Pak Armed Forces vs. Pakistan AoA

It was late 80s. Pakistan (read ISI under the tutelage of idiot Hameed Gul) was directing a conventional attack by Afghan Mujahedin on well-fortified Jalalabad despite serious reservations from Afghan field commanders (that they are not used to regular warfare). Not surprisingly, the whole operation turned out to be a fiasco.

An Afghan commander made an interesting comment of the sort (Time). He said, when a country that has never won a war in its history tries to command a country that has never lost a war in its history, results are not that difficult to predict.

I think, writer, in the very beginning has stated that it is not an analytical piece rather an observatory article. When he/she doesn’t claim to have tried to explain the reasons or to give solutions then looking for the solutions or complaining about the lack of solutions is a little bit inane.

As far as observations are concerned, it is hard to disagree.

Regards,
NY

A Gory Tale of Lies, Greed and Deception
Dear brothers, rest assured, thanks Almighty I am not at all colour blind. I can give my word of honour that given a chance to elect among NS, BB or for that matter any other politician in the country, and Musharraf I would vote for Musharraf, eyes wide shut. No doubt about it. Please, be very clear, I wrote TO ELECT. Yes, if I had the liberty and freedom to choose. No way, if he or anyone tried to enforce him/herself on me and my children. No backdoor savouring, no self-styled reluctant rescue operations. That’s my bottom line.

If Musharraf has done miracles for the country and its economy (though largely through a divine intervention of 9/11, he does have a comparatively better score card than his immediate predecessors, and I gladly give him due credit for it), has that much popular support among the “silent majority”, and the military enjoys so overwhelming backing, then why not stand for elections to have legitimacy, respect and have it in black in white and force people like me to shut up. (Another story that the referendum didn’t validate any of these premises). How comes no military leader has ever succeeded in securing any public endorsement for himself in a transparent and decent electoral process?

Moreover, Pakistan has had enough of conspiracy theories, Indo-Zionist plots and Raw-Mossad schemes. Every unpleasant piece of analysis, every dissenting voice, every non-confirming argument doesn’t need to come from the so-called windows of NGOs or put forward by less patriotic expatriates. Albeit, thankfully, no one can disqualify me on these grounds, this mode of discussion is too convenient to take any serious note of.

None of the differing interactors has come up with any convincing refuting arguments. The best they have managed, including Mr Ijaz is to cut the long story short by declaring it conspiracy theory without presenting justifications for their own [conspiracy] theories.

One last thing, I really don’t have and will never have the courage to lift my head in front of that mother who lost her son defending our borders. God forbid I would ever commit the sin of belittling her loss or the services of her sons. That was not the point, I attempted to make over there. My argument was (and is) to register my utmost dislike for the habitual abuse of generals to cash that sacrifices for their own games. Nothing more than that. My unconditional apology if it sounded otherwise.

Anyhow, I am once again grateful for all replies and feedback. It has been a giving discourse over here. May God bless you all. Thanks for this time.

Happy Ramazan (the remaining one)
Eid Mubarrak (in advance)
Long Live Pakistan
Pakistan Zindabad

Nighat Yasmeen

A Gory Tale of Lies, Greed and Deception Dear readers:

Thanks a lot for reading this piece and blessing me with your valuable feedback. All relevant replies are highly appreciated – disapproving ones more than the approving ones.

As explicitly declared in the foreword: Without claiming academic perfection or analytical excellence, these modest attempts of mine are merely meant to put across the pain, agony and displeasure, I, along with burgeoning number of average Pakistanis, feel about the sordid state of affairs. And to cast light on the issue in a different manner, from the perspective of an ordinary citizen. Though not very likely, I sincerely hope, I am wrong in perceiving things as I have started reckoning lately.

I have been very careful while citing figures and can substantiate all of them with verifiable sources; no one can guarantee 100% objectivity/aptness of his/her interpretation of the social data. As analysis and deductions of results, to large extent – consciously or subconsciously -- depend on your own personal interests, experiences, convictions, values, perceptions, etc.

Military, used, I repeat, used to be the most trusted, highly regarded institution. Romair bhai, I am very sorry to tell you, not anymore. There are good reasons for that. The most important one, among them is perhaps a unanimous denouncing of the military by the mainstream media. Please, try posting links to only 5 articles/ op-ed columns, no matter Urdu or English (major papers), published during last year (for making your job easier) written by confirmed non-faujis, praising the conduct of the military. Sometimes, it feels military’s spin is boomeranging now and a sort of reverse indoctrination of the masses is going on. Right or wrong, they are nowadays blamed for every ill.

As the issue is not the real estate, the values of plots range between 15 – 30 million or 10– 20, are of secondary importance (personally, I have absolutely no first hand knowledge of property prices -- far beyond my reach). Hence, omission, if any, in this regard should be pardonable.

With best regards,
Nighat Yasmeen

Killing the Nation with Impunity Dear brothers: thanks a lot for reading this piece and blessing me with your valuable feedback, approving and critical ones alike.
There are certain points that I would however like to clarify further.

1) The moot point in Pirzada’s case is not his role as a lawyer, not even his professional excellence (or lack of it). My foremost objection is about his collaboration with the criminals, his active participation in subverting the law of the land. His complicity in the acts of treason, his conspiring with those who subvert and abrogate the Constitution. And kindly observe this process normally starts at the GHQ much before he appears in the court pleading for his own nefarious ideas, backed by the guns.
2) Brothers, what is a system -- something many people are very fond of blaming for everything unpleasant? Am I wrong to aver that it’s individuals at the top that create the system, shape the society? Please, correct me if I am wrong that in the civilised world it is the Constitution = statute book = the ultimate instrument of government that moulds the society and take the nation either towards prosperity or towards abolition. Cursing system is at best equivalent to identify alibis for the perpetrators, nothing more than that. Sorry, but don’t you think that instead of wrangling about non-representational concepts like system, its time to pinpoint and condemn those vile individuals who have contributed (massively) to corrupt and destroy the system?
3) Dear Rafay, judges losing their cool don’t necessarily say anything. Once again, as I asked earlier, help me to recall any case he has so far undertaken during “adverse” circumstances, i.e., against official line and/or not on the behalf of the sitting government and had prevailed?
4) Rafay, please tell me what should have you (or for that matter any lawyer) done had he were fully aware of the sordid fact that the two boys accused of robbery had not only committed robbery but on their way they had also killed two young girls after having gang-raped them? I mean when there was absolutely no doubt about their guilt in the said chain of events? 101 % of Pirzada’s political cases can be metaphorically explained like this.
5) Finally, without getting into academic discussion of professional duties, as someone said, we have got to shed our perverse reluctance to be outraged regarding collective affairs. We must get rid of our indifference, our passivity to move forward. Social emancipation, political progress is simply not possible in the absence of active, vigilant and questioning citizenry. Unfortunately, this is where we often fault as a nation.
6) Please, read my letter that I posted to the Chief Justice of Pakistan begging him to step down before his retirement date as per stipulated by the Constitution – to no avail. Obviously, I never got any reply from him. The text of the letter is available at
http://www.balochistanpost.com/item.aspx?ID=3438

Take care,
Allah Hafiz
Nighat Yasmeen

Some Burning Questions Dear readers:

I am immensely grateful for the positive response this modest attempt of mine has received and the appreciation I got. Thanks a lot for the encouragement.

Being a writer my prime concern and the foremost aim [of this piece] was nevertheless to put across the [bitter] facts without tampering with the truth. I am pleased that none, some ex-officers included, has so far argued about the authenticity of the points I have raised.

I really hope and pray that I have succeeded in conveying the message to at least some of the addressees. I cannot dream of a better reward for my efforts if this letter do lead towards some positive changes.

Finally, an earnest [and humble] request: Please, as long as possible we should avoid Indo-Pak tussle over here. Sometimes, it seems extremely awkward and immature when discussion moves off into totally irrelevant wilderness of mythology, inter-state issues and theology -- miles away from the original topic.

With best regards,

Nighat Yasmeen