Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa Agha on Pakistan Military

It is now recognized that without Chinese military's crucial role, it would have been very difficult for the Chinese to build the modern industrial base and attract massive foreign direct investments to become the factory of the world. It is also clear that, as a powerful and stable institution, Pakistani military can and should take inspiration from the PLA to play a much bigger role in Pakistan's economic development and rapid industrialization to help increase the nation's prosperity and lift millions out of poverty, as China's PLA has done.

Pakistan's military should take a leaf from the Chinese PLA playbook. It should do what is necessary to strengthen the nation's industry, economy and national security, regardless of any critics, including Ayesha Siddiqa Agha and her myriad fans. This is the best way forward to a well-educated, industrialized, prosperous and democratic Pakistan in the future.

Riaz Haq, PakAlumni Worldwide

"Ayesha Siddiqa’s MILITARY INC: A Deflective and Derogatory Book"

Dr Ayesha Siddiqa’s ‘The Military Inc.’ is a book deflective of reality, highly derogatory and against the very notion of sovereignty. Dr Ayesha Siddiqa launches the book by giving the impression that her intention is to cover the entrepreneurial activities of military worldwide. However, in depth reading reaffirms suspicions that her book massively targets the Pakistan Military and the top echelons of the Armed Forces, most of which are based upon self serving assumptions and intentional hoodwinking. The publication of Dr Ayesha Siddiqa’s own book ‘Military Inc’ in 2007, in President Musharraf’s era, repudiates her claims to term the military rule as manipulative and suppressive. Dr Ayesha Siddiqa wrote a whole book, to malign a system (MILBUS) whose worth does not exceed 0.8% of Pakistan’s free market economy.

READ THE ARTICLE - REFUTTAL:

http://presidentmusharraf.wordpress.com/ or

http://presidentmusharraf.wordpress.com/2008/10/23/ayesha-siddiqas-military- inc-a-deflective-and-derogatory-book/

Re: # 14
Well summed up in a nut shell, saves me from the trouble of rewriting my thoughts on this character Agha.
An accountant at the Defense dept. financed by the US and aided by the not so neighborly India comes to pick on the Army of Pakistan & it's role on stepping in to save Pakistan from the enemies within.
Most of those who are emerging on the screen of Pak politics find it so easy to step in as a prospective leader by sowing the seeds of a theory that they deem suitable for the minds of Pakistani people to accept.
Haven't these pseudo politicians already hurt the nation enough, do we need more of these?
It would be nice if the Pak legislative of future introduces a bill to become law, under the provisions of which, the right to free speech & expression is fully protected but the proceeds from any such publication in future should be entirely secured in favor of reform work to establish appropriate standards of free speech & expression and for holding adult classes on lessons of civics (not to be taught by authors like Agha).

#6 This punjabi muslims deafeated "sikander Badshah" and he got so much trouble in punjab
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subhaan allah. what a sense of history ahmedmadani saab has.

Re: # 7

Good and quite appropriate acronyms.

I had a class fellow in university whose father used to work as a civilian head clerk in the GHQ. When asked what his father's profession was, he would say, "hamary abba fouj ki baRi dhooi main kaam karte hain"

Thank you for this report out. It was done quite professionally.

What the **** Ayesha Siddiqa Agha? What Kinda name is it? A paradox? It is like having a name Haideri Abubakar :)

haideri

BTW, Riaz, I agree with your pessimism. Fool me once (and I did support BB in 1988) shame on you, fool me twice and then a third time? What does that say about the Awaam?

I agree that Musharraf has to go, but does BB-AZ/NS have to come back?

#14 Leadenwinter

Yaar, you are a character!

Thanks for the laughs!

Major Sahib,

Just curious, when did the PM troops fire on the Kaaba? Presumably during WWI but when exactly? Which battalioln? And under what circumstances?

Ayesha Siddiqa Agha is a creature of the US agitprop apparatus and absolutely every opinion of hers must be taken with a huge pinch of salt. This asiatic Aunt Jemima is one of the more ardent members of a cadre of Westernised Oriental gentlemen (and ladies in this case) who have made their careers out of standing on their hind legs and barking in tune to whatever rhetoric Zionists and Capitalists are spewing to instigate their hegemony. Pro-democracy propaganda has the aim of allowing Western multinationals greater purchase in the Pakistani economy in the short run and destabilising Pakistan in the long run towards semi-autonomous or autonomous fiefdoms subservient to the US. The reality of the situation is that the Military is all Pakistan actually has to show for itself and even this degree of domestic infrastructure is repugnant to the US who want essentially a cart-blanche for their economic, cultural and political imperialism. Ms. Agha is in essence making all the right noises at the moment hoping to forward her career at the expense of the nation she purports to represent.

I think Ms Agha is being too generous in her praise of the voters in Pakistan. By recycling the old, failed leadership of the PPP and PML(N), the voters have essentially punished Musharraf and his allies for the atta, security and electricity crises but also signaled a clear lack of better options to replace the current rulers. In a way, the US still comes out ahead because it was the US that sponsored the amnesty paving the way for the return of PPP's exiled leadership. Zardari owes it to the US to toe the US line, as was agreed by BB and articulated in her speeches prior to her unfortunate assassination. So, don't expect a fundamental change in Pakistan's posture toward the US. Nor would I expect any big changes in terms of better governance in Pakistan on the domestic front. I hope I am wrong but I am going by the known history of the expected new government....a third chance for both the PPP and the PML(N).
Riaz Haq, PakAlumni Worldwide

Some one possibly a pakistani has red flagged my post, implying that my post contains incorrect info.

From dawn of today is the below post, I have inculded only two of more than 16 honour killings in a single village in pakistan last year.

Today, on the womens day, it would be more appropriate for Ayesha to focus on womens issues rather than advicing the paki army.

In June, a couple was killed in Gujranwala, Punjab. Sources said that Uzma 18 had married a boy Shabir in her neighbourhood on her own free will against the permission of her parents. The couple had fled to Karachi and then shifted to Gujranwala where they were traced and killed.

Similarly, another couple was killed in Ouch, Lower Dir on November 11, sources said, adding that the girl Khaista Begum and the boy Islam Zeb had married on their own violating the family’s decision. People said that the elders of the girl’s family ‘deceived’ the couple and invited them to their home but when they reached they were allegedly killed by the girl’s relatives.

Thanks, Ras Siddiqui.
Yes, Wajahat is doing an excellent job. Am glad he is able to give time to journalism.
C.

Nice read Mr. C

Saw it in the Link too. Please write more often.

Also read her interview by Wajahat Ali in Couterpunch.

Pretty powerful stuff.

#8 Kamath

[What about making LOVE and not WAR]

Sir, I remember hearing this one somewhere. The suggestion is quite impractical and counterproductive in view of the high population growth rate.

Re: # 7
Yours is one of the most innovative and original suggestions, I have ever come across. Very smart indeed.

I have even better idea. What about making LOVE and not WAR!

kamath

We need a national army. The present army should be reduced to four battalions.
Battalion Alpha should be responsible for march pasts, guard of honor and other ceremonial purposes.
Battalion Bravo should be equipped with bands, bag pipes and trumpets. They should be properly trained in Abbotabad.
Battalion Charlie should be a crack force to attack mosques and kill babies. They should also be given honorary name 'Mosque Raiders'
Battalion Gamma should be composed of professional generals and other senior ranking officers who should have all the training of sub servitude/submission and surrender. It should be given nickname ASS (Army of Subservient and Surrenders). Or even BIG ASS (Battalion In General of Army of Subservient and Surrenders)
Combat mission is very difficult and politics is the easiest job. That is why our army has chosen to do this. They forgot combat since 1971 surrender and always kept religious fighters as proxy warrior. Now except jamiat e Islami, other has already mutinied to some extent.

Punjabis are gate keeper of india for thousands of years and have developed military skills over hundreds of years. His is at heart simple farmer with culture as agricultural in his blood.He is hard working at heart and hardy by nature. By years of fighting his mind is is made mature and too much disturbed as they have seen rulers come and go but farm remains.
This punjabi muslims deafeated "sikander Badshah" and he got so much trouble in punjab he abandoned his plan of going to south and take more parts of india. As usual people curse them for their helping to fight invaders. All good deeds get punished. All lazy sindhis and indians and all others blame them for unjustly.

“Why do we need 600,000 people in army when India, a much bigger country, has a force of 1,000,000?�

the paki army needs more men because they have 1million indians and 160million pakis to fight...

Re: # 3 Beej-Koomar:
She does a good job. After all remember we all have to earn a living, get pleasure of being praised a bit (something)and a feeling gratification that we give something to to the society for a higher good.

So let us bleave her alone with her mission.
Kamath

She rocks!

ideally what ayesha is saying is correct.but who will bell the cat.nawaz sharif the elected PM was removed by Peja Wehshi and there was not a single demonstration in punjab .the only demo was in saddar karachi.The Paki military is a british creation.first mercenary to brits and now to americans . i dont think that the americans would bet on the paki politicians.the paki army has proved a faithful dog catcher.especially the punjabis from areas north of chenab and jhelum.they did not hesitate to fire on the kaaba and fought loyally against muslims under brit masters from 1857 to 1947.

Pakistan is an army with a state not a state with an army.

Idealism is good but when it comes to the hard facts there is no doubt that the USA needs Pakistan's mercenary army.India is too big to be manipulated.

Out of all the people, here is a woman giving advice to teh pakistanis. What is her credibility, for that matter what is the status of any woman in pakistan. The famous Ayesha Jalal, they murdered a woman in fron if her and no one was charged with any crime, just to prove to Ayesha jalal that women do not count in pakistan and youy could be the next.

Pathetic Ayesha, no one cares for you, and above all whp are you to give advice to the military, the men who created the hoodood ordinance.

Ayesha, go and read what the hoodood ordinance is about and if you dare talk about that.