**Military Inc. — it’s big business in Pakistan **
Nirupama Subramanian
The Hindu, April 19, 2007
*Pakistan’s military has built up a huge commercial empire, which will only make it more difficult to dislodge from power. *
AS ELECTIONS in Pakistan draw closer, and the agitation over the removal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary widens, and talk of a deal between Benazir Bhutto and President Pervez Musharraf picks up, there is intense speculation about whether the General — who certainly wants another term in office — will shed his military uniform and go civilian.
That he must step down as army chief if he wants to contest the presidential election for another term is one point on which the entire Opposition, including Ms. Bhutto, is united. The Opposition suspects that a continuing standoff between militant Islamists in an Islamabad mosque and the government has been orchestrated by the regime to convey to its western backers that Pakistan needs a ruler in uniform to keep extremist elements tamped down.
General Musharraf may or may not make the transition to plain Mr. Musharraf. But a new book by a Pakistani writer argues that irrespective of whether it is a civilian or a general at the helm, so deep has the military sunk roots in the national economy, and so vast are its business dealings, that in order to protect this empire and its associated vested interests, the army, especially, will continue to have an important say in how Pakistan is run. Military Inc. — Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy by Ayesha Siddiqa (Pluto Press, London; Oxford University Press, Pakistan) is a detailed exposition of the business and commercial empire run by the armed forces.
The author is a well-known strategic affairs analyst. The central argument of her book is that `Milbus’ (combining the words military and business) perpetuates the military’s political predatory style. Its good health is dependent on the military’s influence over state and society. In other words, profit is directly proportionate to power. And, that this is both a cause and effect of a non-democratic political system.
Ms. Siddiqa defines `Milbus’ as military capital used for the personal benefit of the military fraternity. It refers to all activities that transfer resources from the state to an individual or a group within the military. These activities do not figure in the defence budget nor are they subject to the normal accountability procedures of the state. They are either directly controlled by the military or enjoy its implicit or explicit patronage.
The beneficiaries are primarily officers, both serving and retired, but the author says the Milbus' harvest is reaped by a wider circle of civilian businessmen and politicians who have decided in their own interests to play the game. And in this, says Ms. Siddiqa, lies the key to Pakistan's story of repeated military rule. Civilian clients’ are bound in predatory partnerships with the military, in turn strengthening it institutionally and increasing its appetite for power and profit.
In Pakistan, `Milbus’ is present in all three sectors: agriculture, manufacturing, and services. And it operates at three levels: as an institution, through its subsidiaries, and through individuals.
The issue of *Milbus *has been raised several times and it actually led to former SBP governor making a presentation on it in US refuting the claims.
Here’s an article by Dr. Aisha in Newsline. She mentions Dr. Ishrat’s presentation:
What r ur thoughts on this people? I think its reasonable for the military to have some business for welfare but it has gone a bit over board recently.
