The Debt we owe the Army & PAF

[PurpleButcher]

Financial irregularities of Rs 50 billion detected in PAF

 

[MastanKhan]

Please tell this to MastanKhan who seems to think status quo favours Pakistan!

Hi,

Wait and see---in another 5 to 7 years---you will get your answer.

 

[Judge]

Hi,

Wait and see---in another 5 to 7 years---you will get your answer.

By all means Sir. After 5 years, India will still be posting higher economic growth rates than Pakistan.

You can take any International economic growth rate projection - from IMF to WB.

Remember Sir, that even if Pakistan comes out of the pit it is now in, it will only reduce the rate at which India is leaving Pakistan behind, not the gap itself.

It means the gap between India and Pakistan will be growing at a lesser pace than before, but it will still be growing.

For unless and until Pakistan actually beats India in economic growth rate, the gap is increasing - whether faster or slower, but its increasing.

 

[Green Arrow]

It was a well written article

 

[Gauss]

The debt we owe the army and PAF
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Islamabad diary

Amidst fierce fighting three more of our soldiers died on Sunday in a remote spot close to the Afghan border in North Waziristan. This was another reminder, if any were needed, of the grimness of the conflict raging there and of the sacrifices of our troops since the start of the present military operation in June this year.

It is only because our troops are there, keeping the heat on the Taliban and other militant outfits – Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s group having claimed responsibility for the latest assault – that terrorist incidents have gone down markedly in the rest of the country. Since June we can count the major incidents on our fingers, a far cry from the virtually free run militant outfits had prior to the operation. The nation’s leading flavour then was appeasement and a mood not far removed from defeatism. That climate of confusion, generated mostly by the political class and the political leadership, at least stands dissipated.

We have no shortage of other problems – loadshedding, inflation, government incompetence, etc, but one thing is unmistakable: on the security front the national mood is more relaxed only because the army, with critical help from the air force, is engaged on the western marches. We can write our op-eds, hold forth in TV talk-shows, read about fashion shows and watch Hoorum Sultan and other soaps on television, travel on the Motorway and take in the sights of Lahore and other cities, and when the fancy takes us perform as armchair Samurai, only because of this operation.

When the army had not yet made up its mind and the political leadership was not giving it a lead, the advantage lay with the militant forces which had declared war on Pakistan. Unmolested in their Fata rear bases they had the freedom to strike at targets across the country. That ability has not been eliminated but it has been curbed…which is why the threat of terrorism has receded. Who knows this may change tomorrow. Something dramatic can happen all of a sudden. But as of now this threat is not so much on our minds as it used to be. For this we have to salute our men, and the sprinkling of women, in the armed forces.

Our tribal areas had become Iraq and Syria much before the current turmoil in those countries. We were here first; they have arrived at this position later. Our Taliban were no less fearsome or an object of terror than Daish or the Islamic State. Daish has earned notoriety now for beheading opponents. Our Taliban were experts in this art much before. The world’s leading university of suicide bombers was to be found in our tribal areas.

But if Pakistan hasn’t become Iraq and Syria, if the country is holding together, if the forces of militancy are on the defensive, if cracks have appeared in their ranks, if Mullah Fazlullah is no longer the undisputed leader of the Taliban, if various militant leaders (like Fazlullah himself and Mangal Bagh) have increasingly to look for safe havens across the Afghan border, it is not because of the sun, the moon or the stars. It is because of one factor alone: the Pakistan military. Take away the military from this equation and Pakistan at once verges on the brink of becoming another Iraq and Syria.

Afghanistan once upon a time was a peaceful country, an oasis of calm and a haven of stability. War and internecine conflict have destroyed that country. Iraq and Syria were stable countries, as close to being secular as it is possible for any Muslim country to be. The rulers of these countries ruled with an iron hand, not tolerating the slightest dissent. But to a large extent the material needs of the people were addressed and minorities felt safe. American-led wars and American-inspired turmoil have dislocated those countries, leading to the kind of suffering that it is difficult for us Pakistanis to imagine. American and Nato-inspired actions have brought ruin to Libya. The west is very concerned about Russian intervention in Ukraine. It seems to forget western intervention in the Middle East.

The original impetus for sustaining a strong military was India. Memories of Partition, especially the bloodletting in Punjab, and the unresolved conflict with India over Kashmir, conspired to make ‘national security’ the defining characteristic of our state. Pakistan has come a long way from that earlier frame of mind. Other challenges loom large on the horizon. When a daily bus service operated between Peshawar and Kabul, the ticket just 30 rupees, who could have imagined that a time would come when Afghanistan would be laid waste and the Pakistan Army would be engaged in a protracted conflict not in the east but the west, that too against indigenous militias?

The army under different leaderships committed its share of mistakes. If only we had not plunged into the morass of the first Afghan ‘jihad’ we might have saved ourselves many complications. But the past is the past and those who, for better or worse, took those decisions are no longer on the scene. The army under the pressure of circumstances, under the burden of the new challenges it faces, has had to reorient itself, in the process redefining its mission. That it has been able to show strategic flexibility – turning its attention to the west without losing sight of the continuing challenge from the east – is a sign both of its resilience and of a new-found maturity of outlook.

A lesser military would have cracked under the strain. The army – with the air force close behind – has risen to the challenge. When so much of Pakistan, so many of its institutions do not work, or don’t work the way they should, when in our bad moments we decry the condition of this and that, it is some consolation to realise that at least some department of national life is performing well. (Although I can’t help adding that if the military could be weaned away from its fascination with real estate it would be all to the good.)

So there is something to think over. If the armed forces are doing their duty by us, don’t we have a duty towards them? Shouldn’t the rest of us be under an obligation to reduce the sum of national confusion and fix the things that can be fixed, without creating unnecessary problems? Shouldn’t our development priorities be different? Can’t leaders give a slightly better account of themselves?

Competence is not something to be plucked from the trees and corruption is not to be eliminated by sermons. But can’t a sincere effort be made to improve law and order, see that courts work better and deliver better justice? What prevents local elections from being held? Why must we keep making a tamasha of the blasphemy law? Why must poor Christian families be persecuted in the name of the faith? Which eye of the cobra prevents us from banning the plastic shopper?

A feature of the new army is that it doesn’t go about huffing and puffing its chest all the time. Even as it holds the line and prevents Pakistan from becoming Iraq and Syria, it remains a modest army – which is as it should be. And, mercifully, we no longer hear the refrain from the army’s lips that Pakistan is a Fortress of Islam. But if the army can change itself, why must the rest of our institutions remain stuck in their old grooves? Will change never come to politics, to the judiciary, to the way we conduct our administrative affairs?

The imbalance we currently see between military and political/civil performance is not to be corrected by oratory alone, or by solemn dissertations on the constitution. The army sets the terms of national discourse not only because it has the tanks and the divisions but because the political class and the Brahmins are not up to the mark. Then they whine about military dominance.

Badly written. Whenever army fights, its only the people of the country fighting for themselves. Army doesnt come from outer space to do a favor to Pakistanis. Its Pakistanis doing a favor to themselves. The common soldier is the common man. Nothing more nothing less.
Whenever anti-war protests are held in USA and other countries, they chant the slogans like "Bring our boys back". They dont say "Bring our army back". Because those fighting the war have come from right among them.
Similarly those fighting the Taliban and giving their lives are the common Pakistani men you see everywhere.
Armies dont fight wars, nations fight wars. Its common knowledge among nations that know how to fight a war. But those nations that are incapable at war making dont know this truth.

 

[monitor]

What Pakistan army is doing is a job they are suppose to do why do we keep Army to just perform military show in special national days .Pakistani people must be grateful to their army as they are doing their job well not any extra duties .

 

[third eye]

Hi,

Wait and see---in another 5 to 7 years---you will get your answer.

Unless its a state secret for the sake of discussion/ education can you explain how status quo shall help Pakistan.

 

[SQ8]

Why would China's energy need to transit through Pakistan, Sir? It has its own direct access to Central Asia.

Apparently huzoor the upcoming economic corridor + the pipeline will cost less(vis a vis existing and new infrastructure) for transit of natural gas compared to a new pipeline from central asia going into China. I dont know the exact intracacies of it, but this comes from a guy who at one end was talking about the doom of Pakistan and the futile fight against extremism and at the other end about how these deals which have been inked with the Balochistan government(of which he is a senior member) bring these benefits. Again, as I said.. even the sceptical figure of profit just via India is enticing enough.

 

[Donatello]

Why would China's energy need to transit through Pakistan, Sir? It has its own direct access to Central Asia.

Because China plans for the next 30 years. Currently the China border region with Pakistan and India is piss poor and underdeveloped. Only the eastern seaboard area is developed and some inland cities like Chengdu, Harbin etc. The next economic upheaval will come from the mainland. Farms will be converted into cities and factories. in order to feed the energy and trade demands, it would be cheaper to build a link via Pakistan than come all the way from China sea, which is currently a power keg waiting to explode. You are right, China can get direct access from Russia/Central Asia to it's west, but an energy corridor through Pakistan gives it the benefit to take on that abundant middle east gas and oil....(Maybe Iran as well? because not body can stop China from dealing with Iran)....plus a trade link to northern Africa and beyond. Ships sailing from eastern China via China sea and through straits of Malacca take much longer than if trade came via road through Pakistan, got dumped in Gwader (for example) and then onwards to Africa.
Africa is the next mining source for all sorts of minerals that are important for China....iron....aluminium.....copper...rare earths (Afghanistan and Balochistan have those).....magnesium....manganese etc.

This is why you see a hurriedly drawn up Indian Central Asia policy.....the problem is......Pakistan sits right at the center.....China being a natural ally....gets the benefit.

A stable and secure Pakistan is in the interests of two major growing world economies.................Pakistan itself might be shyt...but the land it inhabits has been at the cross roads of civilization for as far as you can go.

 

[VCheng]

Apparently huzoor the upcoming economic corridor + the pipeline will cost less(vis a vis existing and new infrastructure) for transit of natural gas compared to a new pipeline from central asia going into China. I dont know the exact intracacies of it, but this comes from a guy who at one end was talking about the doom of Pakistan and the futile fight against extremism and at the other end about how these deals which have been inked with the Balochistan government(of which he is a senior member) bring these benefits. Again, as I said.. even the sceptical figure of profit just via India is enticing enough.

Such an economic advantage going through Pakistan for energy transit would be highly unlikely, but it would be interesting to see how that case is being claimed. Any feasibility data?

 

[VCheng]

You are right, China can get direct access from Russia/Central Asia to it's west, but an energy corridor through Pakistan gives it the benefit to take on that abundant middle east gas and oil.

Simply put, the economic case for transiting energy (and other materials as you mention) through Pakistan is not favorable at all for China.

 

[Donatello]

Simply put, the economic case for transiting energy (and other materials as you mention) through Pakistan is not favorable at all for China.

You quoted me out of context. No, i am sorry but your conclusion is naive and flawed and my post was meant to address precisely that.

China is planning ahead.........so for their future trade corridors Pakistan holds immense promise.

 

[VCheng]

You quoted me out of context. No, i am sorry but your conclusion is naive and flawed and my post was meant to address precisely that.

China is planning ahead.........so for their future trade corridors Pakistan holds immense promise.

I will agree that China is planning far ahead, but none of those plans will hold in the face of economic realities. The corridor to Pakistan will be important for bilateral trade, I agree, but it will not be the focal point of Chinese trade, ever, for many reasons, and certainly not to the point to which it is being hyped.

 

[SQ8]

Such an economic advantage going through Pakistan for energy transit would be highly unlikely, but it would be interesting to see how that case is being claimed. Any feasibility data?

Feasibility data was not discussed over these

 

[VCheng]

Feasibility data was not discussed over these
View attachment 154954

Flying blind on a hope and a prayer, in inimitable Pakistani isshtyle!

The Chinese will always look at the hard economic case before doing anything, no matter how long term their planning.