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The Prostitutes of Empire: Pakistan’s Generals and Their Gulf Patrons

There are few spectacles as grotesque as Gaza under bombardment. But if anything can compete with it in sheer offensiveness, it is the sight of Pakistani generals dusting off their medals, tightening their waistlines, and flying off to Riyadh like underpaid mall cops called in to protect a billionaire’s parking lot. One is a tragedy. The other is a parody. And together they form the sick theater of our time: genocide on one side, and groveling cowardice on the other.

From 1947 onward, Pakistan’s generals have never actually wanted independence. Independence is messy, it requires responsibility, it forces you to govern. Much easier, they decided, to subcontract themselves to whoever offered the best deal: Washington, Riyadh, or Abu Dhabi. The Non-Aligned Movement of the Cold War at least pretended to resist empire. Its rebirth today is pure mockery: the Non-Aligned Monarchies, where Gulf kings and Pakistani brass clasp hands, not in solidarity with the oppressed, but in joint servitude to empire.

Mercenaries in Uniform

Pakistan’s army is often described as the country’s most powerful institution. This is misleading. It is not a national army at all. It is a mercenary enterprise that just happens to have a state attached to it as an afterthought. Think of it as Blackwater with nukes and better uniforms.

When King Hussein needed Palestinians butchered in Jordan during Black September, who appeared on the scene? A certain Zia-ul-Haq, eager to prove his loyalty by directing the massacre. Zia’s career trajectory tells you everything you need to know: murder Palestinians abroad, then return home to enforce clerical fascism domestically, and voilà—ten years of dictatorship. The Pakistani military high command is like a dog that bites whoever its master points to, then wags its tail waiting for scraps.

Zionism in Khaki

Pakistan’s generals like to pose as Israel’s eternal enemies. But if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the brass in Rawalpindi are Zionism’s biggest fans. They have copied the Israeli model of a military aristocracy that runs politics, economy, and ideology with ruthless efficiency. The problem is that Israel, for all its moral bankruptcy, has competence. Pakistan’s generals, by contrast, are masters of neither strategy nor governance—they are masters only of housing schemes, Swiss bank accounts, and the fine art of losing wars to India.

Publicly they scream about Palestinian suffering; privately, they admire Israel’s ability to get away with anything. They long for that kind of impunity. They’ll never admit it, but their only successful operation against Palestinians was in Jordan, when they killed them.

The Gulf Monarchies: Oil, Glitter, and Handcuffs

If Pakistan’s generals are for rent, the Gulf monarchs are the clients from hell. These are rulers who lecture the world about Islam while treating their migrant labor force—mostly South Asian—as subhuman cargo. They buy football clubs and skyscrapers while workers die building them. They host Islamic conferences where the main agenda item is who gets to sit closest to the Americans.

Their relationship with Pakistan is transactional, not brotherly. The Gulf supplies money and oil; Pakistan supplies troops and false dignity. In exchange, both sides get to pretend they matter on the world stage. The truth is they are glorified middle managers of empire, trying to prove to Washington that they are not slaves but well-trained butlers.

Gaza: Where Cowardice is Policy

When Gaza is reduced to rubble, Pakistan issues grandiloquent speeches and holds rallies for the cameras. But deploy even a single soldier? Impossible. Risk a diplomatic scolding from Washington? Unthinkable. Displease Riyadh or Tel Aviv? Out of the question.

The same generals who leap into action when a Saudi prince sneezes suddenly develop severe arthritis when Palestinian children are massacred. Their courage is selective. They are like firefighters who rush to save luxury penthouses but let the slums burn.

And the excuse is always the same: “We must protect national interests.” Translation: villas in Dubai, scholarships for their kids in London, and new golf courses in Islamabad.

America’s Lunatics and Pakistan’s Opportunists

This whole farce is sustained by the empire’s own madness. Washington bankrolls Israel’s massacres while lecturing the world on democracy. It condemns Iranian “terrorism” while arming an apartheid state. It is a psychotic policy machine, run on lobby money and delusions of eternal supremacy.

Pakistan’s generals thrive on this madness. They know that as long as they play obedient mercenaries, their betrayals will be overlooked. Occasionally they’ll issue a statement of “solidarity” with Iran or Gaza, just to remind the Americans that they are capable of independent thought. But the moment Tel Aviv or Riyadh frowns, the generals scurry back into line like naughty schoolboys terrified of detention.

The People vs. The Brass

The irony is that Pakistanis themselves are not indifferent. On the streets, people chant for Gaza, raise funds, and weep for Palestinian martyrs. In the barracks, their so-called guardians are calculating the resale value of a new DHA housing plot. The gap between the people and the military (and political) elites is so vast that one wonders if they even inhabit the same country.

This is why the generals fear their own people more than any external enemy. They know the day Pakistanis realize the military establishment is not their protector but their pimp, the whole edifice could crack. Until then, the brass hides behind empty slogans of “defense of the ummah,” while actually defending the bank accounts of the elite.

Conclusion: The Prostitutes of Empire

And so we arrive at the punchline of this grim comedy. The Non-Aligned Movement, once a project of dignity, has been reborn as the Non-Aligned Monarchies: a grotesque alliance of oil barons, rented soldiers, and imperial enablers. Gaza burns, Israel celebrates, America bankrolls, and the Muslim world’s “leaders” either applaud or yawn.

Pakistan’s generals deserve special mention in this theater of shame. They are not guardians of Islam, not defenders of Pakistan, not protectors of the oppressed. They are mercenaries in medals, glorified security guards for Gulf monarchs, and willing subcontractors of empire. Their true genius lies not in war but in real estate, not in strategy but in servility.

They have long since fulfilled their lifelong ambition: to graduate from slaves to indentured servants. Their loyalty is not to Pakistan, not to Islam, not to Gaza, but to whoever signs their checks in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, or Washington.

History will not remember them as warriors. It will remember them as prostitutes of empire—men who rented out their guns, their uniforms, and their dignity, and called it patriotism.

[Courtesy: Countercurrents.org.]

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Summits for Palaces, Silence for Refugee Camps

Israel bombed Qatar for less than two hours, and suddenly the Arab world found its collective pulse. Phones rang. Summits were called. Draft statements flew out like confetti. Ministers put on their serious faces. The message: “Touch a palace and we’ll roar.”

Meanwhile, Gaza has been bombed, starved, and butchered for nearly two years—and the same rulers could barely muster a yawn. Apparently, the genocide of Palestinians wasn’t urgent enough. Maybe Gaza should have opened an oil field or two. Or built a U.S. base. Or at least started exporting natural gas. Then, perhaps, their suffering would have made it onto the “urgent agenda.”

Urgent Outrage—Available for the Right Price

The hypocrisy is dazzling. When Palestinians are slaughtered daily, it’s “complex.” When Qatar gets hit for a couple of hours, it’s “unacceptable.” Ah yes, the selective outrage of the Arab elite—like a VIP service, available only to the wealthy.

These rulers behave as if Palestinian blood comes at a discount, while Qatari prestige is Louis Vuitton. Gaza gets empty statements. Qatar gets emergency meetings. The double standard is so grotesque it almost deserves its own reality show: “Survivor: Arab Summits Edition.” The rules? Only the rich get rescued. The poor get commercials about “solidarity.”

And what solidarity it is! Gaza is handed crumbs of aid and oceans of pity. Qatar, by contrast, gets entire fleets of diplomatic convoys flying in with somber faces. The theater is exhausting: one minute they’re silent as Israeli jets pound refugee camps, the next they’re pounding podiums in defense of a peer’s prestige.

Palaces Under Attack? Quick, Call a Meeting!

One has to laugh—or cry—at the choreography. Whenever Israel humiliates a rich Gulf state, leaders scramble to look angry. They summon foreign ministers, glare at the cameras, and issue grand declarations about “consequences.”

But when Israel flattens Gaza? Suddenly, everyone’s calendars are full. “Oh, a genocide? Very unfortunate. Let’s schedule a meeting… perhaps in six months. After all, my son’s graduation is this week, and the oil conference is coming up.”

It’s like watching a fire brigade that only shows up when the neighbor with the swimming pool calls—while ignoring the family whose shack is burning down. Or imagine a doctor rushing to treat a billionaire’s paper cut while leaving a child with a shattered skull unattended in the waiting room. This isn’t diplomacy. It’s parody.

Summits: The Cowards’ Theater

Let’s be clear: these urgent meetings are political theater. Expensive hotel rooms, catered buffets, perfectly ironed robes, and enough hot air to power a city. They talk about “decisive responses,” which usually translates to… another meeting. Perhaps a strongly worded letter. If they’re feeling especially bold, they might recall an ambassador—for a weekend.

Meanwhile, Palestinians are still being buried under rubble. But hey, at least the sultans got a group photo with very serious faces. Surely that will comfort the orphans of Gaza.

And don’t forget the press conferences, where leaders compete over who can deliver the most indignant soundbite. “We strongly condemn…” “We vehemently reject…” “We will never tolerate…”—all while tolerating the obliteration of Gaza every single day. It’s like watching actors audition for a role they have no intention of playing.

Gaza’s Real Problem: No Oil

The ugly truth? Gaza doesn’t have what matters to these rulers: oil fields, foreign bases, or billion-dollar trade contracts. Gaza has only martyrs, rubble, and an unshakable will to resist. And unfortunately, none of that buys you a seat at an Arab summit’s “urgent” agenda.

If only Gaza could discover an offshore gas field and hire a Washington lobbyist. If only it could promise arms contracts to the Pentagon. Then maybe, just maybe, Palestinian children would be worth more than a few hashtags and a perfunctory Friday sermon.

Until then, Gaza will be served symbolic solidarity on a silver platter: hollow statements, impotent prayers, and the occasional banner draped on a government building. Nothing that costs the rulers anything. Nothing that might inconvenience their trade deals or their arms purchases.

The Prophet vs. The Palaces

The irony is rich. These rulers love to quote Qur’anic verses about justice and solidarity. They love to invoke the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when it makes them look pious. But when confronted with actual injustice—on a biblical scale—they act like spineless courtiers. The Prophet stood against oppression. These men hide behind diplomatic language and oil contracts.

Imagine the Prophet in today’s summits. He would probably flip the table, throw the resolutions in their faces, and march straight to Gaza. Today’s rulers? They’d be hiding in the hotel lobby, whispering, “But what will the Americans think?”

Complicity with a Smile

What we are witnessing is not neutrality—it is complicity. These rulers know exactly what Israel is doing in Gaza. They see the live footage like the rest of us. They know children are starving, hospitals bombed, mosques leveled. And still, they do nothing. Why? Because their thrones are worth more than Palestinian lives.

They wear their silence like a crown, hoping nobody notices the blood dripping off it. They prefer being well-fed servants of Washington over being remembered as defenders of the oppressed. History, however, has a cruel sense of humor—and it will remember them as cowards wrapped in gold.

They are like security guards who promise to protect the neighborhood, but when the burglars arrive, they hide under the desk—then later brag about how “deeply concerned” they were.

The People Are Not Fooled

Ordinary Muslims see through the charade. They know the rulers leap to defend privilege but ignore the powerless. They know the summits are a farce, the resolutions are theater, and the silence over Gaza is complicity.

Across the region, from Cairo to Karachi, the streets seethe. Sermons tremble with anger. Protest banners declare the obvious: Palestine bleeds, and the rulers look away. Every summit convened to save face only exposes the face of betrayal more clearly.

And this anger will not vanish. It will simmer, then boil. Populations betrayed for long enough eventually find ways to make their rage matter. These rulers may imagine they can silence the street with platitudes—but history has shown that the street always returns.

The Final Joke

So yes, Israel’s attack on Qatar deserves condemnation. But the fact that it sparked an emergency summit while Gaza’s genocide has sparked only emergency tweets is the punchline of the century. If it weren’t so tragic, it would be hilarious.

Here’s the truth: the ummah does not need rulers who roar for palaces but stay silent for refugee camps. It does not need sultans who defend prestige but abandon the powerless. It does not need kings who quote the Qur’an but worship and deify the dollar.

And when the history of this era is written, it won’t remember the glittering summits, the empty communiqués, or the staged group photos. It will remember Gaza’s rubble, Gaza’s martyrs, and Gaza’s children. And it will remember that the so-called leaders of the Muslim world chose to look away.

That is the joke. That is the betrayal. And it’s not funny at all.

[Prof. Junaid S. Ahmad teaches Law, Religion, and Global Politics and is the Director of the Center for the Study of Islam and Decolonization (CSID), Islamabad, Pakistan. He is a member of the International Movement for a Just World, Movement for Liberation from Nakba, and Saving Humanity and Planet Earth (SHAPE). Both articles, courtesy: Countercurrents.org, an India-based news, views and analysis website, that describes itself as non-partisan and taking “the Side of the People!” It is edited by Binu Mathew.]