Stormy exit
Sir: Mr Nasim Ahmed's analysis of the situa- tion in Pakistan (28 March) missed the most important point—the basic nature of military dictatorship is that it tries to perpetuate its in- fluence. Field-Marshal Ayub's ten years' dic- tatorship in Pakistan ended only to be resumed by General Yabya Khan.
Further the role of the army in Pakistan dur- ing the last ten years has been-to protect and strengthen the power of twenty families (own- ing 70 per cent of the country's industry) and the bureaucratic classes. It hardly paid attention to the impoverished masses, whose lot, in fact, deteriorated during this period. One cannot but suspect that amid the stormy political move- ment for economic and political justice, the army has been called in to maintain the status quo in Pakistan—plus ca change, plus c'est la rneme chose.
171 Gloucester Place, London NWI Al. Aril
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