Pakistan’s democracy has been interrupted by military dictatorship three different times. Each time a military leader seized power, our own U.S. government gave funding and support.
So long as the dictators supported U.S. foreign policy, we didn’t care about the effects of their rule on average Pakistanis.
It is true that Pakistan’s civilian governments have also had their problems. But the answer to corruption is more democracy, not less. That’s why the U.S. government should commit that we will never again support military leaders or corrupt elites at the expense of popular movements for reform.
Pakistanis deserve freedom, development, and the rule of law — without interruption.