‘The question is for how long…’

I have to agree that “it’s better to go out and die fighting them than take casualties sitting inside our Camps”.

While the past pulls one back this week too, and while I want to recount my experiences with the several good men one had the good fortune to be with in school, college, and in the army, the murderous goings on in North Waziristan are disturbing, nay devastating enough for me to write about those first.

And, therefore, the question asked by an army officer is the title of this piece, when referring to the recent suicide bombing of one of the army’s main camps located at Khajori in which five of our soldiers lost their lives and to which the army responded in a ‘fierce’ manner. (Thank you, Ismail Khan in Dawn of December 26, 2013).

As the report tells us, the casualty rate in North Waziristan is the highest of all the agencies and 11 times that suffered by our officers and jawans in South Waziristan. Now, how many of us knew this before today? I certainly had no idea and I read the press as closely as anyone. One always thought that since our buddies, the Haqqanis were lord and masters there, perhaps, they had some control and would stop the murderous groups from attacking the Pakistani state and its soldiers.

One has written reams on the Haqqanis and Mullah Omar over the years, noting the fact that if their behaviour towards the Pakistani state when they were part of the Taliban government in Kabul in the dreadful late 1990s and early 2001 is anything to go by, they are no friends of Pakistan. The examples of their perfidy were: 1) not handing over terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri at the personal request of then interior minister Lt. Gen. Moinuddin Haider; and 2) not agreeing to accept the Durand Line as the international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan requested by self-same Haider.

We must recall that Jalaluddin Haqqani was minister of borders in the Taliban government at the time. So, go figure! I should also like to add that most urgent notice must be taken by the government of the effrontery of foreigners: the IMU (the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan) printing leaflets justifying the attack on our troops. Anyone wonder if this is violation of our sovereignty too? Also, there are credible reports that Uighur terrorists of the ETIM (East Turkestan Independence Movement) make their home in North Waziristan. Anyone wonder if this is violation of our sovereignty too?

I simply have to agree with the officer quoted in Ismail Khan’s excellent report when he says: “It’s better to go out and die fighting them than take casualties sitting inside our Camps.” Well said, brave son of Pakistan, and may the Almighty watch over all of you who face the enemy so that we may sleep in (sort of) peace. Indeed ‘The Question is for how long…’?

The army must defend itself vigorously while the civilian leadership tries every way — why not IInd track through Maulanas Samiul Haq and Fazlur Rehman, and Imran Khan? — to talk to those among the murdering terrorists who want to talk. The military must not stay passive and keep on taking hits without retaliating with deadly force, all of us remembering that in tribal culture, the oldest custom or whatever you want to call it, is that the one who gives succour to an outlaw who goes on acting out of the law must be prepared for action against himself too.

To explain this further, thanks to my friend and course-mate Brig. Zahid Zaman, a Pashtun, and well-read to boot: ‘Pashtunwali’ means that the person who takes shelter with someone has to stop his criminal activities. The moment he starts acting outside the law, protection under ‘Pashtunwali’ is withdrawn and he is cast out.

It is more than obvious that the tens of ‘groups’ of murderers and car thieves and robbers and kidnappers are doing what they are doing to keep their criminal activities going: there is no great objective to improve the lot of mankind in their plans. They are petty and cruel criminals, nothing more nothing less. However, every good luck to the government in its efforts to get the terrorists to the negotiating table.

And now back to the 60s and old friends, some of who are no more. But first the living, and may they live long: the brothers Rashid and Hafeez Ali Malik, both retiring as Brigadiers, Rasheed was the tallest boy in school and played excellent basketball. He runs a high falutin’ security company now and has always been ever so kind. Hafeez is now related: his son Shaukat, the polo player, married to my (very young!) cousin.

Corporal Tariq Pervez (TP), later Lt. General, was our prelim corporal, and gave us Cadet College boys the toughest time ever, probably to send the message to the rest of the platoon that he would not favour us! I recall one time when the platoon was lined up outside the Corporal’s room for evening roll-call and my cousin and platoon-mate Talaat Saeed and I were given front-rolls across the front of the barracks for no apparent reason.

As it happened, on about the twentieth front-roll, Talaat began humming, making me burst out laughing. TP got us both up and asked me why I was laughing? ‘Because he was singing, sir’ said I almost involuntarily. The platoon was dismissed and Talaat was asked to put his half-filled galvanised iron tub on his head and stand outside until dismissed! He went to sleep with the tub on his head.

And last but not least my thoughts go to our drill instructor Havildar Muttawali Khan 5^th Battalion (Sherdils) The Punjab Regiment. What a smartly turned out NCO he was; and what an honourable man who stopped rehearsing us for the passing out parade when it was announced that the lousiest cadet in our platoon was posted to his battalion. He turned away from the platoon and stood looking at the ground. I was nominated to comfort him.

He said, tears rolling down his cheeks:“Sir, 26 mein se W Sahib nae hee meri paltan mein jana tha’? THAT was Esprit d’ Corps! He retired as Subedar Major and Honourary Captain of that excellent battalion. May he be blessed wherever he might be.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2013.

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