- Nation should be careful
The previous two governments had serious trust deficit issues with the military. The government of Asif Zardari had reportedly gone to extent of initiating conspiracies like the memo-gate to discredit the army with the help of the US military and intelligence establishment. The machination was blocked, and its main protagonists were discredited and brought to book although the main accused escaped incarceration and is still at large. Efforts are at hand to bring the accused to Pakistan through Interpol.
There were also serious allegations of Zardari’s government facilitating sleuths from the CIA to enter Pakistan in droves along with civilian contractors, who had free access to engage in various shades of odious activities. CIA contractor Raymond Davis, who was apprehended after shooting two Pakistanis in broad daylight in Lahore, is a major example of such dubious and shady characters trying to get the lay of the land and even snoop around sensitive installations including nuclear assets. The episode of US navy SEALs eliminating al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden from a compound in Abbottabad with the help of CIA operative Dr Shakil Afridi is another example. The doctor abused his noble profession by organising fake inoculation and vaccination programs to clandestinely obtain DNA samples of the al Qaeda leader.
US dailies like the Washington Post and New York Times have published exposés highlighting the role played by civilian contractors of CIA and dubious security firms like Black Water. The civilian CIA contractors had a free run provided by the civilian government and they wreaked havoc, sponsoring terrorism in the name of curbing terrorism. Unfortunately, most of these shady activities were executed by the civilian dispensation to denigrate the military and weaken its supposed influence on the government.
Mian Nawaz Sharif, during his third term as prime minister, appointed two army chiefs in succession superseding numerous capable officers but he fell foul of both. The distrust reached such its zenith when the former prime minister publicly accused the army of sponsoring the terror attack at Mumbai, which was considered treasonous. Arch enemy India had a heyday playing up the former prime minister’s “disclosure”. This scribe suffered at the hands of the PML-N rulers after writing an article ‘Are the government and the military on the same page in the war on terror?’ The government did not appreciate even the question and retaliated by banning my TV Show “Defence and Diplomacy” on the State-run TV Channel PTV World, which had been aired for nearly a decade.
Two successive political dispensations were put in place by the Occident, who had promised their mentors that they will roll back Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme
The current government enjoys a very clear understanding with the army, which is limiting itself to its constitutional responsibilities and has worked in tandem with the government. There has been complete understanding on all issues including dealing with India and Afghanistan, which bodes well for the future of Pakistan.
It is unfortunate that those politicians, who are not in government any longer, and are being persecuted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on charges of corruption, are trying to spread disinformation regarding cracks between the establishment and PTI government. This disinformation campaign is not limited to domestic media but is also being propagated on internationally. Detractors of Pakistan find such fake news as highly welcome and revel in it, providing their own spin to the disinformation, foreboding gloom and doom for Pakistan.
Facts are not only to the contrary, but also presently, not just the government and the establishment are on the same page, but all the other institutions in the country are also on one page, which is a step in the positive direction and is obviously not digestible to the corrupt politicians. The unfortunate aspect of this dubious practice is that the corrupt and insincere politicians have found kindred folk amongst the journalistic community, who are willing to sell their souls for a petty price and denigrate both the establishment and the ruling dispensation.
There is no dearth of such TV anchors or columnists, who will spell disaster for Pakistan. A certain TV anchor and columnist, who works for an international media house, has been busy disparaging the establishment, the judiciary and the government. He is also propagating that fissures have developed in the troika and doom and gloom will befall the nation if the current trends continue. Such irresponsible analyses not only bring about despondency in the nation but are also unethical and contrary to the norms of objective journalism, since the observations are baseless.
The advent of such pseudointellectuals has been taken cognizance of by the government, which is considering the recommendations of security and other institutions in policy formulation and is taking decisions in view of the interests of Pakistan. The negative narratives being crafted domestically and internationally have no other purpose but to weaken the government, the state and her institutions for their personal gains. The forces that are at play, would like to see a weak Pakistan, where chaos and anarchy prevail. The nuclear assets of Pakistan are a thorn in the sides of many a nation. They tried to stage situations, where Pakistan could be defanged. Two successive political dispensations were put in place by the Occident, who had promised their mentors that they will roll back Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme. Since the military remains the custodian of the nuclear assets, the heinous agenda failed. The mistrust between the military and civilians was exploited to the extent that fake news was created that the miscreants and terrorists will snatch and grab Pakistan’s nuclear assets and use them against the Occident thus Pakistan’s nuclear weapons must be deposited with a third country to make the world a safer place. To give credence to their assertions, terror attacks were staged, and it was misconstrued that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are unsafe. Pakistan’s Nuclear Command Authority placed such a robust nuclear doctrine in place and installed safety and security feature, which are so stringent that even the west is devoid of them, that is why our nuclear assets are safe not only from miscreants but also from the nuke grabbers of the west.
The nation has come out of such a state of uncertainty but Pakistan’s enemies and their agents in the media are bent upon creating doubts through their tainted observations. No defaming or pressure tactics will work on the government and the state by such negatives among the politicians, media and abroad as the state has decided to eradicate all the ills in the country and endeavoring to put the country on the correct path. The people must be wary of such soothsayers who call upon Mephistopheles to further their dubious aims.
