Security, sovereignty and supremacy of the Constitution are more important than the egos of individuals or groups
LAHORE: This unfortunate country had to wait for a patriot like General Raheel Sharif to arrive at the helm to take vital steps for state security and the safety of citizens. There can be no bigger crimes than conspiring with a declared external enemy, who committed and maintained negative actions and policies in former East Pakistan, fomenting insurgencies in Balochistan and involved in aiding, abetting, and training of terrorists who murdered thousands of Pakistanis and destroyed our infrastructure, including attacks on sensitive military assets. Such charges and allegations against MQM leader Altaf Hussain, who has pledged an oath of allegiance to the United Kingdom — thereby renouncing any loyalties he may have held for his former country of residence and whose passport he held — are digestible yet regrettable.
However, what is astounding, shocking and unacceptable is the bitter fact that the man who held this constitutional post as the head of our security establishment from the year 2000 onwards,- was, reportedly, aware of this individual’s links with RAW, knew that their activists were trained and funded by a foreign enemy state, and yet, in violation of oath of the office he held, found it feasible for the sake of short-term political benefits, to be partners with this alleged enemy agent.
It is time that every institution of Pakistan and its paid and elected public officeholders understood that they are there to serve this country and under no circumstances can they compromise national security interests for petty power politics and vested self-interest. No sovereign country would allow such individuals or groups to get away with such heinous crimes and no institutional ego or misplaced self-conceit should justify ignoring such crimes by men who are paid to protect the country against foreign covert and overt operations that would lead to compromising state sovereignty.
We must also understand that getting the political mandate to hold elected public offices does not give powers to any individual or party to treat this country as their personal fiefdom, make appointments in violation of merit and nominate individuals who have already taken an oath of citizenship of another country, revoking all previous loyalties they may have held in the past.
Security, sovereignty and supremacy of the Constitution of Pakistan are far more important and sacrosanct than personal misplaced egos of individuals or groups who consider themselves more important than the state.
Ali Malik Tariq
Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2016.
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