US subsidies spent on arms to fight India
Greg Miller, The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 November 2007
The Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, cited the rising militant threat in declaring a state of emergency on Saturday and suspending the constitution.
But rather than use US funding to bolster its counter-terrorism capabilities, Pakistan has spent the bulk of the more than $US7 billion ($7.6 billion) in military aid on heavy arms, aircraft and equipment that US officials said are far more suited for conventional warfare with India, its regional rival.
That has left fighters with the paramilitary force, known as the Frontier Corps, often equipped with little more than “sandals and bolt-action rifles”, to face al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters equipped with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades.
Police attack protesters in Pakistan
Jane Perlez and David Rohde, IHT, 5 November 2007
ISLAMABAD: Police officers armed with tear gas and clubs attacked thousands of protesting lawyers Monday in the city of Lahore and rounded up lawyers in other cities as the government of the Pakistani president, General Pervez Musharraf, faced the first signs of concerted resistance to the imposition Saturday of emergency rule.
The opposition to emergency rule, which many here are describing as military rule, was led by lawyers, students and journalists. The main opposition political parties, however, mounted no immediate large-scale rallies or protests. The next few days will show whether they can organize in the current atmosphere, which is highly restrictive.
Benazir Bhutto, leader of the country’s biggest secular political party, remained at her home in Karachi, although she said she would fly to Islamabad on Wednesday to take part in a protest rally. Bhutto has sharply criticized the emergency rule but so far has stopped short of criticizing Musharraf himself.
Pakistani officials say an estimated 500 opposition figures have been arrested since emergency rule was imposed during the weekend, although lawyers and analysts said the figure could be far higher, probably about 2,000.