Dear Friends,
There is a lot of debate going on in public gatherings, drawing room gossip and most noticeable in the media ,about the role , weaknesses and future of Armed forces. There is no doubt that recent events of Abbotabad and Mehran Base have badly hurt the image of Armed Forces. The sad part is that very few Talk Shows have analytically examined the matter. Most of the discussions are based on newspaper thrillers or focused on a tiny segment of the whole picture . These discussions have, however, cast a subjective impression and blurred the heroic deeds performed by our valiant Armed forces. In certain cases the Politicians and Civil Society icons have unwittingly joined the band wagon to cast a doubt on the structure of Armed Forces.
Armed forces are a reflection of society and obviously influenced by the ethical standards of the society as a whole. It would be unrealistic to presume that irrespective of the deterioration in the standards of society, the armed forces will continue to maintain Utopian standards. This does not mean that Armed Forces are above criticism and need no soul searching. Critique is the standard pattern of improvement and very religiously practiced in Forces. Thus it is fair to assume that Armed Forces will not take the current events lightly and do everything possible to rectify the short comings.
Having said that let us take a cursory look at what has led to present scenario. Let us talk of War On Terror and role of Talibans and Al Qaeda . It is no secret that about 50% population of Pakistan considers Taliban and Al Qaeda the same thing and even more startling fact is that they think Talibans are on the right path. You come across many people who seriously think that use of term Terrorists for Talibans or AQ , is a great sin because they are doing Jihad. Out of the remaining 50% , a large majority silently supports them and will not endorse any action against them. Now the smaller fraction of society who may agree that Talibans are indeed Terrorists, prefers to stay indifferent , mainly due to absence of faith in our systems. For example we see an accident victim, feel very sorry but are highly reluctant to take the victim to Hospital. Not that we do not wish to do it but we try to avoid because of the resultant inconveniences and often very ugly repercussions. This is due to lack of faith in the overall system
Thus it is safe to assume that about 80% population of Pakistan is Not with the Establishment for War On Terror. The rest 20% would prefer to stay alone and watch. So who is actually fighting the War On Terror ? The unfortunate answer is it is the Armed forces alone , without whole hearted support by the general public. Within the Armed Forces there is significant percentage who participate in military operations not because of firm, unflinching a commitment but simply obedience of orders or in other words for Naukri. The difference in zeal and enthusiasm of troops and families while going for UN Peace Missions in Congo, or Rwanda etc and Waziristan in our own Country, needs little imagination.
The problems are numerous but the main cause of failure in War On Terror are ;-
1. USA has failed to convince the World at large , specially the Muslim world that 9/11 was actually conducted by Osama Bin Laden & Co .A large number of Americans and their allies also hold the same views.
2. Our successive Governments have failed to gain the confidence of the masses about what is happening on this front. The only information coming from the War Front is the ISPR hand outs or Troops returning from war zones. Obviously their information is limited to what they see during encounters or what they are told. .
3. Who takes the decision to conduct operations in Pakistan whether SW, Swat, or NW ? Many think it is USA and Not Pakistan. The tiny minority who considers Pakistan is doing it actually means Pak Army is doing it .Who is to be labeled as killed and who as Shaheed is decided by ISPR . So far no one has actually seen who got killed in Drone attack, who got killed in a raid and who attacked our forces. All is fiction , covered in layers of half truths and based on assumption that people believe these hand outs.
4. The sharp divide between our political and religious parties. Some consider military operation justified , the others think we should negotiate with them . The armed forces and Agencies are also puzzled in making this difficult choice whether to own the Jihadists or go completely against them.
Now a few words about the so called Security Lapses and in action by our Armed forces in recent incidents. We all know that in peace time there is a set pattern of security precautions. All these security precautions were in place and functional. In a scenario like this, the Terrorists have the initiative of when and where to strike. Imagine the large number of Military Installations strung all over the Country , over swelling of the cities, and focus of Indian, Israel, USA lobbies to keep Pakistan destabilized. Under such circumstances it is a far cry to assume that each soldier remains perpetually in a state of Highest Alert for ever. Since the initiative is with the attackers, they choose the most vulnerable and thinly covered target. The problem becomes more acute when they get inside information and help..
The Aim of enemies of Pakistan us to weaken the systems, distort the credibility of Armed Forces and create internal trust deficit. We must have full faith in our systems. The Armed Forces remain our last hope and they have never let this Nation down. The fallout from recent events will make them even wiser and they will rectify internal short comings. The process of accountability in the Forces has always been very tough and generally impartial. I have no doubt that persons responsible for lapses will not be spared and exemplary punishments will be awarded. We must, however, create an awareness where every Pakistani remains alert and responsible for contributing his / her share in defending the national assets. The assets in Mehran Base or elsewhere do not belong to Navy or Air Force or Army alone. These are National assets and all of us are responsible to defend these.
Let us remain united, become vigilant and thwart the evil designs of all those who wish to harm Pakistan. Let us make our Institutions stronger and build lasting partnerships between various factions of the society. It is our duty and we will not be found wanting. It is easier to criticize than to cure. Let us be part of solution and not part of the problem.
There is a lot of debate going on in public gatherings, drawing room gossip and most noticeable in the media ,about the role , weaknesses and future of Armed forces. There is no doubt that recent events of Abbotabad and Mehran Base have badly hurt the image of Armed Forces. The sad part is that very few Talk Shows have analytically examined the matter. Most of the discussions are based on newspaper thrillers or focused on a tiny segment of the whole picture . These discussions have, however, cast a subjective impression and blurred the heroic deeds performed by our valiant Armed forces. In certain cases the Politicians and Civil Society icons have unwittingly joined the band wagon to cast a doubt on the structure of Armed Forces.
Armed forces are a reflection of society and obviously influenced by the ethical standards of the society as a whole. It would be unrealistic to presume that irrespective of the deterioration in the standards of society, the armed forces will continue to maintain Utopian standards. This does not mean that Armed Forces are above criticism and need no soul searching. Critique is the standard pattern of improvement and very religiously practiced in Forces. Thus it is fair to assume that Armed Forces will not take the current events lightly and do everything possible to rectify the short comings.
Having said that let us take a cursory look at what has led to present scenario. Let us talk of War On Terror and role of Talibans and Al Qaeda . It is no secret that about 50% population of Pakistan considers Taliban and Al Qaeda the same thing and even more startling fact is that they think Talibans are on the right path. You come across many people who seriously think that use of term Terrorists for Talibans or AQ , is a great sin because they are doing Jihad. Out of the remaining 50% , a large majority silently supports them and will not endorse any action against them. Now the smaller fraction of society who may agree that Talibans are indeed Terrorists, prefers to stay indifferent , mainly due to absence of faith in our systems. For example we see an accident victim, feel very sorry but are highly reluctant to take the victim to Hospital. Not that we do not wish to do it but we try to avoid because of the resultant inconveniences and often very ugly repercussions. This is due to lack of faith in the overall system
Thus it is safe to assume that about 80% population of Pakistan is Not with the Establishment for War On Terror. The rest 20% would prefer to stay alone and watch. So who is actually fighting the War On Terror ? The unfortunate answer is it is the Armed forces alone , without whole hearted support by the general public. Within the Armed Forces there is significant percentage who participate in military operations not because of firm, unflinching a commitment but simply obedience of orders or in other words for Naukri. The difference in zeal and enthusiasm of troops and families while going for UN Peace Missions in Congo, or Rwanda etc and Waziristan in our own Country, needs little imagination.
The problems are numerous but the main cause of failure in War On Terror are ;-
1. USA has failed to convince the World at large , specially the Muslim world that 9/11 was actually conducted by Osama Bin Laden & Co .A large number of Americans and their allies also hold the same views.
2. Our successive Governments have failed to gain the confidence of the masses about what is happening on this front. The only information coming from the War Front is the ISPR hand outs or Troops returning from war zones. Obviously their information is limited to what they see during encounters or what they are told. .
3. Who takes the decision to conduct operations in Pakistan whether SW, Swat, or NW ? Many think it is USA and Not Pakistan. The tiny minority who considers Pakistan is doing it actually means Pak Army is doing it .Who is to be labeled as killed and who as Shaheed is decided by ISPR . So far no one has actually seen who got killed in Drone attack, who got killed in a raid and who attacked our forces. All is fiction , covered in layers of half truths and based on assumption that people believe these hand outs.
4. The sharp divide between our political and religious parties. Some consider military operation justified , the others think we should negotiate with them . The armed forces and Agencies are also puzzled in making this difficult choice whether to own the Jihadists or go completely against them.
Now a few words about the so called Security Lapses and in action by our Armed forces in recent incidents. We all know that in peace time there is a set pattern of security precautions. All these security precautions were in place and functional. In a scenario like this, the Terrorists have the initiative of when and where to strike. Imagine the large number of Military Installations strung all over the Country , over swelling of the cities, and focus of Indian, Israel, USA lobbies to keep Pakistan destabilized. Under such circumstances it is a far cry to assume that each soldier remains perpetually in a state of Highest Alert for ever. Since the initiative is with the attackers, they choose the most vulnerable and thinly covered target. The problem becomes more acute when they get inside information and help..
The Aim of enemies of Pakistan us to weaken the systems, distort the credibility of Armed Forces and create internal trust deficit. We must have full faith in our systems. The Armed Forces remain our last hope and they have never let this Nation down. The fallout from recent events will make them even wiser and they will rectify internal short comings. The process of accountability in the Forces has always been very tough and generally impartial. I have no doubt that persons responsible for lapses will not be spared and exemplary punishments will be awarded. We must, however, create an awareness where every Pakistani remains alert and responsible for contributing his / her share in defending the national assets. The assets in Mehran Base or elsewhere do not belong to Navy or Air Force or Army alone. These are National assets and all of us are responsible to defend these.
Let us remain united, become vigilant and thwart the evil designs of all those who wish to harm Pakistan. Let us make our Institutions stronger and build lasting partnerships between various factions of the society. It is our duty and we will not be found wanting. It is easier to criticize than to cure. Let us be part of solution and not part of the problem.
