Xeric,
Hardly a time to be facetious.
Non serious questions requires non serious answer.
Ok, coming towards the serious question;
The core issue is not what Feisal H Naqvi (or somebody else) thinks or says on this subject. Though it will be absurd to dismiss his views out of hand.
The core issues are:
1. Are there some social issues that are seriously affecting Pakistani Society at large?
2. If these issues are allowed to percolate/permeate into the ranks of the Pakistani Military; will it affect the organisation as a whole?
3. Have any of these issues already percolated/permeated in to the Pakistani Military Establishment (now or earlier), or is there an effective "firewall" in place to ensure that is not the case (now or earlier)?
4. If this percolation/permeation has already ocurred, can it be identified definitively and completely; or is it invisible or latent?
5. If this permeation/percolation is identifiable; is there an effective mechanism in place to deal decisively with it and eradicate it in the longer term while controlling it in the shorter term?
Those questions are vital to the efficiency and finally the existence of the Military Establishment itself. Think through them.
The Politicos be damned, Pakistan's Military Estt. will have to grapple with the issues that concern it. Nothing can be farmed out to anybody else in this regard.
Capt, i will request you not no extrapolate, exaggerate or create issues out the thin air.
Naqvi's article is simple. It just revolves around two points;
1) Why dont the military do anything about sectarianism.
2) What if the current wave of sectarianism affects those serving the military (just because the military has shias in it- though this is stupid as it gets, because instead of praising the military that it has men and women from every walk of life and it represents the true Pakistan and that it is the only institution in Pakistan where everyone gets equal opportunity and representation without any reference to color or creed, he still have the irk to make an issue out of this point too, bl00dy mongers)
So there's no need for stretching this lucid issue into the barracks and then automatically imply that the issue is and or will affect those living there and thus your 'percolation/permeation' is just and exaggeration.
So, without getting into the details of the first point as already much has been said on it, i will only reiterate that the Army should not jump into another mess which falls within the domains of the civilian govt. The govt should and must take measures to tackle the problem through its own civilian departments like the Police etc. And then if the situation still goes out of hand only then it should ask the military to intervene.
As this is the normal sequence of actions in any civilized country. The Army already is facing too much shyt because of the decision of one dictator. He went into Balochistan and you have seen where we stand there now. Even when there is no military operation going on there, still many members from your country alone like to make it their raison d'etre to exist here on PDF by flasefying the facts.
Also, as just yesterday CM Shahbaz announced that he wants to induct
4,000 retired soldiers into Police to fight crime, many Pakistanis have already shown their reservations about it.
i myself too, despite being in the uniform oppose such an action. Why should we take all the credit bhai? Why cant the Police mend itself instead and get onto that level where it can do what it is paid for? Shortage of funds is what many site as a reason for Police's incompetence (despite the fact that they have done wonders against terrorism), but what they forget is that Police do have sufficient funds to improve itself, it's only the lethargic bureaucracy that is not willing to improve itself.
Only yesterday i was talking to one of the DPOs about some threat in our area and wanted to warn him verbally about it before the intelligence report reaches him in writing. Can you facking imagine his response; he just told me plainly that as he was on leave so i should tell this to the other SP who has taken charge in his place. This is despite the fact that i was senior to him in ranks!
i mean ofcourse the dude was on leave and he is not supposed to take any action while he is at his home, but damn it atleast one should pay some heed to the urgency of the situation. It was an intelligence report which i was sharing with him, not some issue where someones got his goat stolen. He and i both knew that the report would finally reach the concerned quarters through the mail channels but let's say if had i been in his place and had he been the one giving me the info, i despite being on leave would have listened to the report, one for my own info as i myself can be in danger for being in uniform, and two as it would ultimately be myself (being the boss/DPO) who has to do something about the report once i get back from leave. So the early i am informed about it the better, no?
So that's the actual problem of Pakistan. The civilian dont do it, and then expect someone from the outside to do it for them. No sir, no can do it this time.
So i went off topic, lets come over to my/Naqvi's second point (What if the current wave of sectarianism affects those serving the military).
Well, there were talks when we were hit by talibnization to what if we had sympathizers inside the military. So, we have seen where this has gone so far. No real proofs and nothing really happened as there was no worthwhile penetration inside the military. And those very few (cant even count them on my two fingers) were found and dealt with.
So my question is, if this extremism couldnt affect the military despite the fact that it has been around (we are fighting it) since a decade, how can you or Nqavi assume that this sectarianism will act as a catalyst to something even worse then what extremism could have done to the military?
The immunization of Pak military to such BS is just another proof of our military's strong professional ideology and a professional approach by the Army.
So despite the fact that the military has officers and men from all walks of life to include the rich, the poor, the Muslims and non Muslims and further the shias, sunni, wahabis, beraylavis and what all and what not, this doesnt automatically imply that if someone related to this outside the military would get hurt, those in the military would automatically react at their own and we would then have a mutiny at our hands. That's just stupid to say the least.
Had that been the case, the officers belonging to the poor class should have disobeyed those with richer backgrounds when fuel prices are raised everyday in Pakistan.
P.S. BTW, after watching the kind of response to this lame article, i am forced to wonder that this can be the next attempt by those special kind who would never leave a stone unturned to malign the military. After their attempt to accuse the military to sympathize with some terrorists failed as an external manuevure, now they probably have turned towards the home ground to screw the military one more time by trying to reach military's raw nerve which they perceive to exist, but it dont!
The only thing i am going to say these dudes is that they are going get faceplamed one more time as they were when they tried to to it previously.
P.P.S. Why is it that the writer thinks that it would only be the Army that can be affected with the killings of shia, why not the ordinary Pakistani, the bureaucracy, the Police and the private sector?
