Hi,
Pakistan had more to lose in the 2 weeks B 52 bombings than the taliban could lose in a year of B 52 bombings----.
Afg were living in stone age---what would that bombing do to them---nothing---a little further back into stone age. We were, on the other hand on the brink of moving into the mainstream--.
You understand the punjabi saying----" SAU '1OO' WASSAL ( ONIONS) WE KHAIY---TYE SAU '100' LITTAR WE KHAIY "---which means that the the criminal was made to eat 100 onions---and got the thrashing of the police leatehr strap a 100 times over before admitting to the crime---.
Anyway---the General and the pakistani populace is so full of it---claiming themselves to be the ultimate guardians of islam----.
There is no guardian of islam---anyone who makes this statement is committing SHIRK---the ultimate sin---only Allah the almighty is the guardian of islam, the holy Qura'an, the name of prophet Muhammad---any muslim who claims of such is indeed condemned by Allah.
This guy cannot provide basic security to the nation from local insurgents---the pakistanis cannot keep their own house in order---and they want to claim to be the guardians of the realm---it amazes me---what a dellusion my pakistani compatriots are living in.
MK certainly the Army Chief is not a boastful man, he is the silent professional type unlike most of his predecessors.
When daily some elements in the country whether politicians, media or general populace attribute some sort of Islamic agenda to the likes of TTP it is necessary for those commanding the battle against these terrorists to reassure the masses as to the absurdity of such a claim.
By facing TTP and suffering heavily we are indeed fighting for Islam because we can never ever abandon Islam to the likes of TTP.
By detaching ourselves f.rom Islam we shall be playing in their hands.
You and I both believe that Islam teaches not what these TTP are doing and that i think is what is driving COAS to say such a thing as well.
Pakistan was created on Islamic values but not on the extremist agenda. It was to serve as an example that Islamic values can help build a modern and progressive state and that was the vision of our fore founders...the vision was indeed noble and has to be protected.
We were to create a social order inspired f.rom the welfare states of golden age of Islam whereby all Pakistanis are equal and are citizens enjoying the maximum rights regardless of their family background.
In this we are the guardians of Islamic values which defined Pakistan and so we have this obligation to protect this all f.rom the likes of TTP.
Allah almighty is indeed the guardian of all but that does not mean we surrender Islamic ideology to TTP and expect divine intervention or openly announce that Pakistan has nothing to do with Islam.
If we fight to protect ourselves and Pakistan against the kind of terrorism and barbarism these rascals are perpetrating in the name of Islam then we are by all means also fighting to protect Islam.
As the head of an Army which was once involved in an Islamic inspired insurgency against Soviet Union backed by the free world, Kayani is aware of the challenges in keeping his troops motivated and focused even if they eventually have to fight former associates of the Afghan Jihad carrying anti Pakistan activities, in a dramatic turn of events.
He has to emphasize that our cause is just and when the TTP calls themselves Islamic then he has to negate the validity of their claim in its entirety in front of the troops and the entire nation.
His leadership quality is in contrast to the passive approach of Musharraf who was too focused in the politics and neglected the morale building duty of the Army chief. His lack of presence amongst his front line troops and minimum contact with the troops in battle really had a very visible negative impact.
Many people in Pakistan have lost their sons, fathers, brothers and husbands serving in the army and are proud to call them martyrs who sacrificed their lives for Pakistan and Islam...clearly we have to understand the fierce pride which many Pakistanis have for their martyrs...this passion fueled by both national and religious sentiments is what makes our troops primed for action as has been reflected in last few major Army actions. This is the reason we do not have a lot of troops breaking down due to mental or emotional stress.
A war is being fought and we are suffering tremendously i agree, however a mess of decades cannot be cleared in a year or two and we have taken a decisive action last year and so our military campaign has just recently started as far as fighting extremism in its backyard is concerned.
It will take time to root out the problem and secure the many fronts since it is a multi dimensional anti Pakistan campaign and not a simple insurgency.
The military is in action but that is not enough, the ministry of interior needs an iron hand like Naseerullah Babur who can deal with such lot and make them pay a terrible price. There is a huge infrastructure at the disposal of interior ministry and their failure to come up with a coherent plan involving all the branches of the state intelligence and law enforcement agencies is the Achilles heel of this operation.
Our men in uniform are manning their posts and most of the attacks have occurred at checkpoints but the damage causes civilian deaths as well, still the men are manning their posts, however when literally a ton of explosive is used in an attack, one cannot but wonder where such a huge supply is coming f.rom...our ministry just points out some entities but where is the action against such external factors as well?
Hopefully a decade down the line, Kayani will be remembered as an Army Chief who did his job in the most difficult of times and with unprecedented effort and professionalism in history of Pakistan and one who reversed the damage done by his former peers.
I am already convinced that there could be no better man as Pakistan Army Chief in this critical time of trials but it does not mean he has an easy job to do.
Certainly he has to use every possible means to keep his troops highly motivated against a foe which is not only striking at the physical boundaries of Pakistan but its ideological foundation as well.
