Although Pakistan is a small Islamic republic situated in south Asia it’s politics has major impacts on world affairs. Pakistan was carved out of the Hindu dominated Indian sub-continent in 1947 as an Islamic republic. It was created so Muslims of south Asia could have a land of their own, so they could have their freedom. Unfortunately since the departure of the British from the sub-continent Pakistani’s have not really seen a democracy, they are still to find out what real freedom is. Pakistan has mostly been ruled by military dictators or their stooges fraudulently elected to public office. Even today Pakistan is ruled by a government supposedly elected by popular vote, but the real rulers of the country is its military led by the charismatic and fortunately religiously liberal Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf, who captured power in a bloodless coup and holds the office of the president of the country.

Why would any one care about this stuff outside of Pakistan when there are so many countries in the world which are not democratic? This is a question the world at large needs to think very seriously about. Why? you would ask. Because when a country is plagued with political instability it in itself is very dangerous, but when that country is a big military might with nuclear weapons, things can get catastrophic over night.

Pakistan has been previously know to operate and support terrorist training camps, the head of Pakistan’s atomic program has been implicated on charges of distribution of nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea. Who is to say that the leaders in Pakistan will act rationally in a tough situation where they have to take a decision on the use of nuclear weapons. Forget responsibility of the leaders, God forbid what would happen if the helm of this instable very powerful military country with nuclear weapons are taken over by a radical islamist General in a coup? can you imagine the repercussions. This is not just a created senario or a theory this very little known fact is true, islamist generals have planned to do exactly the same thing on several occasions. The coup planned by Maj-Gen Zaheerul Islam Abbasi and Brigadier Mustansir Billah in the middle of the 90s had a strong religious motivation behind it, fueled through the anti-Soviet Afghan jihad.

The two officers had allegedly planned to storm the conference room where the formation commanders had assembled for their annual conference and seize or shoot them on the spot. Amateurishly planned, the attempted coup failed as Brigadier Billah was caught with his cache of arms hidden in the boot of his car at the Attock checkpost while on his way from Peshawar to Rawalpindi.

Earlier, in the late 80s, retired Maj-Gen Tajjamul Hussain attempted yet another coup, which was aborted before take-off. The main inspiration behind his plan was to rid the country of ‘corrupt’ civil and military personnel and impose an Islamic order.

God knows what would have happed if any of these or the numerous other attempts would have been successful. Pakistan needs a strong democracy which is sane and has the power of the people behind it, Pakistan needs to reign its military. The soldiers belong in their barracks and not in the country’s politics. The world has to help Pakistan become a democracy and shun the rule of dictators instead of supporting them. The situation in Pakistan is getting out of hand and if it is not handled tactfully it might just blow up in the faces of us all.