The Armed Forces of Pakistan, particularly the Army, has been a source of controversy during the past over a decade. The disrespect that the Army has earned is partly because of its own doing and partly because of the ulterior motives of the politicians and the naivety of the people of this country. Out of the 68 years of Pakistan’s existence almost half of the time the country has been under military rule. The main reason for the country’s army to take the reins in its hands has been the failure of the civilian setup to govern. This is at least what has been the stated position of the army vis-à-vis the issue. On the other hand, as vividly known to all and sundry, the politicians of this country due to their infighting and intrigues have always created a situation justifying military takeover of the country.
In this tug-of-war for power that had unfortunately been going on between the Army and the elected governments, particularly during the past over five decades, image of both the pillars of the state stood badly tarnished and the country suffered colossally. Even today, after having suffered enormously, it seems we haven’t learnt a lesson. For personal benefit it seems the politicians on both sides of the political divide are hell bent on maligning the Army of the country for things that it may not be involved in at all. To attain their political goals these individuals and groups are willing to go as far as possible, without realising that this attitude of theirs has caused and is causing serious harm to this country and its army. What is yet more unfortunate is that these selfish elements are fully exploiting the naivety of the ignorant and downtrodden masses of this country to attain their personal and party objectives. Dancing to the tune of those who are ruthlessly exploiting them to their advantage, the uninformed and immature followers of these political groups are totally oblivious of this gruesome fact.
M FAZAL ELAHI
Islamabad
