The prime minister while addressing the National Assembly session has accused the Pakistan army of hatching conspiracies against the elected government. He also declared that all the state organs, including the military, were answerable to the parliament and the government would not allow anyone to claim to be a state within a state and no one was above law and all the institutions were subservient to the parliament. He is absolutely right and there cannot be two opinions about it, but there are states within already functioning in Pakistan for many years. The influential people in all the provinces have private jails, there are no-go areas and different gangs patronised by leaders that are operating in the country.
Secondly, sardars in Balochistan have divided the area amongst themselves and have drawn undemarcated boundaries. Anyone entering in these artificial self-created borders have to prove his credentials before he is allowed entry. This in fact in real terms is a state within a state. Is it not an open challenge to the writ of the government?
No body wants a state within a state but what about if state looks towards another state to sort out our problems. In the presence of national army, why should someone look outside and make fun of the country? It is very unfortunate to relate the memo issue with the OBL’s presence in Abbottabad. Being custodian of state security, the assertions by the prime minister have not been received well. Can the prime minister deny that army has always stood by with the government? Just on propaganda by vested interests to draw conclusions and cast aspersions on the army is in a bad taste.
It is also true that army has definitely been acting way out of its limits but again due to failure of civil governments. But now it is a changed army after Musharraf left, why this hue and cry? By recounting past incidents we cannot move forward. The Memogate is a big security issue of national concern where sovereignty of the country is involved and it must be taken seriously by the government and taken to its logical conclusion. Army’s stand is based on ground realities and aggrieved party has also the right to express their concern. Let us wait for the verdict of the Supreme Court.
LT COL (retd) MUKHTAR A BUTT
Karachi
