What do we expect of the army?

With reference to coverage in your newspaper on the role of the military in flood crisis, I have a few words to say.

KARACHI: With reference to coverage in your newspaper on the role of the military in the flood relief effort, I have a few words to say. What exactly do the people of Pakistan expect from their army? To defeat terrorists and their ill-conceived ideology? Undertake rescue and relief operations? Initiate military operations in cities like Karachi which witness target killing and growing instability with every passing day? Keep the insurgents at bay in Balochistan? Keep its state of readiness to meet looming threats from its arch rival on the eastern border?

The challanges are enormous, the manpower overstreched, the resources little and its most vital asset, "the reserves" of both men and machines, now deployed. All this results in the creation of a military imbalance that is bad news for the army and a favourable situation for its enemies. The multitasked army is not short on its will or determination but the circumstantial burden of responsibilities is too much for it to handle.

The people of Pakistan have to support the army. Let the people mobilise, for if they do they will help the army to finish its task of relief and rescue in a shorter time frame and go back to the other pressing problems which, if left ignored for too long, will be against our long term national interests.

Lt-Col (retd) Muhammad Ali Ehsan

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2010.