Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. PHOTO: FILE
The Taliban had vowed to sabotage the parliamentary elections because they believe Western democracy is un-Islamic. However, they failed to disrupt the elections which saw an unprecedented turnout.
Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said on Monday that the May 11 elections amply demonstrate that “as a nation we can withstand any challenge”.
“In these elections, the people of Pakistan courageously withstood the threat of terrorism and defied the unfounded dictates of an insignificant and misguided minority,” Gen Kayani said while addressing a day-long conference at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Monday.
The conference titled ‘Saving Lives by Jointly Defeating IEDs’ was attended by experts from several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Turkey.
The army chief also proposed a regional military forum to counter the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which have inflicted heavy casualties on US-led foreign forces fighting a Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
The proposed counter-IED forum could go a long way in eliminating the threat posed by homemade bombs, if supported by the international community, he added.
Speaking at the event, experts from the US and Britain acknowledged Pakistan for taking concrete steps in recent months, towards stopping the smuggling of calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), one of the main ingredients used in IEDs.
US officials claim that about 80% of the IEDs used in Afghanistan have homemade explosives as the main charge, and more than 80% of these are derived from CAN fertiliser produced in Pakistan.
However, Gen Kayani dispelled the impression that CAN smuggling was the sole stumbling block in eliminating the threat of homemade bombs.
“Production of CAN has come under national and international focus, to the extent of creating a perception that controlling CAN alone can remove the menace of IEDs. Our arguments against this singular perception were taken as unwillingness to act against IEDs,” he added.
However, CAN is only one of the precursors of IEDs, dozens of other are readily available. Moreover, Pakistan is not the only country producing CAN, other regional countries also produce CAN which has a higher degree of nitrogen content than what Pakistani CAN possesses, he said.
The army chief further said that ammonium nitrate, produced in certain regional countries, has 34% to 35% nitrogen content as opposed to 26% contained in what is produced in Pakistan. There is evidence that as Pakistan tightened the control on sale and distribution of CAN, terrorists simply switched to other precursors, like potassium chlorate, not produced in Pakistan, he argued.
Therefore, he said that the underlying complexity of the issue “forces us to adopt a multinational and holistic government approach.”
The army chief told the conference that contrary to prevalent perceptions, Pakistan had come a long way in fighting the IEDs threat during the past three years. “Pakistan has taken significant policy initiatives to counter IEDs. The Pakistan Army, aware of the seriousness of the threat, is leading the drive to create a pragmatic, cost-effective and efficient counter-IED strategy,” he said.
This strategy, he added, aims at creating awareness, assisting in legislation and adopting best practices from across the world to suitably equip and effectively train our forces. He added that the policy was meant to develop a proactive rather than reactive response to the threat at the national level.
Speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Director for Operations/Intelligence Integration, Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organisation USA, Brig Gen Roberts P Walters Jr concurred with Gen Kayani and praised Pakistani efforts to reinforce its border to curb fertiliser smuggling into Afghanistan. Walters praised Pakistani efforts to reinforce its border to curb fertiliser smuggling into Afghanistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2013.
COMMENTS (19)
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This is a heart wrenching story a little boy who should be in school instead of working to make a living not only for himself but his whole family. Is this not a familiar story? We read this and move on. Should we all not pause and reflect that terrorists have caused havocs on millions of lives in Pakistan. It is reported that over 49,000 Pakistanis have been killed in terrorist attacks all over Pakistan. A strong anti-terror message was sent to the terrorists recently when Pakistanis were warned by terrorist not to go out and vote as they will be targeted and attacked. But despite warnings, an unprecedented number of Pakistanis came out and voted thus rejected the terrorists warnings altogether. This should be a strong signal to the enemies of humanity that we will not stand anymore for your brutalities. Our children are our future and we will protect them from the kind of life that will keep them away from their books to provide for their families at a tender age.
Abdul Quddus DET-United States Central Command
@Shah (Berlin): "The last resort for security was military….so Mr. Raham…your Army is not PM’s servant…" Yes, providing security is one of the responsibility of the Army and I never implied that our "Army is PM's servant." Yes, by playing a supportive role, the Army did play a positive role in the democratic process. But political statements are not the prerogative of the COAS. Policy directions are the reserve of civilian leadership and should be.
@Raham Dil:
In half of Pakistan election took place under military supervision.... Politicians bombed, killed etc etc during the election campaign.... The last resort for security was military....so Mr. Raham...your Army is not PM's servant... Yes they are servant of the nation and so is the PM and the President....
This man plays a big rule in establishing democracy in Pakistan..and please dont start tht FAUJ should stay in the baracks...you can give this statement when your country is not dependant on them for almost every thing...!!!!
It is true this Democracy is westren system of rules the 49% minorty with 51% mejority.... then question is what we got kings, Dictators, Thecratic mullah in iran...
@Abdali: "According to Tahir Qadri, Taliban Govt is already in place, so the misguided minority have won..." It is false to equate PML-N and PTI with Taliban. It is a mere propaganda tactic. TUQ should not judge even before the government-to-be performs. Any judgment in the interim is premature and therefore immature. TUQ should engage in constructive politics. Let him work through the system to change the system. Changing it from without is an exercise in futility. He does not want to work through the system because it is an ardous process so he is doing what is easy to do, that is, to criticize and create mayhem (not revolution, which is a frivolous wish and shall remain so, given that incremental change is preferred by the majority of the people of Pakistan. Let TUQ develop a mature political judgment to appreciate the nature of the people of this nation.)
What about Nawaz Sharif,s latest offer of talks with this misguided minority and his telephone contact with Maulana Samiulhaq for mediation role. Does it mean that civilian and military leadership is not on the same page about how to deal with TTP,
@doom: True, he was speaking at a conference on IED's but professionalism demanded that he restrict himself to the technical and military dimensions of the issues. It is not the job of the military to determine who is a "misguided minority" nor how the nation has defyied it. For the military, there should be no need to politicize a militarized problem.
@Noor:
I think so you did not understand the statement at all.....
The worst coas in the history of pakistan. Can't believe anything he says as we have seen enough in the last 5 years
Actually, majority of the people voted for the parties (PTI, PMLN etc) who are against your mindless war. It is you, General, who are the misguided minority!
I thought he was talking about MQM, but alas no!
Which minority?
Is he representing the people of Pakistan or an analyst, etc?
He should not be giving such statements.
According to Tahir Qadri, Taliban Govt is already in place, so the misguided minority have won. Why shall the COAS Complain.
Innocuous statement but, firmly establishes who calls the shots in Pakistan
@Raham Dil: They are busy in sleeping.....
@Raham Dil: Not really. He was speaking at a conference on IEDs and stating what Pakistan is doing in very general terms. If he can't say that...he'd just have to stand there silently.
Does Afghani taleban know pak army is helping america fight against terror in afghanistan?
These kinds of statement should be the prerogative of civilian leaders, particularly the top ones, especially the President and the Prime Minister.