Pak Armed Forces vs. Pakistan

Without indulging myself into a complex right or wrong debate, or making any attempt to decipher background historical and political riddles, I would like to recount some simple straight-forward observations that no naked eye can miss.

Since 1971 (or was it 1965), for the very first time Pakistan Air Force jet fighters and Pakistan army gunship helicopters are in action. In real. They are flying strike missions, pounding targets, carpet bombing, and taking out hostile elements in droves. In short, aerial and ground attacks are nowadays routine matter. Wow!

Oh, bravo! If not all of these heroic activities were going on within Pakistani borders against none else but Pakistanis. Tragically, from North to South, East to West, weapon systems bearing insignia of different arms of Pakistan military are being used to slaughter innocent Pakistani women and children, sometimes for appeasing foreign masters, sometimes for advancing corporate and/or personal interests of the Pakistani generals.

Similarly, Pak army is training its weaponry that has so far only used for conquering PTV stations, the constitutional avenue and the parliament, on fellow Pakistanis. They are shelling ‘militants’ and smoking out ‘terrorists’ all over the country with incendiary phosphorous bombs. And the destruction of schools and hospitals or the loss of civilian lives in Southern Waziristan to Dera Bugti is no more than mere unavoidable “collateral damage” in their perverted world.

In Balochistan the army is pitted against protesting Balochs and primarily intends to inflict maximum possible destruction on them instead of listening even to their genuine grievances. Nothing to be surprised about though when the incumbent uniformed President seems to be more inclined towards hurling threats of dire consequences and complete annihilation than to strive for political solutions.

Likewise, paramilitary rangers are taking good care of unruly compatriots, from Karachi in the South to the coastal areas of Badin to the hinterland of Punjab. Observe the sordid state of affairs. On the one hand, the well-reputed organization, Human Rights Watch, was reporting widespread human rights abuses being committed by rangers on military farms across Punjab. On the other, quite simultaneously, a bid to dispossess the local fishermen from their livelihood by unlawful force in Badin area was underway.

Solely for personal gains of the top brass, tenants of Okara military farms were evicted at gun point from the lands their ancestors had been tilling for nearly a century, as that of fishermen of Badin were deprived of their living.

All this must be resulting in drastically improved ACRs of the so-called commanders involved and in some cases must have already generated diverse rewards like fast track promotions to huge monetary remuneration to gallantry war medals. But history will never condone those who are responsible for these acts of savagery, directly or indirectly.

Moreover, they should keep in mind that at least commanding officers of the armed forces individually share responsibility for complicity in these unlawful actions and could be implicated in "crimes of aggression". It is not enough to say he is just doing his job and obeying orders. That argument had gone out of the window in the 1946 Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals.

Possibly, in Pakistani garrisons this is how enlightened moderation is defined and implemented. Imagine, all this could happen, when no doubt we have a much more vigilant press to report such transgressions. I shudder to envisage: to what levels the military must have been stooping before, in the absence of inquisitive media?

Finally, a question arises, do we have this mammoth size military only to beat, mash and conquer its own country and fellow countrymen? Fascinatingly, whenever we have tried our military against external forces they came back running, without their pants. But never have they got tired to show their heroism within the security of national borders.

Look, they have plenty of helicopters and gunships - not to talk about the bewilderingly large fleet of luxurious limousines for their star officers - to trounce Pakistanis in tribal areas but nothing for rescue operations. Even in Islamabad we had to wait for rescue teams from UK to start pulling victims buried under the debris of the collapsed Margalla Towers.

Lest someone start lecturing me on the part played by the army in the earthquake related relief efforts, let me add a yet another macabre detail. Most of the relief efforts are being financed by the aid/loans of foreign donors while all the meagre national resources are diverted to procure war toys, fabulous VVIP jets and bullet-proof limousines.

What a bizarre irony that the top command of Pak army has on their hand/conscience much more blood of their own brethren than the enemy’s. A monster being fed and nurtured with the blood and sweat of a destitute nation coming back to hit the same poor feeding hands, finding a more cruel tragedy would be a really difficult task.

In civilized nations people look at their militaries as defenders, ours are not much better than insatiable squatters and vicious molesters. Next to crushing the dissenting countrymen, the Pak military seems to be good only in accumulating wealth for their officer corps and real estate business. Thus, would it be wrong to assert that military is a problem, or at least a big part of problem in Pakistan, not at all a solution?