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No soldiers for sale

Srinivas

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No soldiers for sale

It was the early hours of August 14th 2013, and flags fluttered on flagpoles around Pakistan, as soldiers in Army bases prepared their customary gun salutes. It was a holiday and salaried men and schoolchildren took a little longer to awaken, dawdling in their beds as pots of tea began to bubble on stove-tops. It was Pakistan’s 66th birthday and amid the killings of the 60th decade, hopes were modest.
A few hours flight away from Pakistan’s Independence morning, a similarly commemorative dawn rose in Manama, the capital city of Bahrain. Like Pakistan, Bahrain also celebrated its independence from British rule on the 14th of August. It was on that day in 1971 that the United Nations denied the Iranian claim to the island and permitted the Kingdom of Bahrain to establish their own state. On this past Independence Day morning, things were particularly tense. On the days leading up to it, there were rumors that the Opposition to the regime that now calls itself the “Tamarrod” or “rebel” movement would be holding protests. In turn, the statements from Bahrain’s regime were also terse. Not satisfied with rounding up at least 1200 people in the past six months, the Bahraini regime planned an even bigger crackdown come Independence Day.

This is where Pakistan enters the picture of oppression in Bahrain. News of Pakistani soldiers beings shipped to Bahrain first came almost two years ago, when the uprising had only just begun. According to a news report from July 2011, Pakistani soldiers were front and center in the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. According to the report, nearly 2500 Pakistani soldiers, including former army drill instructors, military police and riot police were all supplied following several visits to Islamabad by Bahraini and Saudi officials. Recruited into the Special Forces Units of the Bahraini National Guard, the Pakistani soldiers for hire were put in charge of suppressing the country’s majority Shia protesters against the country’s minority Sunni monarchy.

In the years since 2011, Pakistan has seen a dramatic escalation of violence against its own Shia population. Buses halted by firing squads, bombs outside mosques, entire apartment buildings blown up and professors gunned down are all incidents from Pakistan’s own grotesque tapestry of anti-Shia violence. In the wake of the violence, state complicity in promoting violence against Shias and discrimination against their religious beliefs has been roundly denied. Indeed state officials have pointed to the motley of terrorist groups, from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to Lashkar-e-Taiba and numerous others as responsible for the pogroms. Indeed, the manifestos of the groups openly preach the extermination of Pakistan’s Shia population as a necessary rite of “purifying” the country into their version of Islamic authenticity. This at least is the official narrative. The Pakistani State is not responsible for the violence, does not condone it and tries to prevent it. The Pakistani military has lost thousands of soldiers to fighting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan forces, who are leading the massacres of the country’s Shia.

This August 14, 2013 local sources from Bahrain confirmed that once again foreign military detachments, including Pakistani soldiers were being deployed in Manama to quell Shia led pro-democracy protests that were expected. This news means that even while anti-Shia violence has escalated in Pakistan and the state has repeatedly asserted its opposition to it, no revision of the policy of supplying troops to another country, to put down their Shia population and pro-democracy rebellion has occurred. This continued supply of military forces suggests an incipient hypocrisy. Either it must be believed that Pakistani soldiers are simply thugs for hire who will kill and quell at the behest of any Arab nation that requests such assistance. Or it can be assumed that the killing of Shia Muslims, whether it occurs in Pakistan or in Bahrain, enjoys a wider degree of support than is being overtly acknowledged.

As a democracy whose Constitution endorses equal rights for all citizens regardless of their religious faith, a polity whose own people continue to struggle to establish representative governance; and a military that actually fights those that promote the killing of Shias it makes absolutely no sense to be supplying soldiers for the anti-Shia, anti-democracy oppressions of others. Bahrain and the rest of the Arab World have their own wars to fight; their own roads to democracy to pave, Pakistanis cannot and must not be the obstacles in their path.

No soldiers for sale - DAWN.COM
 
@srivinas - my dear, the point of your post is? am i missing something over here? i do not see the point of making a fuss out of it - its not like Pakistan military is acting like PMC or Mercenaries - because if thats what is than what are you going to call UN PeaceKeeping force, as Pakistan is among the top in UN peace Keeping force, so shall we label them as hired guns too?

and next time you have something to share - atleast make sure its not from a blog, be it wordpress, dawn news or tribune
 
@srivinas - my dear, the point of your post is? am i missing something over here? i do not see the point of making a fuss out of it - its not like Pakistan military is acting like PMC or Mercenaries - because if thats what is than what are you going to call UN PeaceKeeping force, as Pakistan is among the top in UN peace Keeping force, so shall we label them as hired guns too?

and next time you have something to share - atleast make sure its not from a blog, be it wordpress, dawn news or tribune

I posted it from a one of the leading news paper of pakistan Dawn. But I just wanted a discussion, no offence to anyone :cheers:
 
If Pakistani news websites have a visitor counter, i wouldn't be surprised if a big part of the traffic is from across the eastern border.
 
I posted it from a one of the leading news paper of pakistan Dawn. But I just wanted a discussion, no offence to anyone :cheers:

its Dawn news blog - not the printed media , they provide a platform to publish just like wordpress - check again.
I am not denying the fact that pakistan is not fighting in Bahrain - it is part where it says that Military supports and promotes those who suppress Shias, be it homeland or foreign land.
 
@srivinas - my dear, the point of your post is? am i missing something over here? i do not see the point of making a fuss out of it - its not like Pakistan military is acting like PMC or Mercenaries - because if thats what is than what are you going to call UN PeaceKeeping force, as Pakistan is among the top in UN peace Keeping force, so shall we label them as hired guns too?

and next time you have something to share - atleast make sure its not from a blog, be it wordpress, dawn news or tribune
I don't think you understood the concern in the news. You are just reacting emotionally.
You may have heard of these statements before:
'soldiers don't retire once a soldier always a soldier'. 'Every one with a gun is not a soldier, soldiers carry guns because they have responsibility to fulfill.' The point in these messages is that as part of training, the solders are thought what they are fight for, what they should stand for etc.
If these ex soldier are there in Bahrain just because of money then It seems like Pakistan has stopped building solders with moral principles. If these ex soldiers are there in Bahrain they don't know what democracy is. They don't know what citizenship and civil liberties are. Think about it for a second, you media keeps complaining on how US is helping Egyptian Army at the same time ignoring how Pakistani solders keep helping Bahrain in suppressing democracy. Don't you think Pakistan should have soldiers who believe in principles.
 
My dear, i do not react emotionally not even when Soliders are beheaded whether by TTP or Indian Army.
I am definitely aware of the motivation that drives a Solider, be it an American, British or Pakistani.
The first words i heard coming out of a British Solider were - I am fighting for the Queen, the fallen comrades and the Country. The first words I heard coming out of a US Solider were - I am fighting for my family backhome, the freedom, the fallen comrades and The country.
And the words I heard coming out of Pakistani Solider were same - Fighting for the Country & the Religion.

I don't know from where you have heard that in Pakistani Military Money is the driving force. Those deployed in Bahrain are fighting there - not for the money but because they have been ordered to do so.
How much do you think extra money are they making while fighting in Bahrain?
I don't think you understood the concern in the news. You are just reacting emotionally.
You may have heard of these statements before:
'soldiers don't retire once a soldier always a soldier'. 'Every one with a gun is not a soldier, soldiers carry guns because they have responsibility to fulfill.' The point in these messages is that as part of training, the solders are thought what they are fight for, what they should stand for etc.
If these ex soldier are there in Bahrain just because of money then It seems like Pakistan has stopped building solders with moral principles. If these ex soldiers are there in Bahrain they don't know what democracy is. They don't know what citizenship and civil liberties are. Think about it for a second, you media keeps complaining on how US is helping Egyptian Army at the same time ignoring how Pakistani solders keep helping Bahrain in suppressing democracy. Don't you think Pakistan should have soldiers who believe in principles.
 
My dear, i do not react emotionally not even when Soliders are beheaded whether by TTP or Indian Army.
I am definitely aware of the motivation that drives a Solider, be it an American, British or Pakistani.
The first words i heard coming out of a British Solider were - I am fighting for the Queen, the fallen comrades and the Country. The first words I heard coming out of a US Solider were - I am fighting for my family backhome, the freedom, the fallen comrades and The country.
And the words I heard coming out of Pakistani Solider were same - Fighting for the Country & the Religion.

I don't know from where you have heard that in Pakistani Military Money is the driving force. Those deployed in Bahrain are fighting there - not for the money but because they have been ordered to do so.
How much do you think extra money are they making while fighting in Bahrain?

Sorry I didn't know the full story. I didn't think they were on the orders of government, I thought they were not in duty and directly recruited by Bahrain government. Thanks for the information.
If they were on the orders of government, i don't blame the soldiers. But at the same time, there is something that keeps me always wondering.
What makes it acceptable for Pakistan that an ISI chief starts working for different government very next day of his retirement. What makes it acceptable that ex president and Army chief starts living abroad the very next day of his retirement. Please Don't tell me they are doing it in the interest of Pakistan.
Pakistan keeps talking about freedom for Kashmir, how America is dictating Muslim world and at the same time supporting Bahrain government against its people.
 
What makes it acceptable for Pakistan that an ISI chief starts working for different government very next day of his retirement. What makes it acceptable that ex president and Army chief starts living abroad the very next day of his retirement. Please Don't tell me they are doing it in the interest of Pakistan.
Pakistan keeps talking about freedom for Kashmir, how America is dictating Muslim world and at the same time supporting Bahrain government against its people.
i got nothing to say here - you are right, blame the system I guess. What is this not what you call Politics? because a clean passage was given to Musharaf by the same guy who accused him of Murdering his wife? and during is entire tenture, not once they brought him to face trail? don't you find it odd?
Talking about Pasha joining the UAE - well its the brotherly love for Arabs - which is wrong

I will admit here that not every one fighting th
 
Even US and UK ex servicemen work as contractor.. you get a lot of money so whats wrong...
its just a profession.. dont be emotional.
 
Even US and UK ex servicemen work as contractor.. you get a lot of money so whats wrong...
its just a profession.. dont be emotional.

And its all about the Money; honey!
The whole lot are "Guns for hire"; i.e. mercenaries who will kill anybody since the "price is right".
 
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