400 or more acres of prime land in
Bahawalpur, heart of Punjab, “to defend it from the
enemy,” at the throw away rate of Rs 380 per acre (US
Dollars Six & 50 cents). The list is only of one
District. Such lists exist all over Punjab and Sindh
where a new breed of landlords has already been created
through similar allotments...This conversion of generals
into landlords also explains why no serious effort has
been made by the military to introduce land reforms in
the country, which could cure many political and social
imbalances in the Pakistani society.
An online report in the Crescent International revealed a
list of Pakistani billionaires and millionaires with
accounts in Swiss banks. Nearly half the billionaires
were from the army or close relatives of senior army
personnel.
With this degree of money, wealth and power, the Pakistan
army’s main problem shifts away from the defence of
Pakistan to the defence of their own wealth and power.
Which wealthy army general living in the lap of luxury
would want to give up his good life for the hardship and
travails of war? Besides, the risk to this life is not so
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much from an attack by India, but by anger and opposition
to the corrupt and wealthy army from the desperately poor
people of Pakistan, a staggering 85% of whom live on less
than US $2 per day (100).
Increasingly under pressure within Pakistan for their
greed the Pakistani army has used Islam and the external
threat from India to retain their power and wealth. The
people must be more Islamic, because the sacrifice of
jihad is required to fight India. Poverty and destitution
in Pakistan are because India is trying to attack
Pakistan and kill Muslims. This Islamization of Pakistan
and the Pakistani army accelerated after the 1971 defeat
of the Pakistani army by India in the war of liberation
of Bangladesh.
96. Military Inc. Dominates Life in Pakistan, PAUL
WATSON, TIMES STAFF WRITER
http://www.satribune.com/archives/oct7_13_02/LATIMES_story.htm
99. A first hand list of Army land lords, Special SAT
Report
http://www.satribune.com/archives/Aug17_23_02/P1_landgrabbing.htm
100. Pakistan struggles with poverty reduction, Nadeem
Iqbal
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DL12Df01.html In
its “World Development Indicators-2002”, the World Bank
says that 31 percent of Pakistan’s population lives off
$1 a day, while the percentage of people living below $2
a day is a staggering 84.7 percent.