Yudhajit Shankar Das
It's common gym knowledge that over-training a muscle is counter-productive. In Pakistan, the military is that overused muscle. The epicentre of power in the nuclear-armed Islamic country, the military is facing its biggest crisis till date. The bulging biceps were never as sore as they are today. It has been rattled by a barrage of deadly attacks soon after pro-Imran Khan supporters ransacked its self-esteem and rejected its political alternative.
While India has had smooth democratic sailing, both Pakistan and Bangladesh have large patches of military covering their tattered democratic records.
The creation of Bangladesh was the result of Pakistan using its military muscle to try and suppress the nationalist movement in East Pakistan. Under Operation Searchlight, the Pakistani army and militia massacred 7,000 people in one single night on March 25, 1971.
As guns burst open and chaos descended, Pakistan People's Party chief Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto witnessed the burning of Dhaka from the suite of his luxurious hotel. He then thanked the army for keeping Pakistan united. The same military became his nemesis.
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq removed Bhutto in a coup in 1977 and executed him in 1979 after a contentious trial. Pakistan's tryst with dictators, however, began a decade after its birth when General Ayub Khan imposed martial law after a coup in 1958.
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