Vindictive at Their Best-Pakistan Army

Shalimar hotel is a nice and cozy Pakistani restaurant in Troy, New York. After a long day my evenings are spent at the corner table with a hot cup of tea and conversation with Javed Sahib (owner of the hotel). He shares his fond memories of the good old days in Pakistan while I talk about the present gloomy times. "Who is the culprit?" was the question that popped up after reading a small news feed in Dawn where the proud sons of the Pakistan Army beat the senses out of a young DMG (District Management Group) officer to feed their inflated ego.

On 8th July 2009, Ali Qamar a 35th common DMG officer posted as Camp Incharge Sheikh Yaseen IDP Camp, Mardan was vandalized, brutally beaten, physically and verbally abused by army officers and jawans, while on duty. The two sons of the nation, Lt Haider and Major Asad of 32 cavalry were apparently tired of fighting against terrorism/Taliban and their idea of taking a break was to show their muscles to a civilian officer, who is also a son of the same nation, and who was doing official duty when attacked. It is indeed a shame to see the petty ego of these officers. This is not the first instant when army has attacked a DMG officer or civilian institutions. But how can we question these junior officers when their top brass Ayub Khan, Zia ul Haq, Musharraf already abused the country.

Atif Majeed, a fulbright scholar, after hearing this incident shared this story, “During Ayub Khan regime one poet came to Faiz Sahib who was smoking at the pak tea house. He said Faiz sahib meray pass aap kay liyee baree buree khaber hai? (I have a bad news for you) Faiz asked what happened? He said Pakistan ab mazeed nahi cchul sakta. Yeh sun kay Faiz sahib nay baray sakoon say kush lagaya aur kehnay lugay meray pass thumaray liyee is say zaida buree khabar hai aur woh yeh kay yeh mulk hameesha isi taran chalta rahay ga.” Faiz sahib statement is very much true even today.

It is believed that Pakistan Army is the strongest and most dominant institution in Pakistan. This white elephant takes 20% of the national budget to protect us from the foreign elements. We can witness their so called war against Talibans where they are unable to control their own creation, displacing millions of IDPs and outrageous spillover effect in the form of suicidal bombings in the urban hubs of Pakistan and above that all they vent their anger by beating a DMG officer.

The United States is fighting war against terrorism and Pakistan army is fighting a perpetual war against democracy. Every democratic leader has been forced to abdicate by the army. The generals ruled the country for 34 years out of 62 years of its total existence. Dr. Ayesha Siddiqua, in her book "Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy", mentions that the army's private business assets are worth around $17 bn and it owns a handsome share of the country's business and land. The top brass, as a result, appear to be more interested in leveraging control over businesses, properties and politics. If this is the mind set how we are suppose to win any kind of war against any enemy.

Pakistan's three infamous A's: The Army, Allah and America. We blame the Islamic fundamentalists and USA for all the chaos in Pakistan. But if we take a closer look the real culprit seems to be Pakistan army. Every political scientist claims that democracy is an answer to most of the problems in Pakistan but there are certain prerequisites to practice democracy. Thanks to Pakistan army it has not only destroyed but paralyzed the political thinking of people. It is like a ruthless corporation whose objective is to maximize profit. The way Zia ul Haq paralyzed the country no dictator has ever been able to achieve, he changed the very character and role of Pakistan army. The third ‘A’ America was the biggest sponsor of Islamic fundamentalism, religious terrorism and Islamisation of Pakistan Army. A breed of Taliban was created to fight the Russians and to please the US because the army was getting huge amount of dollars in aid.

The business plan was pretty sustainable as high quality heroine from the poppy grown in the wastelands of war in Afghanistan and the areas along the 1500km long Pak-Afghan border. The black capital coming from the drugs trade was shared with different warlords and the leaders of different Islamic fundamentalist parties and Islamic mercenary outfits involved in this reactionary insurgency.

Musharraf regime is another golden chapter of Pakistan’s history; billions of US dollars were given to Pakistan Army to curb terrorism. Pakistan army again made us proud as terrorism not only increased but crossed the borders and entered our cities. It changed the demography as fear lurks in every heart. People are scared to socialize or go to any public place. One of the key causes of the judicial and political crisis in his regime was the disappearances of ordinary citizens at the hands of military intelligence.

Zaid Zafar presented this scary situation through a 24 minutes documentary “Missing in Pakistan”. The documentary highlighted how an average Pakistani citizen can easily draw a stark connection between US ideals and policy with the realities in Pakistan.

What right does the army have to intervene in the affairs of civil administration? Their job is to protect the borders and not abuse the civilians. If they are requisitioned to assist the civil administration they should be confined to supporting not taking over! If they had done their job at the borders we would not have terrorism within Pakistan. It takes ages to build an institution but few people destroy it in the name of their egos or vested interests. Islam gives us the message of peace and harmony and if the pivotal institutions are unable to work in harmony then we are destroying Pakistan with our own hands. It’s time to realize our weaknesses and restrain from past mistakes that have brought Pakistan to its present state.