Hello, what’s this?

Was this a visit made to make a point, i.e., army brass’s discomfiture at seeing former COAS getting his comeuppance?

Er, what’s this about a “delegation of 75 ‘senior’ officers from Command and Staff College led by Lt. Col. Saqib Ali Cheema” who met the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production, Mushahid ‘Mandela’ Hussain, at Parliament House on April 26 ,2013?

“What is all this going on”, they asked according to The News; according to Dawn they “expressed concern over the arrest of the former President (the Commando)”, and “were of the opinion that under the Constitution the armed forces could not be criticised”. They also asked if there was anything in the Constitution which allowed anyone to “humiliate” any institution.

Well, well, well. But first things first: Not that two wrongs make a right, but might I remind the senior officers concerned that their own ilk have never thought twice about humiliating others and/or their institutions, ever. Let alone humiliating elected prime ministers, even officials of State have not been spared their wrath. (Is keeping the Commando in his 17-Star “Farmhouse” in Islamabad’s posh Chak Shehzad, instead of in a prison barracks, “humiliating” him?).

Whether it is motorway police inspectors who were beaten up for issuing a traffic ticket to an officer; or a police constable who was kidnapped and thrashed over several days because a general’s Begum felt slighted when her car was stopped in Lahore for tinted windows, tales of army officers taking the law into their own hands are myriad.

But coming back to the visit, was it one on which officers attending the Staff Course at Quetta are routinely taken so that they can interact with other institutions of State as a means of widening their horizons, or was this a visit made particularly to make a point, i.e., the army brass’s discomfiture at seeing a former COAS getting his comeuppance?

From the tenor of the questions, and from the fact that newspapers carried identical reports about the “meeting” suggesting a proper briefing, it seems to me to be the latter. Also, it is apparent that even army officers who attend the Staff College (senior majors who are considered the best of the lot) are ill-versed in making a distinction between the prosecution of an accused person whosoever he might be, and the constitutional protection given to the armed forces after the disgraceful debacle in East Pakistan, so that they would not face opprobrium at the hands of the general public.

However, whilst hot-headed young officers brought up on a steady diet of Us versus Them (“bloody civilians”, that is) can ask awkward questions, “Mandela’s” answers to the questions do not surprise one. To the question as to why “education had not been given top priority in policymaking and what were the reasons for lack of legislation about terrorism”, he says unsurprisingly: “Unfortunately certain sections of political elite did not see education as a top priority”. About the second, he said, “It was up to the legislature, government and judiciary, but unfortunately parliament had failed on this front”.

One should have thought that instead of placing the whole blame for a poor education infrastructure entirely on the political elite, “Mandela” might have said successive governments, including those of military dictators who ruled this country for 32 years of its blighted life, had failed in providing this. As to curbing terrorism, instead of putting the whole blame on to parliament of which he is part, “Mandela” could as well have said that where it comes to Balochistan, the army has no compunctions in taking the most stringent action; it was only where the Taliban were concerned that it asks for a “national consensus” and “legislation”.

But, as we well know, Mushahid “Mandela” Hussain will be Mushahid “Mandela” Hussain.

As to the “delegation” of Staff College, might one call upon the army to take note of this indiscipline: commenting on matters that are sub judice in the highest court of the land? Section 55, Manual of Pakistan Military Law: “Conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline” should apply, no?

Elsewhere now, and to General Kayani’s speech on the occasion of Martyr’s Day. While one is gratified that he has once more made a clarion call for everyone to get behind Pakistan’s war on terrorists who are blowing this country apart, might one suggest to the General that unless the Army eschews the concept of “jihad” in as far as it means hegemony over Afghanistan and needling India, there is no way the terrorists can be fought effectively? For there will always be elements within the institution and it’s “agencies” who will share the jihadis’ mindset and subvert any effective action against them.

I am glad too, to hear the General say there can be no talks with terrorists until they “unconditionally submit to (the will of) the State”. I say to the “this is not our war” crowd: for heaven’s sake wake up even now, and open your eyes and ears to the daily salvoes being let loose by the TTP. According to a report in this newspaper of record of April 30, Hakimullah Mehsud has said from an undisclosed location that the “TTP’s aim would be to end the democratic system”. The report goes on: “Mehsud also urged TTP militants to target senior politicians and party leaders, while continuing the battle against security forces”.

Why don’t those political leaders who are on the right side of the TTP today realise that tomorrow they, too, will be on its wrong side: when they preside over the army’s efforts to rid the country of this monstrous scourge? For there is no other way, the traditional tribal leaders having been killed by the Taliban and their foreign fighters.

Which reminds me: Pakistan should brace itself for protests from Deeper than the Sea; Higher than the Himalayas, and Sweeter than Honey friend, China, as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) ratchets up its attacks in Xinjiang. Our brass hats should know that even now, there are rumours that the ETIM flag flies alongside the Islamic Emirate flag in areas of North Waziristan where the beloved Haqqanis thrive.

Rather bumpy ride just ahead, friends: the seat belt sign is flashing.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2013.