A random post on Pakistani Military

The Operation Geronimo carried out recently by the US troops to eliminate Osama Bin Laden sent me on a thinking trip - one which I have often visited, and now it is time to put it down in words.

Looking at the title, if you've come for the usual Pakistani military jokes here like "How do you drown a Pakistani ship? - Put it on water." or "How do you stop a Pakistani tank? - Kill the people pushing it", well, this is all you are going to get. :) .Though I wouldn't mind the readers sharing a few more of such jokes with me.. ;)

Right from the beginning of Pakistan, when the first deed it did was attack Kashmir, the military has always been the most important cog in its wheel. The hatred and anti-India stance of its general populace made them look up to military as its only saviour and added fuel to the already potentially all-consuming fire that was the military. As a result, lesser importance was given to the strengthening of the democratic institutions in the state. The absence of a popular, unifying, strong leader after the death of Jinnah soon after the creation of Pakistan also did not help. The entry of Pakistan into CENTO and SEATO - the military pacts with the U.S bloc of the Cold War era also made the military more significant than the Civilian Government to the international powers(read USA) - who only contributed to adding to the military might of the country to protect and grow their influence in the sub-continent without caring for the overall development of the nation. No wonder, democracy has never lasted more than 15 years in this state where military coup occurs at the drop of a hat.

The military has always acted on its own accord without heeding the the civilian Governments. The Kargil incursion that occurred despite the thawing of relations and goodwill generated by the visits of both heads of states to each other's countries is a clear example. Even the current efforts of the civilian Government to shed Pakistan's image as a terrorist breeding nation is failing as it does not have the blessings of the military in this endeavour. The terrorist organisations are quasi-military setups, whose members are trained and armed by the Pakistani military, and co-ordinated by the ISI, which is a part of the Pakistani armed forces too. The Government could not deliver even the most wanted terrorist on earth who was living in its own territory to the nation without whose grants Pakistan will probably fall apart, all because he lived under the auspices of the military.

The military's image had taken a beating during the Pervez Musharraf days, but soon after his resignation and the appointment of a new Government, the present Chief General Kayani set about garnering back the adulation of the citizens. The withdrawal of members of armed forces from civilian departments helped him earn much goodwill of the people. And his discouragement of his colleagues maintaining political contacts and connections also enhanced the military's standing among the Pakistani people. Though, this might have been done rather to protect the army from civilian leaders' influence than what is generally believed as military's withdrawal from civilian politics. In a way, this strengthens the position of Kayani as there would be no external influences and informaton exchange between his subordinate military officers and the civilian figures.

I do not know how much these acts have affected the domestic governance of Pakistan, but I believe the military's significance in formulating foreign policy of Pakistan hasn't affected one bit. The eagerness, alacrity and seriousness shown by the Pakistani Government during the days soon after 26/11 in helping India catch its perpetrators soon whimpered down, and investigations went to a standstill and all the accused were set free, because, I suspect, the military did not like the fact that a lot of its personnel were found to be involved. Even in the US' "War against Terrorism", the situation hasn't got any better (except for the killing of Osama, maybe) even though the civilian Government appears to back this mission fully. If people expected Kayani to be any different than his predecessors, I believe they are in for a disappointment, as, being a former Head of ISI, he only knows too well how important the terrorist infrastructure is for the military, carrying out operations it cannot openly do.

The military shall continue to be more powerful than all other institutions in Pakistan as long as the people fear of an "Indian aggression". And the military knows this too well and prefers India and Pakistan stay the way they are - distrusting, hating neighbours. And as long as the military holds the reins of the Pakistani foreign policy, there is no point spending millions of rupees and precious days negotiating with the Government of Pakistan, except for the trade agreements between the nations. Not much can be expected from such dialogues, as, any goodwill generated by the talks between the two nations' heads would put the Pakistani military's significance in jeopardy, as its identity and the force behind its importance is, and has been anti-India sentiments, and it would try to disrupt or undermine any such efforts, and it is more than capable of doing so. India should never leave its guard down and continue its vigil against terrorists and infiltrators trying to come across to India, irrespective of the assurances and promises given by the other side.