Where is the Pakistani Army in this time of need?

As the Muslims in Pakistan come to terms with the enormous loss of life in the Kashmir region from the recent earthquake, the woeful, sluggish response from the rulers in Pakistan is also coming to light. Whilst any such catastrophe would be a challenge for any government, the Pakistani government rather than seeking to provide immediate relief to the areas affected seems to be more concerned about it's public image and is engaged in a damage control campaign. It seems to have abdicated all responsibility for it's citizens to the "international community" as it quite unashamedly begs for relief aid, which seems to be it's disaster strategy, coupled with the typical incompetent, corrupt bureaucratic response Pakistanis have to come to expect form successive Pakistani governments. In all it has collected a paltry sum of £200m. This is in stark contrast to the recent Hurricanes Katrina and Rita where a repair bill of $200 billion plus is being cited.

Whilst journalists have been able to reach and file news reports from these so called "remote areas" it remains a mystery why the Pakistan Army has been unable to reach these areas. Whilst in the past there has been no shortage of gusto performances from the commander-in-chief citing the readiness of the Pakistani army for any eventuality, recent Pakistani government pronouncements have varied from bad weather to roads being cut off by land slides to the short supply of helicopters as the reasons behind the dismal relief response. One would truly hate to imagine the situation in the event of a real war if this is the response of the Pakistani army in peacetime. Yet the question remains, why have only a small number of troops been allocated in the relief efforts in Kashmir out of a standing army of 600,000 ?

Perhaps the answer is elsewhere. Whilst the Muslims in Kashmir try to dig out their loved ones with their bare hands, the disturbing evidence is that the Pakistani army seemingly has all the resources including the helicopters and money needed to continue waging a war on it's own Muslim people in Wazirstan and the surrounding territories at the behest of Bush in the so called "War on Terror". Indeed the Pakistani government has made no announcement about ending this campaign and using these resources in the earthquake relief effort. This clearly shows where the Musharraf regime's priorities really lie, as a faithful servant in the hands of their foreign master Bush, while ignoring the agony of his own people. This comes as new revelations come to light in a New York times article that Pakistan is a country that Bush wants to deal with in a like manner as Iraq. No doubt Musharraf stands ready to serve.