Your editorial “Legitimate criticism” in the March 16 issue was certainly a balanced comment on the Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s remarks in which he lamented that the army-bashing and allegation mongering in the Mehrangate case were weakening national institutions and lowering the morale of the armed forces and it was time now to look to the future and stop fighting with history.
Certainly, it is two plus two “when the army does the job it is mandated to do, the country salutes it. When it dabbles in areas outside its constitutional domain, it rightfully attracts criticism.” However, there is a minute difference between what should come out as a tit for tat or quid pro quo and the choice of choosing the hard-hitting way of turning all guns towards one and join the campaign that results in damaging the entire edifice of an institution that took long years of making it.
What I have got from the COAS General Kayani’s statement is his very serious concern over giving the hype in the breadth and width of country over the media, in the drawing rooms and at the coffee shops, that too making the old cases a point under the highly critical situation facing the armed forces when they need the most the insurmountable resolve of the nation at their back.
The biggest asset is the one’s image in the public eyes, if that is damaged, out of truth though, it takes another similar years to recollect. The fact remains that the armed forces are the only hope for the country.
They have delivered, be it war imposed from outside or inside, be it natural calamities or national call, and their role has been exemplary merit-based, with an effective in-house system of accountability, checks and balance, performance and professionalism.