Dr. Umar Khan
Dr. Khan belongs to a Lahore based Think Tank.
20-7-25
Cost of
Military Dominance in Pakistan
"Military domination may bring order, but it is
the order of the graveyard." — Frantz Fanon
Military has always been the
most dominant institution and force in Pakistan since its birth and its role is
undeniable. This dominance is absolute extending from social to economic to
even political scene accepted as reality even by the ruling “politicians”
despite clear prohibition in the constitution. It is said that
if you want to know who rules over you, just look for
who you are not allowed to criticize and in Pakistan even constitutionally
we are forbidden to criticize the military.
Ironically this is one of the
rare provisions of the constitution that is most vehemently enforced.
"A society that relies on military force to
govern is a society that has given up on justice and the rule of
law." — Noam Chomsky
This domination didn’t come
from nowhere but has solid reasons embedded in creation of Pakistan. The new
country was created on the 2 nation theory asserting that Muslims and non-Muslims,
although living together for centuries, constitute different nations that won’t
be able to live together peacefully anymore so must be divided. This caused
carving of India triggering a terrible blood bath resulting in hatred and
paranoia that’s still lasting after 78 years. In this episode of extreme
violence when unarmed and poor Muslims were coming to Pakistan from Indian
villages always in danger of attacks, the few soldiers of British Indian army,
now declared Pakistan army, protected them from violent attacks thus creating
deep awe and admiration in the hearts of the unfortunate refugees.
"A nation that spends more time preparing for war
than educating its children is a nation in decline." — Dwight D.
Eisenhower
Nearly all refugees
considered the newly born Pakistan army as their saviors deserving of the
greatest reward and honor. Convoy of refugees coming from my ancestral village
in Jalandhar talked of the three Baloch Regiment’s soldiers accompanying them in
highest honor and even remembered their names until that generation slowly died
out.
Unfortunately this love and
indebtness for the soldiers was taken as a blank check by the controlling
generals who went berserk proclaiming martial laws repeatedly. In the process
constitution lost its honor, stature and sanctity in Pakistan as one of the
army chief’s blatantly declared it a few pages he could tear at will.
"When a country is ruled by the military, it is
no longer a free country; it is a barracks." — Anonymous
Due to desecration of the
constitution all institutions of the country created by it including, civil
service, judiciary, parliament and others that constitute a modern state and
considered a measure of a country’s strength, got decimated. This weakened
nation was easy target for its enemies who dismembered it and flamed the
internal cohesion even further.
"Military dominance in politics corrupts
absolutely, turning defenders into oppressors." — Adapted from
Lord Acton
Foreign policy went in the
hands of the military causing numerous unending wars with violence and
perpetual crises at home. In addition to all these losses country’s
international image, loss of resources, ignored populace, lack of HRD, economy
and even hope in the minds of its young became a casualty. This complete destruction
of society is forcing the young to give up on their beloved homeland and leave.
"Under the boot of military rule, economic
progress stagnates, fear replaces innovation, and the people
suffer." — Aung San Suu Kyi
Although all these losses
were bad enough, there was an even more harmful result that affected all
aspects of the society lasting generations. This dominance imparted a
militaristic deviant way of thinking on the nation’s psyche which was
unrealistic so doomed to cause failures and sufferings. A mindset where
violence becomes acceptable, rather desirable, and resorting to it the choicest
way of solving problems.
"The military mind is indeed a menace.
Old-fashioned futurity—the assumption that the future will resemble the past—is
the dominant failing of military thinkers." — Barbara Tuchman
To understand this mind set
we have to see its formation. In military they take healthy young men from the
society with highly impressionable minds and brain wash them to prepare them to
get into situations where they can be harmed and for their own safety agree to
kill other humans they don’t even know.
“Soldiers job is to do or die, but never to question
why” Lord Tennyson
Killing others is no small
thing and it’s not easy to convince anyone to do it. To prepare soldiers to
fight and kill their old personalities are brutally crushed before a new one is
created using lots of jingoism and clichés. Resources are generously spent and
social graces inculcated with promise of even more riches and we have soldiers
ready to fight for their tormentors in East India Company or doing something
disgraceful in the name of duty like pushing drugs in the opium wars. They are
taught to think over simplistically and see the world as friend or foe, black
or white, unable to see the million shades of grey in between. This makes them
unable to comprehend or solve the problems the modern complicated societies
presents.
“Just as good iron is not transformed into a nail; a
good man is not made into a soldier.” Confucius
This way of thinking created
many problems for Pakistan making it the pariah state becoming a source of only
bad news for the world. Naturally the world kind of isolated it from the rest
of the world with barriers and strong immigration controls of its borders. This
has become so bad that Pakistan’s closest friends like China and UAE have
toughest visa policies and severest dealings at the airports for its
citizens.
"The military mind is indeed a menace.
Old-fashioned futurity—the assumption that the future will resemble the past—is
the dominant failing of military thinkers." — Barbara Tuchman
Modern military, a very
powerful and necessary force has to be controlled and harnessed to make it
useful. Untamed military force can cause more harm than imaginable. Wild horses
might be beautiful but aren’t useful. No wonder the countries that have
progressed across the globe have controlled their armed forces effectively and
the military mindset was never allowed to dominate in the society.
"The problem with military rule is that every
general thinks he’s a statesman, and every soldier becomes a
pawn." — David Ben-Gurion
This military domination in
Pakistan is the root cause of most of our unending problems and must be
corrected for the sake of our future generations. We in Pakistan have yet to effectively
challenge and replace the absolute domination of military’s stranglehold over
Pakistan, particularly our minds. Pakistan has to achieve this freedom if it
plans to live among the comity of nations as a normal and respectable nation. Won’t
come easy, as nothing worthwhile is easy.
Sun Tzu advises, “The greatest
victory is that which requires no battle”. Lets follow this pertinent advice in
this battle too.
"Where the military governs, human rights are the
first casualty." — Amnesty International
"A government that relies on its army to stay in
power is not secure—it is desperate." — Sun Tzu (interpretation)
A sharp and thought-provoking piece. Succinctly captures an uncomfortable truth.
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