On the Miltary Farms, Okara

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It is really sad to read the attitude of Pakistan Army against its own citizens. When the army is losing its image in the country due to other political factors, this situation is adding more to the hatred of the institution. How can you expect that an army officer will prove to be a good manager? He has been trained to fight, not to manage. The lives of thousands of residents of Okara farms are at the whims of army officers enjoying all the comforts of GHQ. But this is an irony that every retired army officer is getting the highest administrative position. May God save my country from the enemy`s army and its own army!

I feel that the entire fiasco of the military farms is infested with vested interests. Every occupant of these farms knew for over a century that they were tilling under the patronage of the military farms and that they were badly off in relation to tenants on other government lands that gave them the propriety rights. Over a period of time, many men living in these farms had become the employees of these farms working in fodder units, milk processing plants, clerical staff and inspectors. With time the control of military authorities had become periferal as the staff reporting to them belonged to the same class as the reported. Hence a complete loop of corruption came into being resulting in pilferage.

It has to be noted that when the Okara Cantonment came into being, many of the residents of these chaks were displaced and there was no furor. Under the new logic will this cantt have to be dispensed with?

As for the socio development, most tenants benefit from the dispensaries set up for humans as well as the animals.Over time a number of schools of high standard education have come up like the convents in 10 Chak, Renala Kurd and the huge complex led by a Catholic priest on the Dipalpur road.Its a pity that none of the so called custodians of the ideological frontiers ever moved into this sector. If they had there wpuld have been militancy.

Much before the Punjab Revenue letter that created so many doubts came to the fore, the intentions of some of the occupants with vested interests were malafide. What this letter has done is to provide a causes belli.
If this precedence is accepted that soon the fiels firing ranges in Choolistan, Feroza, Pishin,
Sibi and training areas will also become contentious.
Its time that sense prevails and lets not make these farms an excuse for military bashing. The best way to bash the Army is that the politicians behave more responsibly and never give a chance for military interventions. Two smooth tenures of clean political governance would do the trick.
By the way who has killed the Catholic Priest Fr. George at the Renala Kurd Church on 4 july 2003. I know for sure that there were more than one attacks on the priests and nuns at Renala and 10 Chak since 1992. There are people who not only eye military and goverment lands but also the christian premises and places of worship in the area.

Rafay,

Once again futile words with no attempt to situate the problem in the overall context to give a better understanding and probable solutions.

Look at the concept of human values in pakistan. Thousands have been killed as jihadic fodder in kargill invasion and in afghanistan. Now mushy has signed a deal for 1.5 billion to contain terrorism, read kill taliban. The generals got money to create taliban, now there is more money to kill taliban. The military survives by the jihadists, by creating and disposing them off. So what chance and who cares about farmers. If they are kicked out, probably they will join the jihadists, more money to kill them.

Now one can ask, how did this jihadic version of islam took root in pakistan, while at partition it was more of the sufi version. Trace that to TNT, the idea that muslims cannot live with the others. After ethnic cleansing the hindus, the TNT has to find the next victims, and ahmadias and shias were created. Add in a few for the kashmir and afghanistan and chechniya. So the fundamnenta l issue is TNT> What pakistan needs is a cultural revolution, remove the photos so that the ghost will not come out at night, sipping sherry.

Rafay,

My post below turned out to be prophetic, TNT has has got 34 shias in a suicide bomb attack in quetta. From karachi to quetta, to kashmir to kabul, the children of TNT are making its creator proud.