Pakistan and Bangladesh

Amateur Historian, Dhaka
Mawaz, in his letter of June 12, points to difference in background; whereas in my opinion there are some basic similarities for the political instability of both the countries, which came into being as Pakistan to start with. Punjab has all along been the king-pin of Pakistan affairs, with its control over the armed forces, and from it the coffers of Pakistan. Since 1947 onwards, the armed forces controlled by Punjab destabilised the then Pakistan; overriding the political establishment and parliament leading to the creation of Bangladesh. A very similar trend is seen in our short history too. It started with (late) Zia followed by Ershad. In substance the backgrounds are similar. The modus-operandi is also very fairly identical. Hero worship and dynastic political set-ups are also fairly similar; except that civilian political dynasty in Pakistan possibly started from Bhutto, but has had a shorter life. The military dynasty there however has been firmly in the saddle. Both the civilian leaders, Jinnah (possibly poisoned) and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was assassinated, had unnatural ends. The Liaqat period in Pakistan was the short break before the armed forces took over; and since then, they are in the saddle; directly or through civilian "Chamchas". I agree that our politics is "dark". However the comparison with "black hole" is not scientifically appropriate; because black holes have far more energy than many planetary systems put together! If our political set up could have harnessed even an ion of energy of an atom (compared to atom bomb) we would have been up and away! Finally, to conclude, particle physics and politics are not compatible energy-wise. However, in the short history of Pakistan, and even shorter one of Bangladesh, there are many similarities.