VOA常速英语2008年-Pakistan Military Adjusts to Return of Civilian

By Gary Thomas
Washington
21 February 2008

Pakistan's just-completed elections mark a return to civilian¹ parliamentary government after more than eight years of one-man rule.  As VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, a civilian government and the military establishment must once again forge a working relationship at a time of political uncertainty² and heightened security threats.

Throughout Pakistan's 60-year history, no civilian prime minister has ever been allowed to complete a term of office without direct or indirect intervention³ by the military.  The last such takeover was in 1999, when General Pervez Musharraf seized power from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup⁴.

Now with an opposition⁵ victory in the parliamentary elections, the pendulum⁶ swings back to the civilians⁷ as soon as a coalition⁸ government can be formed.  Mr. Musharraf remains⁹ president but is no longer chief of the military, having resigned from that post under public pressure last year.  The new army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, has ordered military officers to stay out of politics and give up any government posts they hold.

The military has always been a powerful institution in Pakistan.  But, as former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlin, points out, under President Musharraf the army entrenched¹⁰ itself deeper into civilian institutions than ever before.

"It has under Musharraf recently become much too involved in civilian government and as head of corporations," she said.  "Kayani has taken a number of steps to pull them back to the barracks, back to their traditional role, restoring the trust and faith of the Pakistani people in the army."

Christine Fair, a South Asia analyst¹¹ at the RAND Corporation, says the military lost considerable public support as a result of Mr. Musharraf's actions, particularly his dismissal of judges and the temporary imposition of emergency rule.

"You'll recall an IRI poll over the summer that really shook the army to its boots, because the most popular institution was the judiciary, followed by the media, and then the army came tumbling in at three," she noted¹².  "The army is accustomed to being the most trusted institution among Pakistanis.  So that had to give them basically a little bit of heartburn."

Shuja Nawaz, a Pakistan affairs analyst who has just written a book about the Pakistani army, says the military is upset about losing prestige as it tries to deal with a growing domestic terrorist threat.

"From all indications there's a fair amount of unhappiness within the army at all levels about the fact that it is no longer given the same level of respect in the public, and that in fact it has become a target of terrorist actions," he said.  "This is something completely new for the army in Pakistan, which has always been very highly regarded and highly respected."

Nawaz says that for the army to stay out of political matters requires more political maturity¹³ from the civilian leaders. 

"If they [the army] see the situation deteriorating¹⁴ because of the government's actions or inactions, then of course it's likely they would discuss ways of intervening," he added.  "But the first instinct of most of the [military] people currently is to stay away.  And if the civilians oblige them by showing responsibility in how they deal with each other, and also in how they deal with the militancy¹⁵ issue in particular, then I see things stabilizing¹⁶ somewhat."

Aitzaz Ahsan, a leader of the lawyers' movement against Mr. Musharraf that sprung up last year, tells VOA the civilian and military establishments can forge a new relationship - but not, he says, as long as Mr. Musharraf remains in office.

"I think that a new working relationship can be worked out, but as long as General Musharraf is there, that is hardly a possibility," he said.  "I think that his presence will only mess up things and muddy the waters.

The two parties that won the most seats in the election - Nawaz Sharif's PML-Q and the Pakistan Peoples Party of assassinated¹⁷ opposition leader Benazir Bhutto - are the same two parties whose governments were dismissed for corruption¹⁸ and incompetence¹⁹ by successive presidents in the 1990s.

It was another military ruler, General Zia ul-Haq, who in 1985 gave the president the power to dismiss the government.  But in practical terms such a move by the president cannot be taken without army approval.

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

3 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

4 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 pendulum   

n.摆，钟摆

参考例句：

• The pendulum swung slowly to and fro.钟摆在慢慢地来回摆动。
• He accidentally found that the desk clock did not swing its pendulum.他无意中发现座钟不摇摆了。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

14 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

15 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

16 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

17 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

18 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

19 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。