ahmedchaudry
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Fruits of Revenge
by Br. Shahid Mahmud
The defeat of 1971 left a lasting mark on the psyche of the Pakistan
Army. But promising a 'never again' was not enough as it sought to
find ways to take revenge from the Indian army. Never again would
have meant to simply avoid the conflict and never get in a situation
where enemy would repeat the crushing blow that led to break up of
Pakistan and creation of Bangladesh.
The army never recognized the real enemy - the enemy within. A lot
has been written about Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's role in undermining the
credibility of army going all the way back to Operation Gibraltar
that plunged Pakistan into a war it never expected, could ill-afford
it and was lucky to come out unscathed. The disaster of 1971 was
Bhutto and Army's own making, never having learned any lesson from
1965.
Thinking he had finally buried the army under heaps of insult
following the surrender in Dhaka, the civilian Martial Law, Zulfiqar
Ali Bhutto, went about ensuring that he would reign forever. Army,
subdued but never stored away, never forgot any of that. While Bhutto
was chasing his political opponents into assassinations, or with
better luck of the victims, into self-imposed political exiles, the
army plotted and planned. The coup of 1977 followed army's backing of
the opposition parties where a hodge-podge of otherwise dagger-drawn
political parties was put together with only one point agenda -
removal of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The agitation was sold to the people
as 'Tehrik-e-Nizam-e-Mustafa.'
It is difficult to pinpoint a turning point, but over the years, the
religious right has completely redefined Pakistan and its reason for
existence in the hearts of minds of educated middle-class. This
element had no love lost for the progressive Pakistan and its
moderate founders. The lower classes largely made up of uneducated
young men had found a spokesman in Bhutto who betrayed them but they
still refuse to believe it. In either case, Pakistan was now in the
hands of a new generation which either looked inward into their
narrow self-interests, or a religious elite whose loyalty was to its
bearded leaders and not Pakistan.
The invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviets played into the hands of
the Pakistan army. The resistance to the occupation, with the
connivance of the Americans and rest of the Europe was
declared 'Jihad.' Insiders know that Jihadis destroyed every
signature of modernity in Afghanistan. Worse, the most extremists in
religion got most of the American and Pakistan military aid. Till his
last breath, Ahmed Shah Masood complained that he got very few arms
and Gulbadeen Hikmatyar the most while the former did most of the
fighting.
Zia-ul-Haq died after having completely redoing Pakistan. Textbooks
of Pakistan now reflected a great 'Islamic' past which was only a
part of the bigger picture. The innocent stories from the villages of
Pakistan which adorned the Urdu textbooks were replaced by either
half-truths of 'Sahaba', or tales of miracles by this Alim or that
Sufi. If it had been possible, Zia would have imported all the sand
in Saudi Arabia to make Pakistan look alike. Pakistan's own culture
rooted in the region disappeared from the pages of these books.
When Zia-ul-Haq finally was put away by an invisible hand, Army and
the religious elite were hand in glove and the democratic governments
of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif could not face them head on. If
anything, democratic governments, to appease these elements,
continued to take country towards religious extremism. The woman
Prime Minister of Pakistan did not think for a moment what Taliban
are likely to do with the fair sex once in power.
After army had driven the Russians out of Afghanistan, it found an
opportunity in Kashmir which was awash with political agitation
against the Indian occupation. Having learned the techniques
of 'Jihad' in Afghanistan, the army sought to leverage its virtual
veto power on these matters and privatized the Jihad. This was done
without giving any thought to the wellbeing of Pakistan and its
priorities.
The Afghan refugees had remained on the soil of Pakistan. Sectarian
and ethnic wars had erupted. A drug culture had taken its hold on the
youth of Pakistan. The economy never really recovered from
the 'reforms' of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and had been going down. These
concerns were cast aside for the rabid hate of India - revenge there
must be.
It seems, Afghanistan and Occupied Kashmir is that noose around
Pakistan which we have tightened ourselves. Instead of launching a
Jihad against poverty, oppression of the poor, cruelty against women
and minorities, ethnic and sectarian hatred, we have fought an
endless war against an external enemy without slaying the enemy
within. The young boys, who would have been turning this country into
a paradise, have instead opted for a hell on earth and a promise of
paradise by God - A promise He never made to people whose priorities
are upside down.
No doubt, an enemy like India cries out for revenge. But the ultimate
revenge would have been a developed Pakistan, a constant reminder to
the Brahman that we were right in ejecting from the united India. As
it seems, all we can do now is just take step back and reflect - it
is perhaps India, which hasn't finished its revenge from us.
by Br. Shahid Mahmud
The defeat of 1971 left a lasting mark on the psyche of the Pakistan
Army. But promising a 'never again' was not enough as it sought to
find ways to take revenge from the Indian army. Never again would
have meant to simply avoid the conflict and never get in a situation
where enemy would repeat the crushing blow that led to break up of
Pakistan and creation of Bangladesh.
The army never recognized the real enemy - the enemy within. A lot
has been written about Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's role in undermining the
credibility of army going all the way back to Operation Gibraltar
that plunged Pakistan into a war it never expected, could ill-afford
it and was lucky to come out unscathed. The disaster of 1971 was
Bhutto and Army's own making, never having learned any lesson from
1965.
Thinking he had finally buried the army under heaps of insult
following the surrender in Dhaka, the civilian Martial Law, Zulfiqar
Ali Bhutto, went about ensuring that he would reign forever. Army,
subdued but never stored away, never forgot any of that. While Bhutto
was chasing his political opponents into assassinations, or with
better luck of the victims, into self-imposed political exiles, the
army plotted and planned. The coup of 1977 followed army's backing of
the opposition parties where a hodge-podge of otherwise dagger-drawn
political parties was put together with only one point agenda -
removal of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The agitation was sold to the people
as 'Tehrik-e-Nizam-e-Mustafa.'
It is difficult to pinpoint a turning point, but over the years, the
religious right has completely redefined Pakistan and its reason for
existence in the hearts of minds of educated middle-class. This
element had no love lost for the progressive Pakistan and its
moderate founders. The lower classes largely made up of uneducated
young men had found a spokesman in Bhutto who betrayed them but they
still refuse to believe it. In either case, Pakistan was now in the
hands of a new generation which either looked inward into their
narrow self-interests, or a religious elite whose loyalty was to its
bearded leaders and not Pakistan.
The invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviets played into the hands of
the Pakistan army. The resistance to the occupation, with the
connivance of the Americans and rest of the Europe was
declared 'Jihad.' Insiders know that Jihadis destroyed every
signature of modernity in Afghanistan. Worse, the most extremists in
religion got most of the American and Pakistan military aid. Till his
last breath, Ahmed Shah Masood complained that he got very few arms
and Gulbadeen Hikmatyar the most while the former did most of the
fighting.
Zia-ul-Haq died after having completely redoing Pakistan. Textbooks
of Pakistan now reflected a great 'Islamic' past which was only a
part of the bigger picture. The innocent stories from the villages of
Pakistan which adorned the Urdu textbooks were replaced by either
half-truths of 'Sahaba', or tales of miracles by this Alim or that
Sufi. If it had been possible, Zia would have imported all the sand
in Saudi Arabia to make Pakistan look alike. Pakistan's own culture
rooted in the region disappeared from the pages of these books.
When Zia-ul-Haq finally was put away by an invisible hand, Army and
the religious elite were hand in glove and the democratic governments
of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif could not face them head on. If
anything, democratic governments, to appease these elements,
continued to take country towards religious extremism. The woman
Prime Minister of Pakistan did not think for a moment what Taliban
are likely to do with the fair sex once in power.
After army had driven the Russians out of Afghanistan, it found an
opportunity in Kashmir which was awash with political agitation
against the Indian occupation. Having learned the techniques
of 'Jihad' in Afghanistan, the army sought to leverage its virtual
veto power on these matters and privatized the Jihad. This was done
without giving any thought to the wellbeing of Pakistan and its
priorities.
The Afghan refugees had remained on the soil of Pakistan. Sectarian
and ethnic wars had erupted. A drug culture had taken its hold on the
youth of Pakistan. The economy never really recovered from
the 'reforms' of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and had been going down. These
concerns were cast aside for the rabid hate of India - revenge there
must be.
It seems, Afghanistan and Occupied Kashmir is that noose around
Pakistan which we have tightened ourselves. Instead of launching a
Jihad against poverty, oppression of the poor, cruelty against women
and minorities, ethnic and sectarian hatred, we have fought an
endless war against an external enemy without slaying the enemy
within. The young boys, who would have been turning this country into
a paradise, have instead opted for a hell on earth and a promise of
paradise by God - A promise He never made to people whose priorities
are upside down.
No doubt, an enemy like India cries out for revenge. But the ultimate
revenge would have been a developed Pakistan, a constant reminder to
the Brahman that we were right in ejecting from the united India. As
it seems, all we can do now is just take step back and reflect - it
is perhaps India, which hasn't finished its revenge from us.
