Chrisitne Fair in her just released book
Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War, says that Pakistani's and Pakistani Military's
definition of win and defeat is very much
different from rest of the world. Ms.Fair says "Pakistan's revisionism persists in regards to its efforts not only to undermine the territorial status-quo in Kashmir but also to undermine India's position in the region and beyond. Pakistan will suffer any number of military defeats in its efforts to do so, but it will not acquiesce to India. This, for the Pakistan Army, is genuine and total defeat". In short, Pakistani's view themselves as being successful as long they are a pain in the rear to India, even when their own rear is being ripped apart. Majority of the posts by Pakistani's, on this issue on this forum, is consistent
with this view..
Interesting.
Pakistan's military core does look at things in a different manner probably. Take for example Afghan war.
Any other nation would have 'surrendered' to the Soviet Union, entered the 'Soviet bloc', and would have enjoyed the benefits. Afghanistan got run over by soviets? who cares? Each nation protect its own interests, isn't it?
Pakistan's involvement in Afghan war brought millions of refugees, Islamic extremism, and drug wars to Pakistani cities and we haven't recovered since.
But here's another way of looking at it.
Pakistan took the initiative and confronted the Soviet might in the mountain lands of Afghanistan (later U.S and Arabs joined in with their help, funding, weapons etc)... The war proved a critical nail in Soviet's coffin and communism fell...Guess what happen?
And after fall of Soviet ...Islam further gain
4,000,000 sq km territory and
whole Central Asia also became "Muslim-Majority" , Mashallah... Tens of millions of Muslims were free from communist persecution. Thousands of mosques were opened
inside Russian mainland, let alone in wider Central Asia. Global Islamic Civilisation extended even further globally and established itself in all corners of planet Earth. So much so that Islamic Civilisation established itself in the heartlands of West..with
tens of millions Islamic people establishing thousands of thriving communities all across West with their own unique culture, religion, and identity.
In this regard, Pakistan played its role of being an "Islamic state"..It sacrificed some of its interests for the interest of wider, global Islamic World and Islamic peoples..It is a state different from normal interest-based nation-states. We took punches for sure..we brought devastation in our own land..but the 'gain' was way larger, way more
global and
permanent in nature (Inshallah!)...What we did and what followed was of
historical value. Yeah, the 'benefits' weren't for Pakistanis specifically..but then again, Pakistan see itself not only as "Pakistan" but also a part of wider, global civilisation/world linked-together by Islamic Civilizational-cultural-social force and reality.
So Pakistan Military, being an ideological military as your book claims, play by a completely different rules. It goes for something bigger than itself. To most people, its decisions look irrational..but it doesn't go by the accepted 'rationale' to begin with. Probably because Pakistan isn't a normal state like others..and that is why is a pain in the *** of everyone since nobody can understand/predict Pakistan and its psychological frame-work.
Israel is kinda similar. Unpredictable and pain in the ***. And its military is also an ideological military....
