Letter from Rashid Minhas to his younger brothers
Few people are aware of the real force and brains behind the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan in the 80s.
General Akhtar Abdur Rahman, former Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (1979 to 1987), is rightfully accredited with master-minding the Afghan Jihad against former superpower the Soviet Union. It was his lethal combination of power, intelligence, and foresight that made him the true architect of Soviet defeat and it’s withdrawal inevitable. The general’s unwavering support for the Afghan mujahideen, fueled by Saudi and American financial assistance managed to force out the Soviets from Afghanistan, eventually leading to irrepairable fissures within the Union and it’s long awaited fall, all the while keeping CIA infiltration and influence at bay.
During the tenure of General Akhtar Abdur Rahman, ISI nurtured mujahideen in madrassas (religious seminaries ) along Pakistan’s tribal belt. The Pakistani army generals were put in charge of training these guerilla fighters, instilling in them the required skills to devise military strategies and defend their their homeland from the Soviets. In the mid 80s, ISI was not only supplying logistical support but had sent Pakistani soldiers to fight alongside the mujahideen, in guerilla garb. Some reports also say that in 1986 the ISI sent atleast three attack squads into former Soviet lands comprising of around 20 Pakistan army soldiers, to destroy arms dumps and convoys headed for Afghanistan. The Americans, upon finding out, beseeched General Zia to stop their incursion into Soviet territory as it could trigger an all-out conflict between the Americans and the Soviets, who were suspecting these raids as by-product of American incitement.
The ISI’s successful military operation against Soviet aggression did not go unacknowledged. General Rtd Hamid Gul, who was appointed the next Director General of ISI in the wake of General Akhtar Abdul Rahman’s assasination in 1989, was sent a piece of the Berlin Wall with a plaque honouring ‘those who struck the first blow’.
Fast forward to the year 2012, Afghanistan is once again under occupation, and eleven years since the US occupation began, remains unconquerable. And if American allegations are to be believed, ISI’s outgoing Director General Ahmad Shuja Pasha (recently named in the ‘TIME Magazine 100 Most Influential people’ list) has for the last four years followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, General Akhtar Abdur Rehman.
Today, on the day of his retirement, Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha stands accused of harboring, training, and arming the mujahideen fighting the occupying US forces in Afghanistan during his four year tenure. Western media, analysts and military officials are increasing the pressure on Pakistan, pinning the blame of American and NATO failure on ISI. Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency is described in the media as a state within a state, running its own policy in Afghanistan, contrary to the US-sponspored ‘democratic’ government’s subservient doctrine. Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha is to Americans what Gen. Akhtar Abdul Rahman was to the Soviets. The grand puppet-master, calling the shots and directing attacks on the occupying forces and slowly but surely griding their hopes of domination in this key region, into the dusty plains of Afghanistan.
Admiral Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the US Joints Chiefs of Staff, told the US Senate Armed Services Committee last year that he believes the Afghan mujahideen to be a ‘veritable arm’ of the ISI. He also alleged that the ISI planned and conducted various attacks on US forces inside Afghanistan, including the September 14th assault on the US Embassy in Kabul.
Other high-profile attacks accredited to the ISI and the Pakistani military include last year’s assault on the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, as well as the Indian Embassy blast in Kabul in 2009.
One of the victims of an attack on the Indian Embassy in 2009 was the Indian Defence Attache, Brigadier R. D. Mehta, whose list of ‘credentials’ include heading the Indian Army’s notoriously brutal Intelligence wing for Jammu and Kashmir – responsible for thousands of enforced disappearances and extra judicial murders of innocent Kashmiris in the last two decades. His presence in Afghanistan, assisting with training the Afghan National Army, illustrated India’s influence in Afghanistan;s government and military circles. If there is truth in American allegations, then it is this particular incident which is of more significance than others.
Pakistan was one of the three countries who recognized the government of Taliban as legitimate, the others being Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The ISI had supported Taliban’s takeover of Kabul from the Indian sponsored Ahmad Shah Massoud and his Northern Alliance a few years earlier. According to Pakistan’s then-dictator Pervez Musharraf, all it took was a phonecall from the then US secretary of State Colin Powell for this relationship to come crashing down shortly after 9/11. Musharraf neither matched his predecessors in intelligence nor in loyalty, and eventually caved under American pressure, agreeing on assisting the US occupy and overthrow the Taliban government. In view of intense US and international pressure, Pakistan’s foreign policy made a complete u-turn concerning ‘former’ ally, the Taliban.
In the months and years to follow, the Pakistani military planners watched in horror as the US stubbornly displayed its utter disregard for its supposed ‘front line ally’s national security interests by supporting the Indian / Iranian-backed Northern Alliance for leading the new Afghan interm government, which later got itself ‘elected’ for more terms and continues to hold office ten years since the occupation began. The past decade under Karzai’s government has seen a long list of unending atrocities and blows to Pakistan’s security – including infestation of Pakistan with spies and undercover agents, bribing and buying out top shelf news media and talk show anchors and media houses in order to promote US agendas in Pakistan, drone strikes and air assaults killing hundreds of civilians and Pakistan army soldiers, thousands of civilians and military deaths in violence and terror attacks – just a few examples of American treachery that come to mind.
As the blood-soaked years dragged on, Pakistan’s worst fears had come true as Afghan territory was now being used to launch a ruthless and bloody terror campaign in Pakistan’s major cities. Weapons and funds flowed in from Afghanistan while terrorists struck with impunity in Pakistan, attacking busy markets, mosques, and military bases. Another Baloch ‘insurgency’ (originally initiated in the 1970s by the Soviets using Indian covert agents and long dead since the Soviet pullout) was revived under CIA’s umbrella. Pakistan’s requests to the CIA of putting a leash on Indian agencies active in Afghanistan kept falling on deaf ears, and continue to do so.
Americans allege that it was around 2005-06, during the reign of General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani as the ISI Chief (now COAS) when they first started recieving intelligence reports implicating the ISI in attacks on American and Indian interests in Afghanistan. Kayani, after being promoted to the COAS role in October 2007, appointed Ahmad Shuja Pasha as his ISI Chief. If American accusations are to be lent any credibility, then this duo has not only revived covert Pakistani support for Afghan resistance, but has also caused billions of dollars in economic damage to the US and undone years of hard intelligence networking by curtailing CIA’s influence and sending back hundreds of US contractors and covert agents in the last year and a half. Any such action from Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies – if the allegations were true – would be justified by what an overwhelming majority of Pakistan’s citizens see as treachery and backstabbing by the Americans by allowing India – which does not share a border with landlocked Afghanistan – a slice of the Afghan pie.
If the mutual mistrust and covert action on both sides of the border wasn’t enough, the situation was further complicated by a number of events last year, including the arrest (and later release) of a US army contractor – found with a phone book full of numbers of known terrorists and their cohorts and a camera containing photos of sensitive military installations in Pakistan. Then there was ofcourse the May 2nd raid by American forces on a house in Abbotabad using stealth helicopters which apparently took out Osama Bin Laden, and finally the unprovoked attack on a Pakistan military outpost in Salala, near the Afghan border, in which 24 Pakistani soldiers embraced Shahadat after coming under fire from a US helicopter.
These incidents, while they aggravated public opinion in Pakistan even more against the US occupation of Afghanistan, also provided a golden opportunity to Shuja Pasha to further curtail CIA’s tentacles in Pakistan. All non-essential CIA staff and defence contractors have been sent packing. Information gleaned by CIA contractor Raymond Davis enabled Pakistan to make hundreds of arrests and shut down CIA’s local information and covert action cells. And after the November 26th attack on Salala post least year, Pakistan army took another significant step towards formally end the partnership with the US occupation, by shutting down the land route from its port in Karachi, which was used to deliver thousands of containers daily to the US forces in Afghanistan.
All of this after Pakistan army, under the leadership of Kayani and guidance of Pasha has already broken the back of the terrorists on its soil in recent years, freeing up large swathes of territory in the tribal badlands and in Swat where the terrorists had established their mini fiefdoms.
There are many reasons why Pasha is said to have been one of CIA’s most hated men, chief among them being that it was during his tenure when relations between Pakistan and US soured and mistrust on both sides eventually led to further deterioration. It was also under his tenure that CIA’s networks of informants and covert agents were unravelled and a number of key CIA assets (if not all) were neutralized. It was in a meeting with the then CIA Director Leon Panetta after the raid on Abbotabad last year, when Pasha is said to have brushed off his counterpart’s threatening tone by retorting that his ‘Boss is Allah, not America’. The sigh of relief brought on by Pasha’s retirement can be heard from Langley right through to Delhi.
As Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha steps down from his post today, it is fair to ponder if there is truth in the American allegations of the ISI’s role. Because if they are true, and if Pasha and Kayani have been giving the Americans a bloody nose in return for what Pakistanis see as backstabbing by the Americans, if Shuja Pasha has indeed followed in ISI tradition of bringing down superpowers by giving the US another Vietnam, and if his planning, intelligence and audacity has brought the US military might close to annihiliation in the unforgiving terrain of Afghanistan, then there will be millions of Pakistanis who will always view this man as a Hero. Alongside General Akhtar Abdul Rahman.
Company Bagh, Rawal Pindi. 16 October 1951
The Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan had come on dice to deliver his speech. He started his speech and had only said,” Biradraan e Islam”, a man wearing shalwar kameez and turban on his head got up from the audience and fired twice with his 0.38 revolver on the P.M. The P.M received these two shots on chest and fell down. That man was “Saad Akbar Khan”. He was killed by the police at the spot.
When this was all happening, a young boy of 13 was sitting beside the assassin. When the shots were fired, every one got afraid and started rushing towards the gate. But that boy didn’t run ad started telling everyone that he has seen the murderer many times at this place.
When the case was put in the court, that boy was also one of the witnesses against the assassin. Every day the police van came to his school and took him to the court, for hearing. All the family members of that boy were worried as he was just a child who could be harmed by any other assailant. While that boy was neither nervous nor perturbed but was happy as he is serving for his country.
Does any one know who that boy was?
Flying Officer Mukhtar Ahmed Dogar
PAF's first recipient of 'Sitara-e-Jurat'
Flying Officer Mukhtar Ahmed Dogar, operating a defenceless Dakota in the valleys of Kashmir was attacked by two Indian Air Force (IAF) Tempest fighter aircraft and ordered to surrender and land at Srinagar. Though unarmed and unable to retaliate, the undaunted pilot refused to capitulate.
His story in his own words : "I took off in the early morning of 4 November, 1948. The weather was fine and our spirits were high. Winding my way through the now familiar Indus valley, I para-dropped my load over a sandy bed near Skardu. Pleased with yet another successful mission, I had given the controls over to Flying Officer Jagjivan on the way back so that I could relax a little. We were somewhere over Chilas when we sighted 2 Tempests above us and I first took them for our own aircraft. In the drop area I had had no visual warning from our army posts about the presence of enemy aircraft and our own Tempests did occasionally sneak over to cavort in the bracing neighbourhood of Nanga Parbat. It was only when these fighters came close that I discovered their true identity and quickly took over the controls; the Indians seemed to grudge me the momentary relaxation which I thought I had earned. The valley at Chilas is about 4 to 5 miles wide permitting easy manoeuvring of an aircraft, and I weaved along in the direction of Risalpur. On the radio the Tempests ordered me to go to the nearest Indian airfield but I took no notice of this. The order was repeated three times but I did not respond. At this point the Indians threatened to shoot me down if I did not comply, and they fired a free burst to show that they were armed. I pressed on regardless, at full throttle, my main concern being to get to the narrow portion of the valley as quickly as possible. The Army personnel on board were feeling rather queasy by now with all my evasive manoeuvring and, ignorant of the situation outside, requested me to ease off; they appeared to be under the impression that I was trying to impress them with my skill! A fateful realisation came over them when they learnt that I was fighting not only for my own life but for theirs too, and they quickly returned to their seats. Flying Officer Jagjivan and Naik Mohammad Din, however, stood watching from the open doorway of the aircraft, blissfully unaware of what was to come to them a minute later.
You'll Never Get Me!
At this time, one of the Indians broke off, gained a little height and came in to attack. He obviously meant business now and fired a full burst of 20mm at us, fatally wounding Naik Mohammad Din and knocking Jagjivan unconscious with a profusely bleeding arm. By now, I had got to the narrow neck of the valley and had asked Air Signaller Mohsin to stand up in the astrohatch and kick me every time he saw the fighters coming in for a kill. Thrice I was kicked and thrice, with quick half throttle, full flaps and left rudder I successfully eluded death. I had come down to deck level now, scraping almost along the river's surface but well out of the fighters' reach. A feeling of relative security sometimes inspires defiant talk and I found myself calling out to the Indians: if you haven't got me so far you will never get me! They seemed to agree and pushed off.
The encounter had lasted twenty to twenty five minutes. Earlier, when the Indian pilots had asked me to go to the nearest Indian airfield they had felt too sure of having air-arrested me. But for me it was a question not only of 'to be or not to be' but also one of Pakistan's prestige. Looking back I can only say that we were lucky, unarmed as we were, to reach home base at all."
Those Who Curse The Pakistan Army, Think Twice!
By: Humaira Naz
Manager Operations
PKKH
“Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued”.
Yusuf Ali translation of Quran: Surah At Tawbah, Verse 29
One of the questions I frequently come across in social gatherings is that, in the tribal region of Pakistan Muslims are fighting against Muslims; so who is then martyred? “It is the Pakistan Army which is martyred because the Tehreek-e-Taliban is a mercenary force. They are funded by the enemy (Americans, Zionists and Indians) to destroy the Pakistan Army and Pakistan; they would do the same services for whoever funds them”, said a fearless young man Lt. Irtaza Abbas only some days before he sacrificed his life while protecting the sacred homeland of Pakistan. I will trust no one else’s opinion but this young hero of Islam, Pakistan and our family because he proved this claim with his life; who else’s words can be more pure?
Born in the year 1987, Irtaza Abbas nicknamed Razi was a fearless young boy with a strong passion to serve his country by joining the Pakistan Army. Raised by a middle-class family with loving parents, he was the youngest and most beloved sibling amongst four sisters and two brothers
When all of us were planning to become doctors or engineers, Irtaza who was much younger than us had something much bigger on his mind. He wanted to set out on the path of Hazrat Ali (RA), Hazrat Imam Hussain(RA), Hazrat Hamza (RA) and Salahuddin Ayubi (RA). Irtaza tried his best to join the Pakistan Air Force, but due to a minor medical complication he failed. This set back did not stop him from his most treasured desire and right after treatment he qualified to join the Pakistan Army.
From what I gather, the elders and everyone else advised Irtaza to opt a different career; in fact anything other than the Pakistan Army which did not involve danger. Realizing their genuine concern, Irtaza would just smile and explain to them how this is the job meant for him and nothing else. Despite all the pressure, he followed his strong passion and desire and after several attempts he eventually did join the Pakistan Army.
Irtaza recalled from his duty and told his aunt that when we are guarding the Nation from top of the mountain in blind darkness and cold, Allah feels really close to the heart. One cannot imagine the height of faith and courage at such a time. Irteza used to say, “My soul desires shahadat”. When sisters would ask him, “Razi, are you not scared of operating a tank”, he would say, “No baji, really it is nothing to be scared of. You just get in the tank, target the enemy, fire and close your ears”. We asked him, “Bhai, have you ever killed anyone in real?” he said, “Yes, I kill terrorists every day”. He always made it sound so simple and natural as if facing danger and fighting for Allah, His Prophet (PBUH) and Pakistan is a natural phenomenon.
Now with his career finally starting off, his family was planning to get him married and settled. Just then, we got the NEWS on 17 Dec 2011 that Lt. Irtaza has done something much bigger than our expectations. Our dearly beloved youngest brother, had given his life in the way of Allah while protecting his homeland Pakistan.
The NEWS came as a shock of pain and pride at the same time; it was hard to decide whether we should cry or thank Allah for the respect he has given us. So, we did what Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has taught us in the following Hadith: ‘Our eyes are filled with tears, our hearts with grief, but we say nothing with our lips except that which pleases Allah…. Verily, to Allah we belong, and to Him we return.’ (Bukhaari)
As Lt. Irtaza recited “Muhammad kay ghulamon ka kafan mela nahi hota”, translated that the shroud of the slaves of Muhammad (PBUH) does not catch the soil from grave, Razi left us for his true destiny; the journey of the hereafter and with the highest honor. Lt. Irtaza embraced Shahadat in an operation against the Taliban suicide bombers in Kurram Agency when he was leading a group of four soldiers..
Twenty three years of a so called ordinary life with an extra-ordinary ending is what became Lt. Irtaza Abbas’s earned destiny; a destiny which the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself desired.
His colleagues told us on the funeral that Irtaza would always be the first to volunteer for dangerous missions. In fact, he had done more dangerous missions than the one that took his life. His seniors said that his replacement would require at least a dozen soldiers, showing how dedicated and courageous our Lt. Irtaza actually was. Irtaza served the Pakistan Army for two years, and gave his life fighting for Pakistan.
At such a young age, he was upfront danger day and night while protecting our sacred homeland so that his Pakistani brothers, sisters and children sleep peacefully at night. Army Soldiers are more than just a fancy uniform and badges. They are extra-ordinary humans with families and loved ones closely attached to them; families who are willing to sacrifice their own loved ones for us Pakistanis. Imagine how these soldiers and their wounded families would feel when these brothers, sisters and children curse the Pakistan Army?
When Irtaza could have been getting married, making money, partying and having the time of his life he was surviving on water and pulses while doing a Lion’s job day and night. He left behind a proud Mother and Father in tears who kept thanking Allah for giving their son Shahadat; An elder brother and loving sisters who will always miss their “little brother”, a brother who earned them eternal respect with his blood. Allah does not test us more than our abilities, and a Shahadat is a very big test for the loved ones left behind.
It was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, no one is wounded for the sake of Allaah – and Allaah knows best who is wounded for His sake – but on the Day of Resurrection he will come with a colour like the colour of blood and a fragrance like the fragrance of musk.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2803; Muslim, 1876
Such are the ordinary sons of this extra ordinary Nation. A Nation whose very foundation was based on the biggest slaughter in World’s history; a soil whose every single grain is drenched by the blood of fearless young men like Lt. Irtaza Abbas and prayers of courageous mothers who send out their most precious belongings trusting Allah.
Major Faisal said regarding Irtaza’s shahadat, “We all have to return to our Almighty. Yes I have come across to know (regarding shahadat) it is difficult to hear that, I have lost two beautiful son like cadets. May Almighty bless them. I am proud of them. You people made me elevated”. Major Mehtab said, “What happened today is hard reality. 2 sons Hakeem and Irtaza not only made us proud but proved that they were true sons of this city. You guys are my strength and face and I am proud of you. Long live ubd 120”.
We are proud of Mothers who bear such sons and those sisters who have such brothers. Last Message from Captain Bilal Zafar Shaheed sums it all, “IN DA ROARS OF BULLETS…IN DA THUNDER OF BOMBS…THERE R FEW WHO JUST DONT STOP…KNOWING THAT THEY R SURROUNDED BY DEATH…KNOWING DAT THEY COULD LEAVE THEIR WIVES WIDOWS..N CHILDREN ORPHANS..BUT THEY JUST KEEP ON MOVING CUZ SOMTHING IS PUMPING IN THEIR HEARTS N FLOWING THROUGH THEIR VAINS KNOWN AS HONOUR,DEVOTION , MOTIVATION!!! DEATH OVER SURRENDER…DATS WHAT THEY SAY DEATH BEFORE DISGRACE…PAK ARMY ZINDABA
Captain Irteza - brother of a senior PKKH team-member - just made Jannah for himself and proved how true slaves of Allah are. In a door to door operation in Kurram Agency he embraced Shahadat when he entered upon a house full of suicide bombers. Blessed are the mothers who have such sons. You will be missed brother but we cannot be more proud. Allah give you highest ranks in Jannah, you gave your life protecting us and our children our homeland. Have no words, please everyone pray Allah make our brother's journey in the hereafter easy for him. Allah help us get rid of this war, a mother spends all her life to make such a gem... very tough times but Alhamdulillah... Alhamdulillah
was born in Singhori village, Tehsil Gujar Khan, District of Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan. Muhammad Sarwar was a captain in the newly formed Pakistani Army. Commissioned: 1944, Punjab Regiment. In 1947, he volunteered to take part in the battalion organized by the Pakistani Army that entered Kashmir on the order of the then Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah with the object of besting and chasing away the Indian Army which had invaded Kashmir after the Kashmiri people voted unanimously in favor of joining Pakistan . His regiment managed to outflank the unorganized Indian troops and forced them to retreat out of the parts which are now known as Northern Areas in one of the battles of the First Kashmir War. He was killed by machine gun fire when advancing forward through a barbed wire barricade. He was awarded the Nishan-E-Haider for his bravery and valour.
