Geopolitics

Dubious Role of the Army in Pakistan
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Issue Courtesy: Aakrosh | Date : 21 Feb , 2013

ISI links with al-Qaeda have been now well established and are well known, but that does not seem to bother either the ISI or the army. The Pakistan army still believes that all these terror organisations are part of its strategic assets to be employed against India”¦

ISI links with al-Qaeda have been now well established and are well known, but that does not seem to bother either the ISI or the army. The Pakistan army still believes that all these terror organisations are part of its strategic assets to be employed against India, Afghanistan and the U.S. forces operating in the Af-Pak region. The Pakistan army seems oblivious of the fact that its terror-based policies are wrecking its own country and ruining its economy. Some of those groups it raised to execute its covert agendas have turned against it; they now attack various military establishments. Moreover, innocent people are now being killed almost every second day by blasts triggered by these groups. ISI-raised groups attacked the ISI HQ in Rawalpindi itself. Apart from this, some of its branch offices are being targeted frequently.

The main target of the ISI and the Pakistan military is India, and it has been attacking various targets here and in Afghanistan. Besides helping terrorists infiltrate Indian Kashmir, it is employing its terror outfits to attack sensitive targets in other parts of India periodically. The Pakistan army and the ISI are likely to continue this game, and it is not possible to see peace returning to the region unless these two instruments of Pakistani power are brought under the control of a civilian government, which is most unlikely in the prevailing situation in Pakistan. Conflicting policies of the army and the civil government have created an open confrontation between the two, and now there is danger of a coup, which has rendered the government totally ineffective. In these environments, the security situation will not change in South Asia and the mentors of domestic terrorism who have already emerged stronger than the state may be able to lay hands on the nuclear weapons of Pakistan and threaten the entire civilised world.

Pakistan has been trying to bleed India through “a thousand cuts,” as advocated by Bhutto and later adopted by the Pakistani army. The common people and economic establishments in India have been regularly targeted by Pakistan-based terrorist groups with the active connivance of the ISI. Now, the jihadi terrorist groups may no longer be sponsored or launched from Pakistani soil, but attack by these will continue to be orchestrated by the ISI. Its policy to conduct a proxy war against India in Kashmir and the other means of bleeding India by a thousand cuts have proved a failure, and Pakistan has instead landed into an economic and political mess. It is now a target of domestic terrorism of its own creation. These domestic groups are now busy damaging, degrading and destroying economic and power centres within their own country. It is for the Pakistani military brass to ponder their disastrous policies, which are primarily responsible for creating this situation. It is for the civil society of Pakistan to take up the cudgels against the short-sighted policies of their army, and it is time for Pakistan to wake up to the realities of the situation in South Asia and stop training and sponsoring terrorism, which has come back to haunt it. Pakistan must realise that it cannot annex Indian Kashmir by any overt or covert military strategy. India-related policies of the Pakistani army need be reviewed by the army and the country as a whole if that country is to be saved from splintering and an economic meltdown.

It seems most Indian options after the withdrawal of American forces will depend on the kind of government that is formed in Afghanistan rather than what happens inside Pakistan.

India’s options as related to its policy for the Af-Pak region need to be reviewed and rehashed in view of the rapidly changing situation there and the new developing situation in both these countries. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, India should continue its development programs resolutely despite Pakistan’s attempts to thwart its development work in Afghanistan. The Taliban regime installed with the help of the Pakistan army in Afghanistan will certainly not allow our welfare and developments programs to continue unhindered; and with this in view, we must think about what we are going to do in such circumstances and not just hope for the best.

By all present indications, conditions will remain highly volatile in Pakistan, and this may lead to a takeover by a regime that besides encouraging fundamentalist forces to intensify their proxy war in Kashmir will continue to focus on other targets in India. However, if there is a moderate India friendly regime in Afghanistan, Pakistan may be more careful of provoking India. It seems most Indian options after the withdrawal of American forces will depend on the kind of government that is formed in Afghanistan rather than what happens inside Pakistan.

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The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

About the Author

Maj Gen Afsir Karim

is Editor Aakrosh and former Editor Indian Defence Review.

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One thought on “Dubious Role of the Army in Pakistan

  1. दीदी, इस लेख से मैं अधिकांशतः सहमत हूँ … सेवा में चयन भी मजबूत व्यक्तित्व वाले लोगो को किया जाता है और प्रशिक्षण के दौरान ही उनके व्यक्तित्व में और निखर आ जाता है …ज्यादातर सैनिक अच्छे, मजबूत और सुन्दर व्यक्तित्व के धनि होते हैं … अपने देश के लिए कुछ भी कर गुजरने के लिए उनके मन में जो जज्बा होता है वो किसी तारीफ़ के मोहताज़ नहीं है ..हाँ आजकल कुछ ऐसे वारदात सामने आ रहे हैं जिससे इस बेदाग़ वर्दी पर कुछ धब्बे ज़रूर लग गए हैं …पर मुझे लगता है कि ये सब अपवाद हैं …

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