Apropos to the PT report about Awami Shehri Mahaz protest demanding accountability of the defence budget and criticism for military’s economic empire, published on 27th May 11.
The strength of a nation lies in its strong and efficient institutions and army with its trained workforce of doctors, engineers and technicians etc has the capability to play an important role towards national development.
A pragmatic national policy would optimally utilise this tremendous resource in an appropriate manner. In India, the Border Roads Organisation of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers is actively engaged in construction of roads and structures etc whilst USA adequately utilised the military engineers for construction of national road network. China has a far greater utilisation of its military forces towards development activities.
In Pakistan the Korakoram highway, Makran Coastal Highway and many such projects in Azad Kashmir, FATA and Swat may not have been possible without a trained and disciplined workforce that could effectively operate under extremes of logistics and security difficulties. The SCO’s communication infrastructure in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, the network of Army Public Schools in remote areas of Pakistan, the universities, the medical camps are some examples of the appropriate utilisation of military resources for the country.
Military’s disciplined and effective resources need to be optimally utilized for the national goals and we can always improve the mechanism in which military can operate in an even better manner. Let’s build our institutions, instead of discrediting them, we have few good ones in the homeland.
ABDUL REHMAN
Lahore
