PakAlp
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Just wanted to share my two cents. Kindly refrain from any disrespectful reply.
1. The current situation is very unfortunate. However, one must remember that our people are a very emotional lot. Discrediting and trying to destroy an institution, which is the only working institution in this country, is not the way to go. Whether or not you agree with my political views, you must agree that it is the only working institution. The army continues to defend the borders, fight insurgencies, put up with the most difficult and demanding situations in the toughest conditions with very little pay. They have never protested in the streets a la the judiciary, teachers, railway workers, doctors etc. They have never stopped working a la the bureaucracy, the judiciary and so forth.
2. IK is a man who has a (huge) bruised ego. Having gone from strength to strength, he refuses to accept that he's been ousted. And right now, the only thing he has on his mind is getting back into that chair, come what may. He cares not for the country and its stability, but for proving himself a victor, for proving himself in the right. His actions, and those of his supporters clearly show this.
3. Notwithstanding the above, even if he does care, his coming back into power won't really make much a difference to the overall prosperity and well being of Pakistan. IK is 70 now? He gets elected for a 5 year term, and by the end he'll be 75? Do you really believe that he'll be able to bring the change in 5 years that he was unable to bring in his first 3.5? Especially after having alienated every single institution and political party in this country? Never in the history of Pakistan has an elected leader been re-elected (short-term/Ghajini memory, but more on that later), but let's say that he does. Let's say he lives till 80. I can tell you one thing for certain. He will not be able to bring about change and reform in the fields of bureaucracy, judiciary, police and education that we most desperately need. Hell, he was unable to even initiate any changes in the aforementioned fields, what to speak of bringing about some fairytale revolution. And let's face it, building langars and community accommodation for the poor, whilst charitable and laudable acts, aren't exactly the solution. We need changes and reforms in the aforementioned fields more than anything else. At the end of his term the bureaucracy was still divided and inefficient, the courts were still backlogged and filled with corrupt individuals, the police were still a band of goons, and the education setup was still in a state of shambles. But, let's say that he is able to initiate changes in these fields. What's going to happen the moment he steps off the throne? The corrupt individuals with vested interests who shall follow him shall immediately reverse those changes and we'll be back to square one. But what will we have achieved? A damaged army. And please mark my words - an army isn't raised overnight. It takes generations, decades, centuries.
4. What IK and his goons have attempted to do is to create a rift in the army. What many fail to realise is that the army is, by its nature, a hierarchical institution, in which orders are taken seriously. Failure to obey is taken seriously. It is not a place where turncoats are taken to kindly. Otherwise, it would've been like the Punjab Police. When you ask the rank and file to rise up against their senior officers then you are trying to create a structural fault line in the army. This may not seem a very serious issue for you. However, please take into consideration the fact that if they rise up and disobey now, tomorrow they'll refuse to obey orders of stand in at their post. Why should they die for the very people pelting stones at them? Why should they widow their wives and orphan their children for those who mock them and hurl abuses at them? I'll tell you why - they obey orders. Case in point, the shuhada of Qilla Saifullah yesterday.
5. Our nation unfortunately has a very short term memory. We seem to forget things very quickly unless they keep ticking on the TV screen against the backdrop of an upbeat tune, with the ticker being read aloud in the most sensationalist manner possible. The very same people pelting stones today, were openly critical of IK's tenure in government a year ago. And they shall be just as critical once he comes into power. These very people have given flowers to our men in uniform. And if we go back a few years, these very people have picketed the funerals of our shuhada. They have refused to offer funeral prayers of the men who died for them. But then, I do not expect much from this nation. Honestly, what hurt me most was the desecration of monuments made to honour our shuhada. Men who gave their lives for their pathetic existence. Men who died for them. Kabhi unki maon say jaakay poochna k kaisa lagta hai apni aulaad ki tasveer ko jaltay dekh kay. You might not understand it. You have never lost a family member, a son, a father, a husband, a brother for a nation which ridicules them, mocks them, burns their photos, desecrated their monuments. I almost wish that they too carry the coffin of their son in uniform, of him being lowered into the ground draped in the flag as The Last Post plays - but then I'd be just as bad as them.
6. Personalities come and go. Institutions stay. Do not destroy the only working institution of this country. IK will go, having accomplished nothing worthwhile, having delivered nothing worthwhile. But please don't let him destroy this institution. Has the army not made mistakes in the past? Yes, it has. It definitely has. The army should not be involved in politics. But this is not the way. This will not happen overnight. This requires time, patience, cooperation, it requires the development of a strong democratic system which is beyond the pettiness of name calling and gainsaying which our pathetic political scene is made of. This is not the way.
There's a lot more I wish to say but I shall leave it. You might disagree with me, and I'll respect that. But do take your time to think deep. Let's stop seeing things in black and white and start seeing them for what they really are: a hideous grey.
Pakistan Zindabad.
PTI needs to reach an agreement with the establishment and then go for new elections. This is the only solution. After IK ouster, he blocked general Bajwa number, he refused to speak to the establishment. Establishment is very diplomatic, they would have sat down and come to an agreement. Look at Nawaz Shareef, they toppled him twice and once he was toppled by the supreme court, his party is in power now. There is always solution to a problem.
The current problem in Pakistan is created by PDM and Nawaz Sharif, IK pressurised the judiciary to hear cases against Nawaz Sharif and they toppled him, he then toppled IK and now not willing to dissolve the assemblies. PDM does have the mandate till October 2023, as long as they have the majority you cannot topple them.
What does PTI want army to do? Topple PDM government? Then PDM will give anti army statements, they are already attacking judiciary for favouring IK.
There is a widespread belief among army officers that Imran Khan's actions and words have resulted in the loss of public trust and admiration for the army. Despite the speculations and rumors on social media, it appears that the army personnel are in complete agreement in their disapproval of Imran Khan. This conclusion is based on my conversations with several serving officers. While some of them do acknowledge the mishandling of the situation by their superiors and generally disapprove of the use of unnecessary force against civilians, none of them believes that Imran Khan is the solution to Pakistan's problems.
Army needs to use their brains and reply to the accusations about them kidnapping people, torturing them, making videos, false cases, and stopping the provisional elections. We need to understand PDM is also powerful and have connections, they are unwilling to hold the elections and want to hold general elections in Oct 2023.
Martial law, military rule is unacceptable. We need to move forward, was just watching this old video of MujeebRehman, he was repeatedly requesting the army to stop shooting protesters, and go back to the barracks, give the mandate to the winning party.