For those of you who thought Achakzais speech was controversial…I guess the opposition knows elections are around the corner! You can read Shaukat Aziz’s response here
MNA announces ‘revolt against generals’
By Shahzad Raza
ISLAMABAD: Opposition MNAs launched a scathing attack on the military on Wednesday, announcing a “revolt” against the continuing domination of the country by army generals.
“If generals are feudal lords and civilians their subjects, I, being a peasant, announce a revolt against the feudal lords to get back my rights,” said Khawaja Asif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the National Assembly, drawing applause from his colleagues and stunned silences from the treasury benches. He said the generals were following the old feudal tradition of keeping their subjects from getting an education.
Treasury MNA Ali Akbar Wains pointed out that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif once had close relations with the military establishment, but he was shouted down by opposition members. He had an angry exchange of words with Abid Sher Ali of the PML-N.
Asif said he had as much respect for the armed forces and generals as they had shown for the Constitution and democratic institutions. He said the politicians of the country had paid for their mistakes, receiving lashes, jail, hangings and exile. “The generals are yet to pay their debt to the nation. And the people of Pakistan will soon get them to pay every single penny they owe,” he said.
The PML-N leader said thousands of billions rupees had been spent on the armed forces since 1947, but they had delivered very little. An independent inquiry commission to evaluate the wars with India would “expose the pathetic performance of the armed forces”, he said. Asif said Azad Kashmir was not liberated by the Pakistan Army, but by tribal people.
He said the military regime was a “stigma”. Pakistan was a welfare state, but only for the armed forces, he said. Army officials considered all outsiders to be “bloody civilians”, he added.
Asif said that General Pervez Musharraf had a lower stature than any of the 342 MNAs. “You are taller than him because you are the elected representatives of the people. He requires his military uniform to remain in power.”
He said history would never forgive Punjab if it stayed silent about what was happening in Balochistan. He said the Punjab had remained silent in 1971, which led to the secession of Bangladesh.
He said the stock market had dropped over 1,200 points since the announcement of the budget, which was a clear sign of the lack of confidence in the budget.
Babar Khan Ghouri of the MQM praised General Musharraf, saying it was because of him that the MNAs were sitting and speaking in parliament.
Sherry Rehman of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP-P) said Pakistan was not a national security state, but a military garrison state where all resources were at the disposal of the armed forces. She said army expenses were increasing despite the country building a nuclear deterrent. She said that the new General Headquarters in Islamabad would cost Rs 240 billion.