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Pak first nation to be led by two ex-convicts
Islamabad, Nov 11 (PTI) Slain former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto's niece Fatima, a bitter critic of President Asif Ali Zardari, has compared Pakistan with Zimbabwe and said the present government is the "first in the world headed by two former convicts." "The country's newly elected government, the first in the world headed by two former convicts (between them the president and prime minister have served time on charges of corruption, narcotics, extortion and murder, no less)" Fatima wrote in an opinion piece titled "Texts, lies and Zardari-gate" for a Britain-based newspaper.Fatima compared Pakistan, whose economy has hit "rock bottom", with Zimbabwe. "Eight months into the new government's post-Musharraf rule, Pakistan's economy, sovereignty and freedoms have been considerably eroded. Think Zimbabwe, minus the good governance," wrote the 26-year-old fiery niece of the slain former premier. Rechristening the ruling Pakistan People's Party as the "Permanent Plunder Party", she wrote, "On the war-on-terror front, Pakistan's new government is proving to be a most gracious ally. The country's borders have been opened to unmanned drones that fly over parts of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province when and as they please, hitting various targets. "So, no, Pakistan is not a failed state. It's the country's leaders that are failures. In the 21st century, Pakistan remains a rich and diverse country held hostage to a government chock full of ill-equipped and unqualified carpetbaggers," she wrote. Fatima, who stopped writing her weekly column for The News daily some months ago, will now be regularly contributing for The New Statesman Posted by: john frum 2008-11-11 |
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