The question is not about bringing change but is related more to the delicate situation at the border.
KARACHI: This is with reference to Lt-col (retd) Muhammad Ali Ehsan’s letter of March 14 titled “Extension for ISI chief”. The writer seems to have failed to comprehend the reasons for the extension and, instead, has based his argument on the reasoning that for the ISI chief, a period of two and a half years is long enough to bring change to the organisation.
However, the question is not about bringing change but is related more to the delicate situation at the border. Pakistan is engaged in a battle of survival and any key change of command at this stage could prove disastrous. In any case, it is not fair to malign the army chief in the proposed extension, as the competent authority in this case is the prime minister. It is true that the present arrangements suit the government, the army and the US because they are jointly fighting the war on terror that is knocking us down.
I may add that history is replete with instances where a change of command in the thick of battle resulted in failure. For instance, in the 1965 war, during Operation Grand Slam when Maj-General Akhtar Hussain Malik was to take over Akhnur to pave the way for the taking of Srinagar, he was removed, and Maj-Gen (later general) Yahya Khan was put in his position. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto also argued that, had General Malik not stopped in the Chamb Jaurian Sector, the Indian forces in Kashmir would have suffered serious reverses, but that Ayub Khan wanted to make his favourite, Yahya, a hero. Let us not repeat the same mistakes.
The placement of the ISI under the interior ministry was also a foolish step and was without any substance. Thankfully, the government realised its mistake and reversed the decision accordingly. In any case, this extension matters very little to the 180 million people of Pakistan and who heads ISI is not their problem since all that they want is peace and a country free of extremists.
Lt-Col (r) Mukhtar Ahmed Butt
Published in The Express Tribune, March 16th, 2011.
