Army is at the root of Pakistan's woes Aneel Salman Shalimar hotel is a nice and cozy Pakistani restaurant in Troy, New York. My evenings are spent at the corner table with a cup of tea and conversation with Javed Sahib (owner of the hotel). He shares his fond memories of the good old days in Pakistan while I talk about the present gloomy times. "Who is the culprit?" was the question that popped up after reading a small news item in the Dawn where the proud sons of the Pakistan Army beat the senses out of a young DMG officer to feed their inflated ego. Having its roots in the former Civil Service of Pakistan, the District Management Group (DMG) continues to maintain its niche of being a central and one of the most coveted administrative service groups of the Civil Service of Pakistan. Its unique service organization, on one hand attracts the top achievers in the civil services examination to this Group, and subsequently this structure having enormous horizontal and vertical mobility chances enables the selected officers to occupy critical and leading administrative positions from the very beginning of their careers.. On 8th July 2009, Ali Qamar, a 35th common DMG officer posted as Camp In charge Sheikh Yaseen, Mardan, was vandalized, brutally beaten, physically and verbally abused by army officers and jawans, while on duty. The two brave sons of the nation -- Lt Haider and Major Asad of 32 cavalry -- were apparently tired of fighting against terrorism/ Taliban and their idea of taking a break was to show their muscles to a civilian officer, who is also a son of the same nation, and who was doing official duty when attacked. It is indeed a shame to see the petty ego of these officers. This is not the first instance when army has attacked a DMG officer. But how can we question these junior officers when their former top brass Ayub Khan, Zia ul Haq, Musharraf already abused the country. It is believed that Pakistan Army is the strongest and dominant institution in Pakistan. This white elephant takes 20 percent of the national budget to protect us from the foreign aggression. We can witness their so-called war against Talibans where they are unable to control their own creation with US help. USA is fighting war against terrorism and Pakistan Army is fighting a perpetual war against democracy. Every democratic leader has been forced to abdicate by army. The generals ruled the country for 34 years out of 62 years of its total existence. Dr. Ayesha Siddiqua, in her book "Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy", mentions that Army's private business assets are worth around $17bn and it owns a handsome share of the country's business and land. The top brass, as a result, appears to be more interested in controlling over businesses, properties and politics. If this is the mind set how we are suppose to win any kind of war against any enemy. US Islamised Pakistan Army We blame the USA and the Islamic fundamentalists for all the chaos in Pakistan. But if we take a closer look, the real culprit seems to be the Pakistan Army. Every political scientist claims that democracy is an answer to most of the problems in Pakistan but there are certain prerequisites to practise democracy. Thanks to Pakistan Army it has not only destroyed but paralyzed the political thinking of people. It is like a ruthless corporation whose objective is to maximize profit. The way Zia ul Haq paralyzed the country no dictator has ever been able to achieve, he changed the very character and role of the Army. America was the biggest sponsor of Islamic fundamentalism, religious terrorism and Islamisation of Pakistan Army. A breed of Taliban was created to fight the Russians and to please the US because the army was getting huge amount of dollars in aid. Musharraf regime is another golden chapter of Pakistan's history; billions of US dollars were given to Pakistan Army to curb terrorism. Pakistan army again made us proud as terrorism not only increased but crossed the borders and entered our cities. It changed the demography as fear lurks in every heart. People were scared to socialise or go to any public place. What right does the Army have to intervene in the affairs of civil administration? Their job is to protect the borders and not abuse the civilians. If they are requisitioned to assist the civil administration their activities should be confined to supporting not taking over! If they had done their job at the borders we would not have terrorism within Pakistan. It takes ages to build an institution but few people destroy it in the name of their egos or vested interests. It's time to realize our weaknesses and restrain from past mistakes that have brought Pakistan to its present state. (The writer is a Fulbright Scholar, pursuing his doctorate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY, USA. Research fellow at Center for Public Policy and Governance, Forman Christian University Pakistan. He can be reached at salmaa@rpi.edu). |
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