In no other country military staff is deployed in such numbers for protocol duties of various VVIPs like the president, the prime minister and governors as it is in Pakistan. Look at the prime minister, he has an MS, an assistant MS and two ADCs. Neither the British nor Indian PMs have any military officials on their staff. The Indian PM, when he came to Pakistan in 2006, had one DSP, one PA and a protocol officer.
There is no need for our PM to have any military staff. Similarly, governors need not have any military staff. The president is entitled, traditionally, to have military staff, but his military staff at the moment also needs to be curtailed. The other point is when the president goes to the National Assembly for his address, there is no need for the ADC to stand behind him. In fact, he is not authorised to be there. I have watched the US president several times addressing the US Congress, none of his military staff was in sight. The other day, I saw the MS and ADC of the prime minister outside the Supreme Court building being swept away by the crowd there; and that scene was disgracing their uniform.
AREEBA REHMAN
Karachi
