The latest press release issued at the end of the last Corps Commanders’ Conference by the ISPR needs to be taken strict notice of, as it betrays the same old mind set of the military establishment regarding refusal to give up on their old antics. Three main points of the press release were highlighted by Pakistan Today: Some quarters putting the military in bad light because of perceptual bias, etc. Who are these “bad” people who are allegedly doing this “bad” deed? Are they Indians or Israelis’? If they are Pakistanis, then why have they been pushed against the wall that they are putting the military in bad light?
Second, COAS thinks that this is not in the national interest. May I ask since when an unelected and a highly parochial institution like the army has been given the mandate to decide what is in our national interest. Third, relationship with the US needs to be viewed in the larger ambit of bilateral relations. I as a citizen of Pakistan will view this chequered relationship in the cost-benefit equation to my country and not in a way prescribed by the army, thank you very much.
Rather than whining and complaining like a stubborn child, the military establishment needs to put its own house in order. Otherwise, Punjab, like the other three provinces, too, will start to look upon them with suspicion. And you know what that means. No public support!
TAIMOOR ASHRAF
Lahore
