The Silent Majority Speaks

imran ahmad
Jun 5, 2007

In October 1999 when Parvez Musharraf overthrew an elected he made proud claims that the silent majority of Pakistanis supported his move. It is a debatable point but if, for the sake of argument, we assume that it is true then why is it so difficult for Musharraf to see that this ’silent majority’ is no longer silent? It has woken up from its slumber and has given its unequivocal verdict that it is time for him to go.

leaders are supposed to be strategic thinkers and planners; they are trained to be one step ahead of their opponents. However, it seems as though their training wears off in five or six years. There could be several reasons for this. First of all, the lust of power and the belief that they are ’s gift to the people of that they are the only ones who have the divine duty to build a strong and prosperous nation. Secondly, they seriously believe that a physical training cum some basic course at the Academy in Kakul certifies them as intelligent enough to efficiently run the affairs of the . Thirdly, after a few years as absolute despots in their ivory castles, these rulers loose touch with reality; their window to the real world passes through the eyes and ears of the sycophants that surround them.

The Pakistani nation has tremendous pride in its . I grew up with Raja Aziz Bhatti and Rashid Minhas as my heroes. It is time that the realizes that its role is limited to being the guardians of our frontiers. We admire them in their role as our defenders from external enemies but we have very little respect for dictators who make the nation morally corrupt by dishonoring the most respected document of the state – the !

The Army should not forget post- , when news of the atrocities they committed against fellow Pakistanis in what was then East put our heads in shame. It was the will of the that restored the tarnished image of the armed forces. Full credit goes to the Political of the time for successfully negotiating the release of over 90,000 prisoners of from . Let us forget about the shameful act of surrender that was performed by one of the most advanced armed forces of the Islamic world in modern history, but let us learn some lessons from the lowest point of our history!

The clearly defines the roles of every pillar of society. We, as taxpayers whose money makes the wheels move, have every right to demand that our money should be spent in the manner it is specified to be spent, approved by us. The role of the is to protect us from external threats by securing our frontiers. We do not need them as Ambassadors heading our Embassies. We do not need them as Chairmen of large state owned corporations. We do not need them as head of public service commissions. They are not allowed to assume such roles and they are not trained for these non - roles.

I have not yet seen or heard that an excellent bank manager, an efficient medical doctor or the most qualified air steward has been made a Corp Commander or an Air Marshall. I have however see many armed force officers in positions where they are not suppose to be. This is just one example of the unjust society that we live in. These injustices have to be eradicated. According to an information supplied to the National Assembly by the Establishment Division, 109 senior armed forces officers have been appointed by the at very lucrative contracts. The approximate cost to the exchequer (read: tax payers money) for hiring these people is over Rs 350 million. (A list is attached).

I think if the Pakistani nation wants to climb out of the morass that it is now in, civil society will have to activate itself and make itself heard. It is time for us to think, it is time for us to discover reasons why we are in such a state, and it is time for us to say enough is enough!

I urge my fellow Pakistanis to please be vocal, the least we can do is to talk about the misdeeds of the people who matter. To those who can write, please pen down your views. We owe this to our country. Let us pledge that we will get rid of the usurpers and put our country on the democratic track.

It is now the responsibility of the politicians to start a new chapter of their political lives. The era of nepotism and is gone. The people of have risen, and their wishes have to be respected and rule of has to be kept supreme. The parliament has to operate as a truly representative and consultative body. It is not to be used as a rubber stamp forum!

I ask the common Pakistani to form small units within their work place or neighborhood and give a voice to civil society. The silent majority has suffered enough for its silence and we have the moral responsibility to give it a voice; a voice that can shake the conscience of the closed minds within the garrisons and the palaces. May be with us.

Following are the details of the 109 appointments:

MP-I: Lt Gen (r) Zulfiqar Ali Khan, chairman Evacuee Trust Property Board; Lt Col (r) Syed Akbar Hussain, chairman Automobile Corporation and managing director Sindh Engineering Limited; Air Marshal (r) Shahid Hamid, chairman Alternative Board; Maj Gen. (r) Muhammad Javed, chairman Steel Mills; Lt Gen (r) Muhammad Zubair, deputy chairman Planning Commission advisor.

MP-II: Air Commodore (r) Shehzad Khalid, Alternative Developer Board; Maj Gen Masood Anwer, National Institute of ; Brig Syed Ghulam Akbar Bukhari, MD Planning and consultant; Brig (r) Maqbul Ahmed Khan, project director monument under Ministry of Culture.

MP-III: Lt Col Naseem Anwer Khan, project developer Alternative Development Board.

M-I: Vice-Admiral (r) Ahmad Hayat, chairman Port Trust; Air Marshal (r) Pervez Akhtar Nawaz, DG Civil Aviation Authority.

BPS-22: Lt Gen (r) Tariq Waseem Ghazi, defence secretary; Lt Gen (r) Shahid Aziz, chairman National Accountability Bureau; Lt Gen (r) Shahid Siddiq Tirmizey, secretary Defence Production; Lt Gen (r) Syed Shujaat Hussain, rector National University of .

BPS-21: Maj Gen (r) Sikandar Shami, DG Civil Services Academy ; Maj Gen (r) Khalid Naeem, DG National Institute of Public Administration ; Maj Gen (r) Akbar Saeed, NIPA Peshawar; Maj Gen (r) Shaida Malik, DG Ministry of ; AVM (r) Muhammad Ateeb Siddiqui, MD Federal Employees Benevolent and Group Insurance Funds; Maj Gen (r) Fahim Akhtar Khan, DG Intelligence and Investigation Central Board of Revenue; Syed Shuja-ul-Qamar, chairman National Telecommunication Cooperation (NTC); Rear Admiral Syed Afzal, DG Port and Shipping Wing.

BPS-20: Brig (r) Shahid Akram Kardar, Administrative Staff College ; Brig (r) Mian Khalid Habib, DG and Passports; Brig (r) Akhtar Zamin, chairman Employees Benefits Institution; Brig (r) Muhammad Munir Akbar, DG Management Services Wing Establishment Division; Brig (r) Shafiq-ur-Rehman, DG Interior Ministry; Brig (r) Muhammad Aslam Khan, JS Office of Political Affairs Minister; Brig (r) Tariq Mehmood, director Monitoring and Evaluation Cell, Ministry of ; Brig (r) Hashim Khan, MD Tourism Development Corporation; Brig (r) Syed Jamshed Zaidi, GM Port Trust; Commander (r) Muhammad Sharif Shamshad, chairman FBISE and chairman Regularity Authority for Private Educational Institutes in Islamabad and Capital Territory; Wing Commander (r) Sohail Ali Khan, secretary Indus River System Authority; Brig (r) Rashid Siddiqui, ED Shipping Corporation; Brig (r) Maqsood-ul-Hassan DG Federal Directorate of ; Brig (r) Safdar Hussain Awan, Evacuee Trust Property Board; Commodore (r) Muhammad Naeem, deputy GM Port Qasim Authority; Brig (r) Maqsood Hussain, directing staff, National School of Public ; Brig (r) Khan Ahmed, director staff, National School of Public ; Lt Col (r) Sala-ud-din, DG Support Board; Brig (r) Zafar Iqbal, Advisor Ministry of ; Commodore (r) Muhammad Abid Saleem, principal Cadet College Petaro; Brig (r) Tariq Hameed Khan DG National Security Council Secretariat; Brig (r) Zahid Zaman, secretary and Armed Services Board Ministry of Defence; Brig (r) Muhammad Anwar Khan, DG Foreign Affairs Ministry.

BPS-19: Lt Col (r) Manzoor Hussain, Broadcasting Corporation; Maj (r) M Jehangir Khan, GM Tourism Development Corporation; Col (r) Ihsan-ur-Rehman, director Planning NHA and Motorway Police; Lt Col (r) Zahid Rashid, AD National Institute of Public Administration ; Group Capt (r) Chaudhry Faryad Ali, Defence Ministry; Col (r) Anjum Shikoh Qazi, Interior Ministry; Lt Col (r) Noor Khan, director Vigilance, Federal Bureau of Statistics Division; Col (r) Abdul Rauf, Interior Ministry; Lt Col (r) Zahid Pervez , State Frontier Region Ministry; Group Capt (r) Shabbir Ahmed Siddiqui, deputy secretary Ministry; Lt Col (r) Muhammad Akram Bhatti, DS SAFRON; Group Capt (r) Awal Nawaz Khattak, DS Ministry.

BPS 18: Maj (r) Amin Mukhtar, DD Vigilance Federal Bureau of Statistics; Maj (r) Fayyaz Habib, DD Vigilance, Federal Bureau of Statistics; Maj (r) Khalid Mehmood, Social Welfare and Special Ministry.

Contract Basis: Col (r) Iftikhar Ahmed Jovandah and Maj (r) Syed Abdul Waheed, Bait-ul-Mal; Air Commander (r) Zafar Iqbal Mir and Maj (r) Raja Saadat Ali Asad, Development Ministry; Lt Col (r) Isamul Haq, and Ministry; Brig (r) Obedullah Khan Niazi, Narcotics Control Minitry; Lt Gen (r) Shahid Siddique Tirmzi, Defence Production Ministry; Brig (r) Dilber Hasnaian Naqvi; Lt-Com (r) Mansoor-ur-Rehman Raja; CWO (r) Rana Anwewr Zia, Lt-Col (r) Muhammad Hafeez, Lt-Col Muhammad Sagheer, Lt-Col (r) Ghulam Rasool, Lt-Col (r) Mian Ghiasuddin Zaka, Maj (r) Qammar Abbas Rizvi, Maj (r) Muhammad Riaz, Ministry of Housing and Works; Maj (r) Muhammad Mazhar, Utility Stores Corporation; Brig (r) Farogh Anjum, Overseas Pakistanis Foundation; Col (r) Liaquat Ali, resigned; Group Capt (r) Buland Iqbal, AVM Iftikhar Gul, Brig Sajid Imitiaz, Lt-Col Mansoor Akram, Air Commander Najeeb Khan, Air Commander Saeed Khan, Air Commander Nayyar Farooqi, Group Capt Amjad Ahmed, Group Capt Farrulkh Jamal, Group Capt Sajjad Raza Shah, Maj Khurram Mushtaq, PIA; Brig (r) Iftikhar Ali, Brig (r) Masood Aslam, Brig (r) Pervez Akhtar, Group Capt Umer Ali Khan, Squadron Leader (r) Farhat Abbas, Squadron Leader (r) Javed Iqbal, Squadron Leader (r) Azhar Fakharuddin, Squadron Leader (r) Azad Khan, Flight Lt (r) Zahid Hussain Khan, Squadron Leader (r) Saif-ur-Rehman, Wing Commander (r) Khawar Ikram Khan, Civil Aviation Authority; Lt-Col (r) MA Rehman, Commander (r) Muhammad Ashraf, Port Trust and Commander (r) Muhammad Naim, Commander (r) Sher Muhammad Malik, Port Qasim Authority.