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Africa Subsaharan
Mugabe forks out cash for Pakistani army experts
2007-01-14
The cash-strapped Zimbabwe government will fork out hundreds of thousands of US dollars to pay Pakistani military experts who have arrived in Harare to help train and equip the army, which has been weakened by mass resignations of experienced officers. Safdara Hayat, the first secretary at the Pakistani embassy in Harare, confirmed the arrival of the first four senior military experts from the Asian country in an interview with ZimOnline yesterday. He said they were all seconded to the Airforce of Zimbabwe (AFZ).

The Pakistani experts have arrived in the country at a time when the nation faces growing threats of strike actions by long-suffering workers. The government fears these strikes might escalate into a bigger social unrest problem. The government has been heavily recruiting to replace army and police officers, deserting in droves to find better paying jobs in neighbouring countries and beyond. Reports from Pakistan suggest that more military experts are on their way to Zimbabwe.
Pak military experts certainly know a thing or two about keeping the populace down ...
While Hayat professed ignorance at the exact amounts the Pakistani officers would be paid, he nonetheless confirmed that the Zimbabwe government would be responsible for paying their salaries.

PakistaniÂ’s Daily Times newspaper earlier reported that the experts had been deployed only after Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz approved a revised agreement which offered improved conditions of service for experts seconded to the Zimbabwean army and air force. The newspaper said that Pakistani officers from the rank of captain to brigadier and those of equivalent ranks in the Pakistani armed forces would, on their deputation to Zimbabwe, get monthly salaries in the range of US$1,500 to US$3,300 and other allowances and privileges such as free accommodation and medical cover. The report said that the monthly salary of troops in lower ranks would be from US$615 to $712 excluding other allowances and privileges.
Most of the cash will end up in pockets somewhere high in the Pak defense ministry; the soldiers will get their usual crummy pay and allowances.
The amounts are a far cry from the poor salaries paid to Zimbabwean military and police personnel especially those in the lower tiers of the security forces.

The experts will stay in Zimbabwe for at least two years though their tenures can be extended under the military pact. Safdara said Pakistan had a long history of co-operating with Zimbabwe and there was nothing unusual with the military deal.
Especially the money.
Posted by:Pappy

#7  Well, john, they don't have "Don't tread on me" in their motto, so we have found their fatal flaw to exploit, heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2007-01-14 21:52  

#6  Don't forget - the Official name of Pakistan is "The Islamic Republic of Pakistan".
The official motto of the Pak army is
"Iman-Taqwa-Jihad fi sabilillah "
(Faith, Fear of Allah, Jihad in the way of Allah)


Posted by: john   2007-01-14 18:24  

#5  Only because the militias serve the interest of the Pak army - increasing Pak influence in Afghanistan - "strategic depth".
If they were actually viewed as a threat, the Pak army would not hesitate to exterminate them all.
For now it sends in cannon fodder - locals recruited into the paramilitary units - to be killed then declares a truce.
Posted by: john   2007-01-14 18:22  

#4  Of course, the Paki Army is really expert at surrendering to tribal militias.

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al   2007-01-14 13:59  

#3  Mugabe has bought the best (at what they do, which is not warfighting).

It was a Pak officer, Zia Ul Haq, later dictator president of Pakistan, who commanded the troops in Jordan that crushed the PLO in "Black September".

Paks also have vast experience in crushing civilian unrest. In the 1970s they killed tens of thousands of Balochis. In 1980s they killed thousands of Shia muslims in Kashmir (a pogrom allegedly organized by Pervez Musharraf and executed by a tribal arab lashkar commanded by Osama Bin Laden.
Of course, the 1971 genocide of two to three million Bengalis in East Pakistan trumps all.
Posted by: john   2007-01-14 11:18  

#2  The Chinese wouldn't trust Ukranians or Slovaks. Better to 'suggest' a client state.
Posted by: Pappy   2007-01-14 10:54  

#1  Mugabe is too big a racist to hire any of the white mercs available - he could get full crews from the Ukraine, Belarus, or Slovakia for less than the reported wages of the Pakis. But, the Pakis have families back home that can be reached by the ISI if they mess up, so that is why he will use them.
Posted by: Shieldwolf   2007-01-14 04:27  

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