For my Pakistani Brothers

[Kasrkin]

Hello all,

I am a fan of military literature so I have decided to write a fictional book about the Pakistan Army based in 2042 in the hopes that my friends and people like me who love the Pakistan Army, may get some entertainment. Because as we know every thing related to the military is too serious these days! The military is a great part of our lives, even more so than most people realize. Here are the first 2 Chapters of a book I have written in dedication to them.

I hope atleast some of you manage to enjoy it. All feedback and suggestions are welcome because no doubt it wont be exactly perfect as it is my first book and this is completely uncharted territory! Also your replies will decide if I am to contiune with it.

Thanks !

CHAPTER 1: Martial Pride

THE RAIN WAS coming down in heavy showers. It always did here, accompanied by a misty chill and it stopped only to be replaced by heavy snowfall in the winter that tended to last most of the year.
To Kareem this place was as pure as heaven. The peace, the tranquility and the silence gave him immense focus and a sense of pure purpose and a happiness he could not explain to anyone.
The peace, tranquility and silence were however all in his mind and soul as this happened to be a place of war. War in its most brutal form. Heavily armed armies stood face to face, merely meters apart and well dug in with years worth of ammunition yet to be spent.
The peace could only be found in its constant contrast with reality. A reality he knew that meant the very next moment could be his last on earth. A simple lapse in protocol, a minor hesitation, a small error on account of anyone man under his command could be the undoing of them all. Not to mention simple bad luck.
Without constant vigilance on behalf of every soldier in his company anyone of them could be taken out by a sniper while answering the call of nature, blasted into countless fragments in a second by a barrage of artillery shells, gunned down by a sudden hail of high velocity rounds or slaughtered by an enemy knife in the dead of night plus a host of other undignified deaths one could think up.
Kareem stood on the mountain as solid as rock looking over the enemy fortifications. His rifle held in his hand, stock down on the ground as he surveyed the enemy with immense concentration. His pale green eyes taking in every little detail.
The cold and the rain would almost certainly have bothered anyone else, especially up here but Kareem barely seemed to have noticed. The cold water was running down his helmet and his face heavily now but he was a Pathan born in the treacherous and unforgiving mountains of Afghania. Having endured much worse even as a child, the sensations of isolation and hardship were not new to him, in fact routine would have been a more accurate description. More importantly now he was a soldier in the Northern Light Infantry of the Pakistan Army. The unit second in reputation only to the SSG. He knew it was his job and duty to endure much worse.
A momentary frown ceased his face at the scene in front. But then he sensed someone approaching from behind so he quietly unsheathed his pistol.
“Sir, I knew I would find you here.” It was Naveed who flashed a salute as soon as Kareem saw him.
“Your approach was silent as ever,” smiled Kareem securing his sidearm and returning the gesture. Naveed chuckled.
“You were studying the Hindus quite intently sir, anything new?” ventured Naveed. Like Kareem, Naveed was not bothered in the least by the unfriendly environment or their close proximity to the enemy. But unlike him had his assault rifle strapped against his back-pack and was holding his long dark blade. It made Kareem wonder what he had been up to.
“Well there certainly is something going on though they are doing a sufficiently good job concealing it from us,” said Naveed returning his gaze towards the enemy.
“Should I radio in a request for a scout team to ascertain their motives?” asked Naveed stepping next to Kareem and extracting his mini binoculars.
“Isn’t it obvious? The enemy has just threatened us, a few days ago, of conducting air-strikes against our forward fortifications which will lead to larger scale hostilities as PAF will inevitably retaliate. They are Indians. They will want to be prepared for any such eventually” Kareem said curtly.
Kareem knew that there was a high possibility that these turn of events would take place because over the last few months the enemy was becoming increasingly frustrated with this never ending war in Kashmir. They were suffering serious loses due to Pakistani artillery fire which had mysteriously become more accurate and deadly than ever before. Though the thunder of artillery exchange here was as common as the singing of birds or the rustling of trees, this time it was different. The Pakistanis were traditionally out gunned by their more numerous counter-parts and therefore had accordingly adopted by finding means to make their every shot count. The Indian fire was more wide spread and heavy, with trees, roads and people often taking the brunt of the exchange. This rendered the Pakistani border areas unsafe or too unpredictable for normal life. But they, the Pakistanis could ill afford such excessive wastage of these vital resources. And so they over the years had developed their technologies accordingly. Key to these recent successes lay in the extensive use of highly sophisticated Multiple Rocket Launcher (MRLs) systems instead of the more commonly used field guns. Though every missile fired by a MRL was far more expensive than an ordinary artillery shell, it had the advantage of carrying a far larger payload (and thus a more sophisticated warhead), sported more range and most important of all was able to strike with pinpoint accuracy. As to target specific rooms not just the entire bunker with deep penetrating bunker-buster warheads or highly destructive thermobaric ammunition.
Kareem fought back a smile at the thought of his brothers in the Artillery Regiments picking-off enemy gun positions one by one without the enemy having the slightest idea what hit them. He knew however that his friend and subordinate dint know any of this and fully expected an overly rash and aggressive answer from him.
“Then these bastards will soon learn the error of their ways, if they are to try such a stupid move.” Kareem said in a rather aggressive tone. His face making it overtly clear that he sincerely wished nothing more than for the enemy to make this ‘stupid move’.
“Easy old friend, aggression is only worthy as long as it is controlled. You tend to forget that from time to time” said Kareem.
“Apologies sir, no offense was intended” replied Naveed looking embarrassed. “I merely find it a great injustice when the enemy threatens us again and again, robbing us of our honor. And yet we do not react violently to preserve it especially in front of our brother Muslim countries.”
“Islam teaches us not to be bothered so deeply by such petty things. The only honor is holding on to the principles of Islam, not these irrelevant thoughts developed by man as a result of his martial pride” said Kareem knowing full well that it was his duty to guide his juniors physically in combat as well as spiritually in life so that they may one day be ready to join the higher echelons of command.
“Islam teaches us martial pride” said Naveed trying to sound as un-argumentative and respectful as possible.
“Yes, but not the pride you are referring to. Every soldier must have pride, for if not he won’t be different from a thug on the street fighting to get some money. But the pride must be in the right things just like our cause and the fact that we serve it. Not in the fact that we ourselves are of any greatness or worth” said Kareem finally stepping away from his spot and walking back down the peak with his rifle still held in his right hand. Naveed hurried to keep up, the rain still pouring on the rock and mud all around them.
_________________________________________________________________

“ARE YOU SURE of this?” The colonel bellowed at the intelligence officer standing before him. The underground room was lightly lit by the single lamp hanging over the colonel’s desk.
“As sure as we can be sir” replied the intelligence officer unflinching under his stern gaze. He knew perfectly well that officers of the NLI were not exactly known for their courtesies. “Military Intelligence strongly advises you to proceed accordingly. It may be any day now.”
“Thank you for bring this to my attention lieutenant. My regards to your superiors” said the Colonel dismissing the young officer with a salute who did likewise and left without as much as a look at the others.
“So what do you make of these developments my friends?” said the Colonel gesturing to his officers who had until then been standing concealed in the shadows. He had instructed them to be present for this briefing so that they too would know what they would be facing in the coming months.
Slowly they stepped out of the darkness and took the seats in front of the colonel’s desk.
There was a pause. Then…
“I think we have ourselves a battle to win sir” said Khalid the youngest of the Captains who had only just recently been promoted. He was new to this inner circle and sometimes felt out of place but the Colonel knew that he was awaiting a chance to prove himself in front of his new peers. The briefing had only served to excite him over the approaching opportunities.
“Yes that we do, but how are we going to go about doing it?” The Colonel knew exactly what he was going to do, but he still valued the opinions of the men who would be doing the actual fighting under his guidance. “The Indians are going to advance, or so we have been told, in three main sectors across the LoC and if Military Intelligence has got it right our sector is one of them. A large number of troops are massing right in front of us and getting ready to strike. Should we call in another regiment for our assistance as it has been suggested or do you feel we can handle them and that the reinforcements will be better suited else where?”
“I think we can do it, it should not be a problem. Our moral is high and now that we know of this impending attack, we won’t be surprised. Defending is easy especially if you know of the enemy’s plans” said Hashim.
“Captain the problem is we don’t exactly know of the enemy’s plans and whatever we do know could be faulty or even completely inaccurate. I think we have to be very careful and see what exactly is it the enemy plans to do” said Waqas.
“What then exactly would you suggest Captain Waqas?” said the Colonel with a meaningful look at his officer.
Waqas shrugged and then said “I am not implying that we need to call in reinforcements because I too believe we can handle them. However I do suggest caution and that we take nothing for granted because we are, after all, heavily outnumbered.”
“But we have faced worse, three to one is nothing” said Hashim looking at Waqas as if he had lost his mind.
“Well the ratio is actually around seven to two if intelligence is correct” the Colonel interjected helpfully.
“And as it is we can expect the Indians to have heavy air support right across their campaign, I expect they will make extensive use of their helicopters too” said Kareem speaking for the first time. “So their deployment time might be shortened up quite sufficiently.” Kareem was one of the more experienced officers in the room and the other Captains, Kareem knew, would take his opinion seriously.
“Captain Kareem is correct. These were my thoughts exactly, in fact I had already planned on requesting for a special task force from the air defense brigades, when I was told that that one was already on its way. They will be taking up positions by tomorrow. But a few hand held anti-aircraft missiles won’t be much use against heavy bombing form IAF fixed wing fighters” said the Captain.
“They will do their bit sir, I am sure. Their presence will keep enemy helicopters a considerable distance away, and besides we know that these air-defense guys are used to operating behind enemy territory. Anza Mk 4 missiles will be more than enough to keep the fixed-wing aircraft at a good length in the sky, which will make the bombing more inaccurate” said Waqas.
“Please do your best to facilitate the deployment of these men and their equipment gentlemen, show them the best spots for shooting down something” instructed the Colonel with a smile.
They all nodded.
“Now I think you all better get back to your posts, and do your best to impress upon your men the seriousness of the situation. Prepare well my brothers, and Allah will protect us” and with that they were all dismissed from the Colonel’s office.

CHAPTER 2: Storm of Fire

NAVEED SAT IN the cold air at the edge of the bunker, casually switching between throwing a look out for the elusive enemy and carving himself a unit insignia out of a piece of wood he had recently acquired. His beloved rifle was fully loaded and standing at his side.
Even for army standards, Naveed was a giant of a man, tall and broad. He wore his face like a grin, forever content with himself and most others around him, yet always hungry for more adventure. He was happy at the upcoming prospects that Captain Kareem had talked about before he left for his briefing at the regimental headquarters. Naveed looked forward to dealing death and proving his mettle once more before the honored captain.
A menacing voice from behind brought him back from these happy thoughts. “Naveed, I see you have found yourself something completely useless to do as usual” sneered Fawwaz.
Fawwaz walked up from behind and sat at the lip of the bunker a few feet from Naveed, making a show of loading his weapon and checking if it's sites were unfogged. The echoing **** of the G-41s bolt-action was always reassuring to hear.
“Why, a very fine morning to you too my friend,” responded Naveed in a slightly ironic and mocking tone. He was much too used to his old friend’s batter to let it sting his sometimes sensitive pride.
Fawwaz grunted, and started eating enthusiastically from one of his food packs. Both men sat silent and vigilant, as the cool mist drifted into their shelter through the wide gun emplacement next to them. Outside the sky and the mountains were bathed in the pale-blue of the moist-air and the early morning sun.
After a while Naveed pocketed his wooden trophy and sighed deeply, as if thoroughly enjoying the cool mountain air. “The Captain will be here soon, I better go and see to him. You should bring your men too, I am sure he will be having important news.”
Fawwaz stopped staring at the view outside and nodded at Naveed. “Yes I am sure he does. But the real reason you are always running up to him is because you fancy yourself his favorite, don’t you? You are almost always with him, aren’t you?” asked Fawwaz casually.
Naveed frowned slightly as if mildly surprised at his friends thoughts. “My duty is to serve, I don’t know what you mean by such words Fawwaz” and with that he grabbed his rifle and then rolled out of the open gun slit instead of going through the trouble of opening the heavily armored bunker door. It always amused and surprised Fawwaz to see him accomplish this despite his heavy frame, even wider with body armor and webbing.
“That I know you better than you think old friend!” Fawwaz called out with a laugh behind him.
Naveed was already walking towards a sentry. “And I want to hear what news the Captain has when you come back Naveed!” Naveed looked back and smiled at Fawwaz indicating that he had heard him.
Naveed’s long and purposeful strides took him to the soldier who had stood guard for the night in no time. The man was tired and calm but seemed to be in high spirits, he had a set of night-vision goggles strapped to his helmet which he had been using all night. The man smiled, if somewhat lazy, at the approaching figure. Naveed exchanged a few warm words with the javan as Fawwaz knew he would. And then set out at brisk pace towards the track by which the Captain’s jeep would be arriving.
Naveed knew, since the javan had told him, that everything was clear for the night. Never the less he had his rifle ready in his hands in front of him. If truth be told he was concerned for the Captain’s safety, enemy infiltration teams had been known to target officers ahead of major engagements and Naveed would never allow that to happen to his Captain. And besides he knew for a soldier, it never hurts to be too careful.
_________________________________________________________________

THEY MOVED at a constant pace towards the company encampments, the dirt and snow splashing noisily around them. The jeeps were designed specifically for this purpose and with the expertise of the drivers, they were moving flawlessly through the narrow, steep track. The rocks were heavy and jagged enough to tear a person in half, the ice and mud was wet and slippery made no smoother by the occasional stream of cool mountain water running through it. Often the path was too angled and steep for the average individual to scale on foot, but still the jeeps rumbled on.
Gunners manned their machine guns atop each vehicle in the convoy, heavily armored and camouflaged just like the machines they traveled on. Their skulls were covered by Kevlar helmets; eyes guarded by the shrapnel-proof shaded goggles, faces completely masked against the bone piercing winds of the Karakoram by pale green turbans and adjustable micro-phones protruded out in front of their concealed mouths so that they could report any threats as soon they their keen watchful eyes spotted them. They swung their heavy guns around with gloved fists to cover the mountain side, as they were trained to, every time the convoy turned a corner or ascended a peak.
Out of the four jeeps, the first one scanned the front, second covered the rising mountain to the side, third pointed down hill in the opposite direction and the last one watched the rear, all with constant vigilance and a mechanical efficiently that came with years of experience.
With insulated jackets, heavy-set armor vests, extensive webbing and headgear all in perfectly fitting camouflage their frames were impressive and imposing to anyone who watched them riding the mountains.
This was in no way a long ride, in fact no more than thirty minutes from regimental headquarters to the front(even less if it hadn’t been for the terrain). But protocol and strict orders had demanded these security precautions where escorting of officers was concerned.
Kareem sat in the relative warmth of the front seat of the second jeep and reflected on how he used to love traveling this road on a mountain-bike when he was newly assigned to the regiment. He could almost feel the chill on his face from when he used to race through these mountains as a young and carefree officer. Now only when he had lost that peace, lost that freedom to the burdens of higher responsibility did he realize how much it meant to him. Sometimes Kareem found himself desperately hoping he could go back to those good old days, when he owned nothing but an opportunity to prove himself. Hardly any lives depended on him, no men looked up to him for leadership and guidance, and he was his own man. Only a man with close to nothing to lose could fully appreciate and anticipate the excitement of pure of combat. Kareem knew if he kept on getting promoted at this pace then in another decade or so he would be out of the field completely. The prospect terrified him, ten years ago he would never have dared consider that such a thing might happen to him.
Kareem was violently shaken from his melancholy thoughts by a sudden explosion that ripped through the air nearby as the jeeps slid to a halt.
“Shelling,” said Kareem as mildly as he was commenting on the day’s weather.“Lets carry on, it’s not a good idea waiting here to be hit,” Kareem spoke into the radio.
The drivers answered instantly by crushing on their accelerators enthusiastically, clearly relieved the Captain was not too bothered about the attacks when other officers might have ordered them to dismount and investigate.
If truth be told Kareem was uneasy about this sudden and unexpected shelling. In fact Kareem could scarcely remember this area being shelled before and knew the odds were that this was a new development to worry about.
The protocols written as part of the Pak Army Instructions Manual (PAIM) by great military leaders and martial specialists from Pakistan as well as rest of the world would have required Kareem to order the men under his command to organize search teams and report on the activities of any potential enemy spotters or target designators teams that might have infiltrated into their territory in order to direct artillery or aircraft fire under such circumstances. These precautions were to be taken in states of war or war-imminent situations.
But Kareem had been serving in Kashmir for long enough to know that normal rules did not always apply here. Kareem had always thought that the Indians had developed some what of a habit where wasting shells across the LoC was concerned, which they did more out of boredom or self assurance than any actual military reasoning. It was unlikely they would risk, or bother, sending scouts in to gather any real ground intelligence on Pakistani movements so it was all too likely that this was not a coordinated or targeted attack on his convoy, simply a matter of coincidence or luck.
As more shells exploded down the mountain, gradually moving closer to the road Kareem reminded himself that he was trained never to think this way and overestimating the enemy was one of the fundamental mistakes the instructors at the Academy had warmed him about. Paranoia and vigilance were always preferred qualities to laziness and over confidence.
“Let’s just pick up the pace for today shall we?” Kareem instructed the driver next to him while picking up the vehicle radio set to issue the same order to the other three drivers.
The jeeps were moving really fast now, to a point of recklessness that might have been termed an unnecessary risk by some. But the only thing Kareem was worried about was the lives of the men with him and about getting back to his company. Everyone was clutching at their grips firmly, their faces awash with a thrilling sense of excitement as the violent motions of the vehicle swung them all over their seats.
Once again, as with so many times before, Kareem silently thanked Allah for giving him comrades who like him, were used to the harsh life of the mountain folk. Kareem knew from experience that, if his soldiers had not been recruited from rugged areas around Gilgit, most of them would not have been able to resist the urge to throw up or become disoriented at the very least. And here his brothers from the most inhospitable regions on Earth, were positively enjoying themselves, no doubt having had indulged in this kind of travel during their younger years or in transits between training(completely illegal by usual military and civilian protocol ofcourse) before joining up with the Regiment.
Another violent jerk, but this time the ground itself nearly shook accompanied by a booming noise and bits of rock and mud fell off the side of the cliff on to the armor plating on the sides of their vehicles.
“Direct hit. On the track. Some 40 meters behind us,”reported in the last gunner almost as soon as the reverberating sounds of the explosion faded. “Part of it is gone, only smoke and dust.”
“Copy, we’ll report it in to the engineers later, lets just get out of here right now.”
It was not far now, Kareem knew. He grabbed his helmet from the feet compartment and put it on, as all the passengers prepared to dismount.

 

[muse]

That was fun, give us more.

 

[Kasrkin]

Hey,

Thanks mate for your reply. I would love to give you more but you're just one guy. And barely 2 people read it.

And I was hoping for some feedback and all. I am working on the next few Chapters, not sure I'll post though. But it would be great if you tell me what you thought about these 2? Any parts you particularily liked or disliked.

Thanks a million. Bye!