Islam’s Flag And The Land Are The Two Loves Of The Pakistani Army. Gen Bajwa’s Wealth Is Not Brand-New
The Singing and Dancing Girls Association of Lahore assembled to protest at the beginning of the spring of 1972, with the flames of national shame flaring across what was left of Pakistan after the Bangladesh Liberation War. The media had been blaming sex workers for debauching military ruler General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan for weeks as the cause of the tragedy. There were disgusting rumors about The Proper Channel, a sex agent who could arrange military assignments for a charge. Firdaus, a foreign agent, Kausar, decked out in diamonds, and the dreaded General Rani: Failure wore military fatigues or nothing at all.
The family of the soon-to-retire Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa collected assets—primarily urban lands—worth a startling $56 million during his six years in government, according to a report last week by writer Ahmed Noorani.
The exposé might have caused controversy in another part of the world. However, this specific scandal—conducted by the husbands of good-family begums—has long been exposed. Military officers received taxpayer-funded land allocations worth millions of dollars while Pakistan’s economy slipped into a catastrophe. It is by right that the General Bajwa family owns a sizable number of properties in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi.
The military relies on a massive patronage system, which includes networks of military-owned corporations that manufacture cement, raise horses and milk them, and operate educational institutions. The military is an interest group, much like the political parties of the nation, which have been dominated by landed and business elites since independence.
Although it was simple to blame prostitutes and sex-obsessed generals for the defeat of 1971, institutionalized corruption had long since destroyed the military. This practice started far before the conflict and is still going on now. The love of their country comes first for Pakistan’s generals, who place their motherland second.
News Mania Desk
