The Imploding Pakistan and its Army Mafia

 Dr. Firoz Mahboob Kamal

 The imploding Pakistan and the booming India

The Pakistan Army generals have repeatedly proven that the Army can only defeat its own defenceless people and not the enemies on the frontiers. So, the oversized Pakistan Army that usually consumes most of the national budget lost four wars against India. The huge spending on the Army could only add to the pompous lifestyles and the retirement doles for its officers, but not in enhancing the fighting skills and spirit. In 1971, the Pakistan Army made the ugliest record in the whole length of Muslim history by surrendering to an Army of the idolaters. In that fateful war in East Pakistan, the Pakistan Army displayed their readiness only for a quick surrender. They disliked a tough fight and martyrdom for the country. More than 90 thousand Pakistanis were taken as captives.

In 2014, the tiny military wing of Hamas could stand for 7 weeks in Gaza against a huge Israeli air and land attack, but the arrogant Pakistan Army couldn’t stand for 2 weeks against India. The Pakistan Army is the most secularised institution in Pakistan. All cantonments are the enclaves of secularised western culture. All old icons of the Army were raised and trained by the British colonialists. This secular Army always stood as the formidable bulwark against any effort of Islamisation of the so-called Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Muslim Family Law was not annulled even during British rule, not even in secular India. But it was annulled in Pakistan by its secular President General Ayyub Khan.

The secularists never fight for a place in paradise. Instead, their prime concern is to make this life fully furnished for heavenly pleasures. And the Pakistani people are compelled to pay for that. So, the national budget has no allocation of money for adequate healthcare, education, and housing for the poor people, but gives enough money for the Army. To enhance the comforts of the generals, every Pakistani general is awarded with a huge residential plot cum business plot in the most lucrative areas of the capital and receive other precious entitlements. So, a Pakistani general retires as a billionaire. In comparison, an Indian general retires only with a saving of a few lacs of Indian rupees.   

India is now a global economic, political, and military giant. It has enough reasons for the huge success. India is exclusively ruled by its civil politicians and the Army is focused only to defend the country. But it is exactly opposite in Pakistan. The generals of the Pakistan Army are always in a mood to belittle civilians. Because of arrogance, they think, since they have the power to subjugate the people, they have also the right to rule them. So, in Pakistan, politics comes out from the barrels of guns. Therefore, the elected governments are never allowed by the Army to complete its full tenure. But in India, politics is run by people’s votes.  So, India progresses, but Pakistan continues to implode. It is an irony that the Pakistan Army shows little wisdom to understand such a simple arithmetic of progress and failure. They have enough to learn from neighbouring India. But these arrogant generals have no appetite to learn.

Only the Army is immune!

In Pakistan, only the Army is immune. Criticizing its General and protesting in front of its offices is a heavily punishable crime. Whereas killing dozens of innocent civilians by the Army men is not a punishable crime at all. Hence, none has been punished for so many Army killings! They remain immune. Eulogising its own generals and humiliating even the most imminent civilian patriot has become an Army culture. Even Fatima Jinnah -the sister of Qaid-e-Azam was no exception. So, General Ayyub Khan -the killer of democracy in Pakistan abused her as an Indian agent and enemy of Pakistan. Whereas in the formative days of Pakistan in 1947, Ayyub Khan was in the enemy rank as a British servant. Since Fatima Jinnah challenged Ayyub Khan’s authoritarian rule in the 1964 Presidential election, her life was made difficult. Her book “My Brother Jinnah” was not allowed to be published.

But in India, the culture is different. Dr. A.P. J. Abdul Kalam was made the President of India for helping develop India’s missile technology. But Dr. Abdul Qader Khan -a highly patriotic Pakistani civilian -who migrated from India was humiliated in front of the TV camera by a military thug like General Musharraf. But the contribution of Dr. Abdul Qader Khan is no less than the whole military strength of the Army. He made nuclear bombs for Pakistan that helped the country to stand face to face against India on equal footing. In the first 23 years, India made 4 wars on Pakistan. Since Pakistan has a nuclear arsenal, India couldn’t dare attack Pakistan. Nuclear bombs stand as the greatest defender for Pakistan. Imran Khan -who earned so much fame internationally for Pakistan is now facing the same fate by the hands of the Army Mafia.

The Army: the largest terrorist entity

Since terrorism is defined by all lexicons as the abuse of force for a political purpose, the Pakistan Army proves to be the largest terrorist entity in Pakistan. No terrorist group in Pakistan can match its power and terrorist intention. Instead of focusing its military might on the defence of the country, the Army is abusing its power to terrorise the defenceless people. This way the Army generals control Pakistan’s politics. Like a terrorist gang, on 9 May, the armed Pakistan Army personnel hijacked Imran Khan from the court premise. They also bit him on his head. The Supreme Court of Pakistan called the arrest illegal. As a reaction to such an illegal act by the Army’s rangers, there was an explosion of public anger on the streets of Pakistan. There were angry demonstrations in front of the General Army Headquarter (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The angry people burnt the Core Commander’s House in Lahore. But in Pakistan, an Army building, or an Army emblem is more sacred than hundreds of people’s lives.

The Pakistan army never allowed the elected civilians to rule freely. They think that the task of ruling the country is their exclusive domain cum privilege. They proved to be incompatible with democracy and the elected civilian rulers. The Army has literally monopolised the executive political power of the country. Those who currently rule Pakistan are installed by the Army. These so-called rulers work only as puppets and the Army generals work as the puppet masters.

 A protest in front of the Army installations is taken as a punishable treason. As if, the army and the state of Pakistan are synonymous. The Army has decided that those who raised slogans against the Army and defamed the Army’s role would be tried in the military court. So far, not a single military personnel has been killed or injured by the protesters. But 25 unarmed civilians have been killed by the state apparatus. But the killers stand immune. Not a single killer has been brought to justice. Moreover, more than 10 thousand people -along with hundreds of women are languishing in jails. Their support for Imran Khan is labelled as a punishable crime. 

In the past, more Pakistanis were killed by the Pakistan Army than were killed by the foreign enemies like India. In the name war on terror, the Pakistan Army was a US partner in killing more than 70 thousand Pakistanis.  In 1971, they showed their massive killing power in East Pakistan. They showed that genocidal power in Balochistan too. How an Army can engage in a war on its own people -Pakistan Army can indeed be a textbook case on that.

The rule of law is dead!

The Pakistan Army has been very successful to annihilate the rule of law in the country. Now, the gross injustices and the Army’s robust arrogance have been heavily overwhelmed. The judiciary stands maimed. The contempt of the court by the government executives has become a common practice.  The Supreme Court passed an order to hold a provincial election on 14 May. But the court order was arrogantly disobeyed. The Supreme Court looks powerless and ridiculed. The province of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -the two-thirds of Pakistan are ruled by unelected governments. And the constitution stands clinically dead. Economically, Pakistan proves to be a bottomless basket. Even the international institutions like the IMF think it useless to put money in it. Hence, Pakistan now ceased to be a functioning civilised state. 04/06/2023