'America is pushing a new agenda in Pakistan'

Adrian Levy, co-author of the recently-published Deception- Pakistan, the United States and the Global Nuclear Weapons Conspiracy, told rediff.com in an exclusive interview that an honest investigation into the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto may reveal the hand of the country's military behind it.

He said, "It is not the time to give inflammatory statements but thorough and rigorous investigations are likely to find military linkages. If an open and truthful investigation takes place and the military doesn't shell out half-truths, as it has happened before, we will see the hand of the military behind her killing."

Levy says that after Bhutto's return to Pakistan, she was found to be too popular to be contained by the military. She also backed out of her power-sharing agreement with Musharraf.
   
When asked about her legacy, Levy said, "Benazir Bhutto wanted to rewrite some chapters of her own history if she had come back to power in the coming elections. She was hoping to get back to basics."

Levy, one of the most acclaimed authors on Pakistan in contemporary times, has written extensively on Bhutto. He said, "The news of her assassination is devastating but nevertheless inevitable. Her death, in someway, shows the way she lived her life. Bhutto was charismatic as well as enigmatic. She was a Machiavellian leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party. She was an imperfect leader and had faced allegations of corruption but she had the ability to inspire people to follow her."

The author added, "She was a very fatalist person. Also, she believed her family is born to rule. More than money, it was political power that attracted her. She felt very much part of the dynasty." 

"The American policy on Pakistan is in tatters. The policy was one-dimensional. US over-invested in the military and under–invested in the civil society," Levy told rediff.com in a telephonic interview.

He said, "The treacherous military men lied to Americans. The Bhutto-Musharraf partnership was the last card Americans had. Bush administration didn't go for long-term strategies but short term gains. Now, their plans have exploded too."

Levy is hopeful that the US will chalk out a new plan for Pakistan in the coming weeks.

He said, "There is a lot of soul searching going on in the US. They have driven in a one-way lane so far and have reached a dead-end. In the coming weeks, I expect many major policy changes in US' Pakistan policy."

Elaborating on these changes, Levy said, "One can expect Americans to question how they fund Pakistan and there will be an audit. More funds will be provided for education and building civil societies. America is pushing a new agenda in Pakistan. The US is trying to change its track."

 "Today's event or recent events do not show that Pakistan is a failed state. We can't afford Pakistan to fail. Its not in the interest of India, Iran, Afghanistan or any country," he concluded.