In several of my posts, I have suggested that Army should establish more Army Public Schools and Cadet Colleges that should be maintained and run by or under the supervision of the Army. I am not talking about the general education, for that there are other Schools, but Army/Air Force Schools and Cadet Colleges are different. In order to broaden the base of recruitment for the Army (as well as for other armed forces/para-military etc.), we need to educate the kids and their parents. Army Public Schools and Cadet Colleges can do this much better than regular Schools and Colleges. A friend of mine (now a Major in Army) studied in PAF School Samungli, Quetta (now Fazaia Inter College Samungli I guess) and did his Matriculation from there. He told me how often the kids were taken to the base (School and base were located almost apposite to each other, Oh, Quetta, I miss you!), and briefed about the Air Force personnel, planes and other Air Force hardware. Naturally many kids started thinking seriously about being fighter pilots and many did join as GDP. Obviously kids from regular Schools or Colleges will never get this kind of an exposure hence will not think early on about a profession in the armed forces.
My College was in Quetta Cantt. Everyday, we used to see the different units, firing ranges, soldiers, tanks and artillery. Naturally, many of us became very involved into the military business if you will. Several of my class fellows joined Army soon after passing the FSc. That was the impact of the atmosphere; obviously kids from the other Colleges (located outside the Cantt area) never had an exposure to military life as we had.
So what I am proposing is based on my personal experience, and of the experience of several others who got a chance to observe military life on daily basis albeit very superficially.
Well the Army has APS in every cantt, the PAF has the PAF Schools and Colleges at every Base and the Navy has a similar setup, so what else do you want the defence forces to do? Make APS and PAF schools outside the cantonment limits or have more than one school/college inside one base or cantt?
These schools are primarily for the personnel of Armed Forces as they have to move frequently within the country so a standard setup is required where when a kid who has left his class in mid way because of his dads or mothers posting he can rejoin the same class somewhere else without a problem. But the fact remains that these schools have been providing quality education of civilians as well, no one has stopped them, rather there is more strength of civilian kids in these schools as compared to armed forces personnel.
The Army doesnt construct APSs nor does it make cadet colleges, already enough of these institutions are there in the country. The number of APS and PAF schools is more than enough to fulfill the requirements of the armed forces and the civilians who wish to get educated there, as for the cadet colleges, yes perhaps we need them more, but the Army doesnt make them so I dont know what can be done.
As for your claim that by increasing the number of these schools would help increase the induction process, I agree with you in totality, but due to the reasons mentioned above probably no more of these schools are constructed unless more cantonments and Bases are made, which is what the army was trying to do but was thwarted by the Baloch separatists who claimed that they dont need cants inside Balochistan. More cants more Army run schools where more kids can go, more cants more interaction of those people with the Army thus making them interested in thinking to join the Army. You have lived in a cant but you forgot to mention that it is not only the schools that interests the people to join the army but also the various other interaction like contractors, visitors, shop keepers, civilian recruits etc etc in the cantt that also get interested in joining the military.
Now lets do some math, how many APS/PAF schools you think would be there in entire Balochistan? The number of bases and cantts in Balochistan will give you a fair number. Lets have an assumption: we take that there are 10 APS/PAF schools in entire Balochistan (because we are assuming that there are only 10 cantts/Bases in Balochistan). 10 schools mean that 10 batches of matriculate every year, each batch would probably have 35-55 (a very vague assessment) students. How many of these students would be interested in joining the army? Lets consider that 50% would be, so it makes 27 kids from each school (taking the maximum figure in mind) so 27 x 10 =270 students are interested in joining the Army each year. OK now lets see how many students the pre-ISSB classes train: the figure is somewhere between 350-450 and most of them are non APS/PAF schoolians. So still the pre-ISSB thingy manages to get more kids in the Army. Though this was just a vague example and may not be accurate at all.
Having said all this I am not at all refuting your choice of having more APS schools and colleges, the more they are the better it is and they have been and would help increase the recruitment base for the military.
I appreciate what Army is doing, but there has to be a policy and clear rationale of doing things even free of charge. As I have mentioned in my previous post, right now the problem is not the ISSB test, but how to convince young Sindhis and Blochs to consider military as a profession in the first place.
You are absolutely right ,w hat do you think the pre-ISSB thing is doing? Isnt it convincing the masses, 500 kids comes stay, eat, study, learn, get groomed etc etc on the Armys expense and then leave. The Army has been providing them free boarding and lodging, free messes, visits to various units, interaction with Army troops, equipment to include tanks, artillery guns and small arms (through visits of weekends as you have been doing in APS
) They were made to visit Officer Messes, they dined in with officers talked with them interacted with them and listened to their looonngggg stories of what they did in Siachen and Kashmir. They have been visiting officers BOQs and rooms at will and roaming with them. Dont you think that when that kid goes back after a month, regardless of being selected or not, wouldnt he make his other friends aware and convinced to join the Army?
This kind of a proposal should be made by the GHQ and forwarded to the GoP through proper channel. All I can do is to write a column which surely will have no impact. If my words have no impact on the members of this forum who happen to be very educated, and accomplished people, than there is something seriously wrong with my writing style or language skills.
Ok, but why dont the GoP instead ask the Army to do the needful and provide the Army with funds to carry on with the measures that have been suggested by you?
Why it has to be the Army to do everything, cant the GoP of Pakistan see that there is a need to have more Balocha and Sindhis in the military? Not only the military but in every field, banking, computing, finance, real estate etc etc. Why dont the govt take this Noble step and take measures to include providing better education to these people, so that more of them are absorbed in the main stream? It is easy to say that the Army should do that and the Army should do this!
Let me clear this for once and all, the military is not short of manpower neither it is short of Balohis nor Sindhis who want to join the Army. If you were thinking that the Army is begging Balochis and Sindhis to join it, then you got it wrong. The number of Balochs and Sindhis that the Army requires every year is very effectively filled. If a unit is supposed to have 600 (an example) Balochis (according to class composition that the Army maintains) on its inventory, I have yet to see one that complains that they have been able to muster on 400 Balochis , rather if they are supposed to have 600 the respective recruitment center of that Arm makes sure that it gets 600. So if someone was thinking that the Army is short of these people, no its not the case.
BUT, the case is that the Army wants that Balochis and Sindhis should be giving more opportunities and the only thing it can do is to provide them jobs, and the only job that the Army has is to get someone inducted give him a rifle and send him to die! And thats what the army is doing.
I think that after writing a column to convince the GoP to get more Balochis and Sindhis inducted in the Army, you should also sugeest the same to Mobilink, MCB, WAPDA, PTCL, Beaconhouse, City School, FPSC, Police, Rangers, City Bank and many more. Just a suggestion, no offence!
So in short the Army is not deficient of Balochi and Sindhi manpower, it is just feeling the shame which in actuality is the job of the govt and doing something to make the lives of these people a little better.


I dont think that Baloch or Sindhis are being ignored by the Military. In fact the military profession is being ignored by them. Everyone knows (informed through the news papers) that twice every year, Army receives applications. Everybody is welcome to pay a visit to the recruitment centers, and gather the required information. It is now up to the choice of a person whether he wants to join the Army or not. Not everybody becomes a Doctor or Engineer or a civil servant, or an architect, but this does not mean that a person is being ignored by a profession. The selection criteria of the Civil Services is even more gruesome, one has to appear in CSS or PCS examination before even being considered for an interview. I have passed PCS with distinction and I know what it means to clear those papers. Nobody says that the Baloch or Sindhis are being ignored in the Civil Services. And even if it is said, who cares? Just go, prepare for the examination, pass and join. If this realization that Sindhis and Balochs have been and/or being ignored by the Army is some kind of a Self- consciousness, than it is a different thing, but I dont think this is true.
Lolz..you got me completely wrong bro!
When did I say that the military is ignoring the Balochs, why should they, where did I say this?
What I wanted to say was that it is us the people of Pakistan who have ignored them, it is Pakistan who has ignored them, it has been the GoP who has ignored them!
Moreover, not many have ignored the military, as you can find out from what I have written above regarding the class composition thing.
As for the PCS, I myself have been through the FPSC and had even gone through the interview thing, so I very well know how gruesome it is
In another of my post, I have mentioned reasons of why Baloch think they were ignored by the people sitting in Islamabad. Their complaints are not much different than those of Mr. Mujib ur Rahman, and by God not baseless altogether. It is the fact of the matter that Islamabad has always tried to run Balochistan as an out post through the help of few loyal (in reality not at all) Sardars and Bugti was one of them. Instead of giving the Sui Gas royalty to the people of Balochistan, money was paid directly to Akbar Bugti to keep him and other Sardars (Atta ullah Mengal, Khair Bukhsh Murri and many others) quite over NFC award. Like Taliban, the GoP is fully responsible for keeping and making these Sardars strong through all this time. Bugti and other Sardars have always been blackmailing the GoP, but for the GoP it was cheaper to deal with the blackmailers than to give the right share of the NFC award to the people of Balochistan. What is in the way of the GoP to eradicate the Fudal system? India did this soon after its independence.
Qsaark, you are great! You have talked my heart out. Thanks for putting the actual story out here, it is nicve to hear this from a ex-Balochistan
resident. Thanks!
It is a good move, but please see my response above.

Just a guud move?? Well Qsaark bro your standards are too high
I wonder why didnt this was done by the Ministry of Education
There are Schools and there are Colleges throughout Balochistan.
I ver well know that.
Balochistan is my home, I have lived in my home for good 25 years. I dont need Hamid Mir and Kamran Khan to tell me about my home.
What do you exactly mean by this?
You probably have been living in queta having access to all the facilities in that provincial capital. Moreover, who is asking Hamid Mir to make YOU aware of your homeland, I was suggesting that if they can waste hours in maligning the military and govt for bird flu why dont they come talk about the misdeeds done to Balochs? Why dont they hold accountable the govts that have been part of the misdeeds?
You might have heard the names of Kohlu, Rakhni, Nushki, Duki, I have seen these place with my own two eyes. I know what is there and what is not there (at least until 1999).
Well Ill like to clarify this also.
I have been to all of these places, not only these but many more that I have referred to elsewhere. I have spent quite a large chunk of my service on Balochistan, thanks to the Army. I have been part of Balochistan for a quite a log time. I have experienced it from the top (when I was at a senior post) as a commander (when I have been operating there) and as a under command when I was part of the run of the mill! So I know much about the place and have been to like 80% of the province. So atleast I can say with confidence that I have even seen the places where you probably would not have been to.
I know much about the geography and demography of the Province. I have been to places, stayed there, fought, welfared, interacted, talked and did much more. I know who
Luni, Bugti, Marri, Bajrani, Loharani, Gazini, Achakzai, Salarani, Somrani, Shahijah, Pawadi, Qalandrani, Rahmkani etc etc are (most members here would be like
.lolzzz-and mind it I am not a Baloch), I know their characteristics and nature very well, I know which caste and sub-caste is fit for the military etc etc. Like once I happened to be in Kashmir and we received a few Sindhi recruits. Only after a few days we started receiving complains from other soldiers that these Sindhis done work! The situation in Kashmir you know is usually tense and life is not that easy. We have to dig the trenches, go out for patrolling, carry out recce etc etc. I received complains that these Sindhis just done work, a few even have said that we cant dig or walk more. There have been instances when during rain they used to pick up their Rs 2
lota and duck inside the bunkers and leave their G-3s out in the rain. So we have to motivate/pamper/pat/kick (as the situation varied) them, and soon the time came that whenever I had to go out I used to make sure that these two sindhi soldiers (Allah Wasaio and Jatoi-though there were many more who were equally guud) go with me because they were one of the best dudes that we had even better than Punjabis, as I knew if we happen to bump into an Indian patrol enroute atleast these two will not show their a$$es to the Indians!
So time can change things, I am not saying that a certain tribe or caste (either from Punjab, Sindh or Balochistan) is not fit for the military but traditions and locations does matter. So lets not get carried away with this competition that who knows Balochitsna more than whom, we both are quite conversant about the area we are talking about.
If the pre-ISSB thing is being run for quite some time, and not many know about it, I would hold ISPR responsible for not properly advertising about this. Until of course, if it is not considered fully legal to carry out pre-ISSB classes.
Well my dear if we need 400 students for the pre-ISSB classes and like 800 parents come to get their kid inducted I think the ISPR has done its job. These were being run in Quetta but people from Turbat, Garruk, Gazan,Panjgur, Kikki etc etc were there, and was like hey where did you people get hold of these people?? And the simple answer was, Sir ji Fauj hai
So you again got me wrong here, I was saying that the people in Balochistan doesnt know about these classes, but I was emphasizing and criticizing the media for not providing enough coverage to the event. Ofcourse they gave other money making news at hand, this will not get them much.
As for the illegal thing
lolzzz.. you still are stuck on the subject. If Corps Commander Quetta himself is visiting these classes, releasing special funds for them, there are banners, brochures, flyers, announcement all over Quetta and rest of Balochistan regarding the start of these classes, do you think It still is illegal. You really need to visit Quetta again bro!
I am not disagreeing with you;
You are right on this
all I am saying is that perhaps there are better ways of enlarging the recruitment base. The Bulk of Army is not made-up of the officers, but of the NCOs anf JCOs. A true representation of so- called backward provinces can not be achieved through the induction of 100 or so officers every year, we have to induct more Jawans into Army from Sindh and Balochistan.
As I have said earlier, there is no shortage of inductees from these places, but yes in the Officer cadre we do see a little less representation from these areas, and the Army is working on it, though it doesnt require to.
was a must. this has been reduced to 40% marks. even in the PAF for GDP pilots the marks required were 60%, but now is 45%. this has has a big impact on the quality of officers joining the PA, PAF and PN.
