ISLAMABAD: When a rock-band song mocking Pakistan’s army was mysteriously blocked on Internet sites recently, no one was surprised. But, as political parties jousted their way to this Saturday’s elections, it was a small reminder of where power really lies.
There is no doubt that attempts to bury a legacy of decades of military rule have made headway in Pakistan, where - for the first time - a civilian government completed its five-year term and stood aside to allow voters choose its successor. But it would be a mistake to interpret the army’s decision to stay put in its barracks throughout those five years as a sign that it has loosened its grip on power, or that civilian primacy has at last arrived in the nuclear-armed nation.
