A Gory Tale of Lies, Greed and Deception

Leave army alone...

...bashing this Army is an exercise in futility

...when will we learn that flogging a dead horse won`t make it come alive

...we are doomed unles we think beyond...

A brave article.

When we accept that often the prevailing elite in our respective nations have been responsible for the bulk of the misery (and killings) in our countries, we may be able to approach each other in more measured ways.


The introspection shown by the author of this article is the first (often painful) step to realising this.

One of the most sacrilegious piece of writing I have ever come across. Actually, she makes a better case than Javed Hashmi for making a fitting example out of ghaddars and upholding the prestige of Pak Fauj.
Moreover, the blasphemous content of the article is more than enough to verify that even chowk has been infiltrated by the RAW and Mossad agents. Chowk editors, beware, just a matter of time that chowk too will be banned in Pakistan.
Bloody ghaddars!!!

Another dimension to the story:-

How Army Generals will become billionaires, overnight

Special SAT Report

RAWALPINDI: Top Pakistan Army Generals, and their fortunate juniors, who own prime property in the heart of Islamabad’s sister city, Rawalpindi, are on the verge of turning into billionaires over night.

According to well informed insiders a summary is being prepared recommending that Rawalpindi’s busy Peshawar Road and the posh Mall Road, where army officers predominantly own large properties, be declared as Commercial areas, thus multiplying the value of these properties several times over in one stroke.

The question being raised is why this concession is being restricted to these areas? Insiders confide that it is being done because one of the top most Generals owns land right next to the old Frontier Works Organization (FWO) Headquarters on Peshawar Road and wants to put up a gas station and build a commercial plaza, without paying the conversion fee.

Conversion of residential property to commercial is allowed even now but a hefty fees has to be paid by the owner and that restricts many from opting for the change. If the change is ordered by the Government under a new policy, everybody will benefit though the exchequer may lose.

Real estate experts say one General, owner of a major hospital, who has taken possession of the old Supreme Court building on Peshawar Road on the pretext of running a social welfare outfit, will see the value of his land multiply into billions. The same will be true for all those retired or serving property owners in this area.

Peshawar Road and Mall Road are two of the busiest places in Rawalpindi and properties are pre-dominantly owned by army personnel as this is the center of the military presence, with the Army GHQ located on the Mall Road itself, close to the biggest hotel of Rawalpindi.

There are also reports that conversions in the Saddar Area, which had been limited into a time frame with a cut off date, may now be given a further extension to enable owners to apply if they could not do it so far.

The extension is being done to benefit another top notch General, whose family had earlier shown lethargy in getting its property located near Hati Chowk in Saddar, converted into a new commercial lease.

The management of all properties in military controlled “Cantonment areas” was the sole right of Army authorities but the second Government of Benazir Bhutto cut into this huge commercial asset and changed the old British Act to take discretion away from the Quarter Master General of the Army and the Ministry of Defense.

This Benazir decision raised alarm bells in the GHQ as this meant public scrutiny of whatever would happen in the future in the Cantt areas and was one of the main reasons why the Army hates Benazir Bhutto as an institution.

Under the amended law a policy was drawn up by the Ministry of Defense, but bureaucrats played their tricks with the PPP government and formulated a much softer policy, whittling down the intent of Benazir’s directive in many ways.

One constraint plugged in was that all property owners desirous of converting from old grant to new lease or for converting from residential to commercial must do so within three years.

Secondly, the fee for conversion was to be determined by a Committee headed by Army’s General Officer Commanding (GOC). The other members were Station Commander, Log Area Commander etc. Due to public objections, however, the latter was modified and fixed rates were announced for conversion from residential to commercial.

Most private property owners continued to pay the rather steep fees for conversions. But now if the law is changed and officially a particular area is declared as commercial, it would mean a windfall for the owners.

The summary being prepared under quiet instructions of the top Generals would put the new political government of Mr. Jamali in a difficult position as it would be seen by all as a special favor to the military owners of property.

Interestingly the Ministry of Defense is again headed by a top PPP leader, Rao Sikandar, who has defected from the mainstream PPP to join the Forward Bloc in support of the pro-army government of Mr. Jamali.

But the political leader who will face the toughest time explaining any such decisions would be Information Minister and Rawalpindi’s popular politician Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. He will have to come up with a lot of arguments to convince his voters and constituents, specially living outside the areas which are to be declared commercial.

Excellent, Nighat. I post another incisive analyses from an ex-army man.

An Ex-Army Officer Questions the Khaki Agenda

By AH Amin

WE START with the premise that religion was employed by the Muslim elite right from the very beginning to galvanize the Muslim masses. The masses were galvanized to fight and die in the name of Islam, while the elite classes reaped the harvest. While this was the case from the earliest Muslim invasions of India we shall only discuss Pakistan`s power equation in its present historical context.

The Indo Pak Muslims played a leading part in the 1857 rebellion while the vast bulk of the army that rebelled in 1857 was Hindu. After 1857 the Muslim elite adopted a policy of ``loyalism`` to the British.This policy continued till 1947 and after 1947 the British were replaced by the Americans.

Symbolically although it may sound unpleasant one may compare the Indo Pak Muslims of pre 1947 as a damsel, half raped by Hindu and Sikh resurgence saved by an English knight in the shining armour i.e. the ``English East India Company``. It is unheroic, but remains a fact. By 1803 Delhi the old Muslim capital was firmly in Hindu Maratha hands while Muslim majority Punjab and Frontier was firmly under Sikh control. Muslim ruled Sindh and Bahawalpur were only saved from Sikh occupation since the Treaty of Amritsar of 1809 between the English Company and Sikhs forbade Sikh expansion east of Sutlej and in Sindh.

The Indian Muslims were politically backward and saved from political extinction once the British for their own reasons of divide and rule granted them right of separate electorate in 1909.

The major Muslim leader of pre 1947 Mr Jinnah was initially a pork eating, whiskey drinking Indian nationalist but was forced to adopt slogans of Muslim communalism since Gandhi and Nehru sidelined him from main Indian nationalist leadership since Jinnah was not a Hindu, although Nehru was only a born Hindu and an atheist at heart.

Thus Mr Jinnah without the religious slogan was confined to Muslim minority provinces in 1937 elections. The approach of Second World War and Congress`s anti British stand afforded Jinnah with an opportunity to side with the British Raj in WW Two by encouraging Muslim support to British war effort. The British viceroy Linlithgow then asked Jinnah that he must have a concrete slogan. Thus emerged the Pakistan Resolution of 1940.

In 1947 Mr Jinnah concluded that since now the British who had saved the Indian Muslims from Hindu domination were gone he must find new protectors. Thus the US -Pakistan collaboration.

Mr Jinnah`s successors were removed by the military usurper Ayub in 1958 and Ayub attempted to transform Pakistan into a relatively modern state led by a monopoly of industrialists and feudals. The attempt failed in 1969.

Pakistan`s first and only major ideological leader was Mr ZA Bhutto who coined the term ``Islamic Socialism``. Bhutto created Pakistan`s only solid political party and galvanized the masses by slogans of Islamic Socialism and egalitarianism. Bhutto`s ideological appeal and charisma survived his judicial murder by the military usurper Zia.

Bhutto`s party remained engaged in struggle with the military junta and won the 1988 elections held in the aftermath of the dictator Zia`s aircraft crash.

1988 was the turning point in Pakistan`s political history. Bhutto`s opportunistic daughter Benazir exchanged ideology for power. The army and its intelligence set up and a conservative president was given a share in the power and the great Bhutto`s daughter excelled not in socialist policies but in financial deals.

This situation enabled the military junta to replace Bhutto by a military backed Nawaz Sharif twice in 1990 and 1997. By 1997 Nawaz became politically mature and turned the tables on the military sacking first a naval chief on charges of corruption in a submarine deal and then the army chief General Karamat for corruption charges in the Ukrainian tank deal.

Nawaz then led Pakistan while Pakistan detonated its nuclear device in 1998 and then went forward to make peace with India which was sabotaged by the army`s Kargil faux pas.

Nawaz was overthrown by Musharraf in October 1999 once Nawaz was also planning to remove Musharraf.

Musharraf came to power with high ideals and promises to eliminate corruption but ultimately used the army`s coercive anti corruption organ NAB designed to eliminate corruption to buy corrupt politicians to form a pro military party PML Q.

The events of 9/11 proved that the Pakistani military junta had no guts to resist American pressure and the post 9/11 Pakistani policy again proved a watershed since it divorced the army from Islamic ideology and adventurism which the military had used to secure its very personal trade union of generals agenda since 1958.

The following are the salient features of Pakistan`s power equation:

1. All political parties are now directly or indirectly manipulated by the army`s intelligence agencies either by blackmail, by coercive policies of NAB for involvement in corruption cases or by confinement of various political leaders in jail.Nawaz Sharif and company are politically sidelined, financially on the retreat since their businesses are nearly blocked, and keen to compromise with the army who no longer needs them. Benazir has no ideological agenda and wants power. She lobbies in the West that she is West`s best bet against fundamentalism, an idea which no longer sells since General Musharraf has already proved that he is US` s best collaborator. The religious MMA despite all its slogans of Islam is either in league with the military intelligence or blackmailed by the agencies or keen to enjoy the rewards of power.

2. The judiciary has been bought by the army or reduced to impotence.

3. The common man is in the grip of inflation and unemployment and is disillusioned with politics.

4. The smaller provinces i.e. Baluchistan and Sindh are sidelined and can in the future incline towards secession at some stage.

5. The army has destroyed or corrupted all major political and other institutions and is now fully involved in business and commercial activities of all types.

6. The country`s majority province Punjab is led by collaborator politicians who have agreed to be loyal to the military since their corruption has been condoned by the military.

7. The elite classes and the middle classes are by and large in favor of the military junta since it promises order and security.

Out of this the following scenario emerges:

1. The US can very conveniently strike any deal with Pakistan`s military junta ignoring Pakistani masses aspirations and all political parties since no Pakistani party has any ideology or agenda less personal interest.

2. Within 5 years Pakistan would be as irrelevant to the region as Mexico is to North America or Bhutan to India.

3. The Pakistani politicians if need be would as easily compromise with any occupying power whether it is India or US just to continue to enjoy their personal perks and privileges.

4. At some stage the Pakistani military would lose so much of its credibility that it would no longer be able to control the situation. This is because within the next five years war would no longer be the favored form of policy and the existing geopolitical situation would demand that India and Pakistan`s huge military establishments are reduced.

Conclusion

If this was to be the future of a state created in the name of ideology,sacrificing millions in the name of religion, a united India was a better option.

If the Pakistani state was destined to be ruled by corrupt politicians and generals it would have been better if India was not divided.

But British imperial interest and the interests of the elite classes demanded otherwise. Thus the whole farce in the name of religion. Self deception par excellence!

The writer is a former Pakistan Army Officer and a military analyst and has written several books.

Nighat,

Your article makes a depressing reading, and the fact is that there can be no internal forces that can bring about a positive change. The producta have madrassas have come up through the ranks, and now at last the military and mullahs are on the same wavelength. The great contribution of mushy is in integrating the mullahs and the army. he has manipulated the system and through the graduate representative program and declaring a 1o year madrassa up bringing as eligibility for elected representatives has at last put the mullahs in the parliment.

The legislature and military are sharing booty. Each elected rep is given 10 lacks to spend, and that is the sharing of the loot. The only hope is iraquisation, the ramy can be defeated only by an external force, afghanistan and now iraq. Pray for that event, support the indians, they are the saviours of ordinary pakistanis.

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To be fair..(and I am not an apologist for Army rule) the comment more people have been killed by the Pakistani Army than the Indian...misses out a point, that pretty much applies to most states in the World. more Americans died in the American Civil War..than died in any of the wars subsequently. More Indians have been killed by indian security forces...comapred to the combined amount killed by the Pakistan Army. Government service in Pakistan has never been noted for it`s high salary, what it is noted for is the higher you go up in the food chain, the more perks you get..is that econimical..or efficeint no..is it unqiue to Pakistan or the Army? No....

Factually involving the Armed forces in civilian matters is detrimental...for it`s cohesiveness, but Turkey has had a far more institutionalised Army in it`s power structure, yet I don`t think Turkey`s Army is considered incapable of fighting in a war.

Your comments about the Police force, I`d imagine are quite accurate..sad but accurate...but again the bulk of the increase in the size of the Armed Forces and expenditure occurred during Civilian governments. The bulk of all debts accumulated have again been during civilian governments. The biggest increase in poverty in Pakistans history occurred in the 1990`s. Again, simplifying all problems as the Armies is a major generalisation...Army rule is bad..bad for the Army and bad for the people..but the Army is a product of the society...and our society is on it`s own pretty rotten right now.

Bangla Desh is a Muslim nation and has Army too. How many times India has ever dared to enter their territory? NEVER EVER!!!!!

Paki Army have been fooling the common citizens of Pakistan and looting them. Paki Army reminds me of a psycho husband who gets out-muscled by a bully in the street and then comes home and beats his hapless wife. Pity.

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Romair?

Calling Romair....

Nighat has made a bold attempt here to tell it like it is except:

``Whatever, for God sake, don’t start rattling the [numerous] shortcomings of civilian politicians now in response. We all are well aware of their moral bankruptcy. The fundamental difference is that I as most of other Pakistanis have neither held them in high esteem nor trusted them in the first place.``

It is there that the Pakistani popular judgement is flawed.
Politicians are not to blame. Without public support they are easily manipulated
by the uniformed.

Remember... ``Bhutto nay Ghaddari keeti`` is the only explanation given to the

civilians & Jawans for 1971. It was his ``un-islamic Practices`` that did Pakistan in.


Over to Romair?

mi lord!

seven out of eleven comments on this are from indians...great!

ps:


there was a smiley after the comments below:)

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