Pakistan is in need of healing. The last one year has highlighted the many fissures that have festered below the surface for years. Unity of command, so effective in running a disciplined force like a military unit, has ended up dividing the Pakistani nation.

The first opinion poll, conducted by Gallup, after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto showed that nearly half of the sample suspected government agencies (23 per cent) and government allied politicians (25 per cent) of killing her.

The response to such widespread mistrust of the government is not dismissive statements by the country’s rulers. A serious effort is now needed to bridge the gap between Pakistan’s state and society.

Pervez Musharraf has repeatedly shown that he lacks the ability to heal. He could end the controversy about Bhutto’s death by accepting an international inquiry. After all, if the government has nothing to hide why take refuge behind technicalities in clearing up the matter? But Musharraf thinks like an administrator and insists that since he, as boss, knows there is nothing wrong, there is no need for a wider investigation. The government has also limited the scope of the Scotland Yard investigation, which would only keep the controversy and the suspicions stemming from it alive.

Pakistan’s armed forces, once beloved of the people, have suffered a loss of reputation because of their being mired in politics by people like Musharraf. At a time when the new army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, is trying to restore harmony between the army and the people it is imperative that the perception of the military favouring or opposing any political faction or leader is completely erased.

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