The Third Force
We have 20 conspiracy theories and as many variations of each one of them to explain every failure on our part. We have very short memories as well, or selective amnesia, if you will. We repeat our blunders with such precision that they look original every time. And we are very regular. We are blessed with some outstanding spin doctors too, who can manufacture plausible alternatives to suit all our purposes in no time at all. Personality cult or hero worship appears to have replaced history leaving no room for discussion.
This clever scheme makes it very convenient to blame Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq, Musharraf and now some rogue elements within the army for everything which has, or is expected to, go wrong. The periods before, or after, either did not exist, or were simply very short leaving no time for any mischief. There you have it, all very neat and all very logical with ample space to fit all our failings in any given historical perspective. Barring few exceptions the recipe worked well so far.
It was all going very well till we decided to fast track and get it over with, in 14 months only. ‘The Third Force’ could not be blamed for rigging the elections in May 2013 but why not drop few hints of its role in the furor being raised over it? Never mind the fact that everyone who is anyone has declared these elections to be the most rigged, yet. The lack of, or very poor governance since, also could not be ascribed to this villain.
The very unfortunate incident in Rawalpindi in Muharram last year was a real nut cracker. There was a remedy available to mask this disaster as well. Why not try General Musharraf under Article 6? Two birds in one strike. Besides diverting public attention away from the security lapse and deterring any future adventurism, this would remove all threats to democracy and Constitution forever. Past links to khakis, always an embarrassment, would also be obliterated.
The sum total of these masterstrokes is what you see these days in Islamabad, on TV shows and now by way of the devastation caused by floods due to criminal negligence.
There is more to come. ‘The Third Force’ is still out there, dynamic as ever, piling up miseries on the hapless, lethargic people who keep asking for more and getting it too. They expect miracles but are being offered yet another version of the same. Well, it is their choice. Isn’t this the same democracy, the worst of which is supposed to be better than the best of dictatorship? Or do we see the worst of every aspect of dictatorship in the garb of this democracy? Where is this ‘Third Force’? Who is it anyway? There is always someone out there who can, and therefore, should be held responsible for every failure except the one which catches your fancy.
A new governance principle firming up through ongoing crisis that, “We are the government. We can do it. Therefore we will”, is actually very attractive. And better still, “What we are doing is wrong. But because it was done in the past therefore, we are also justified in doing it.” Take your pick — but never any responsibility. What would become of The Third Force then?
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (31)
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Right on the money General sahib! The conspiracy theorists in Pakistan are the bane of our existence. This mindset ensures that there is never ever any introspective exercise on the minds of Pakistanis. All of our misery is due to someone else. There is no culture of taking responsibility so our misery continues.
@Naeen Khan: Misharraf's son Father in law is millionaire by your statement. Who is that person. Give us a name.
People like this self styled analyst have by their so called well informed comments and analysis have brought infamy and controversy to Third Force or the Umpire.
@Ingenuous: Maybe he himself is a subscriber to the Qadri cult, which influences his outlook. Perception of reality requires a free mind, which the author does not seem to possess.
according to Transparency International what years were lowest in corruption ever since they started keeping records? Who are two of richest families in Pakistan that benefit the most from this system? Would they ever vote against their vested interest when in power for sake of public? the answer to these question can not be explained away with mega project made from borrowed money from IMF and world bank that are filled with kickbacks and commissions.
The author seems to be influenced by the way followers of Qadri look at the politics of Pakistan. His world view has an uncanny resemblance with the followers of the cult of Qadri.
"Soldiering, my dear madam, is the coward's art of attacking mercilessly when you are strong, and keeping out of harm's way when you are weak. That is the whole secret of successful fighting. Get your enemy at a disadvantage; and never, on any account, fight him on equal terms." - George Bernard Shaw in "Arms and the Man"
@Rizwan: Pakistan is not IBM company, you are comparing a country with a corporate entity, seems like you are also someone (dukandaar) from Nawaz Sharif clan. If we Pakistani nation is so educated and well aware than why we keep voting for the same old corrupt politicians,
I pass no judgment, and accept the author's assessment of Pakistanis without question. All Pakistani writers say virtually the same things about Pakistanis and, each time, I accept their assessments without demur. Where else can I hope to find a more accurate, up-close, unbiased evaluation? At least the history that is being currently scripted by Pakistanis will carry over to future generations without dilution or distortion.
@Golnath Agarwal: Ah ! .......rudeness.....can that be the sign of an intellectual mind ?
@Parvez: '...light and shadow show...' that is your perception?...by a Lt. Gen.! Absolutely true. This article was not meant for the mentally challenged.
General should graciously go back to reading war journals rather than giving advise on running the country. Seeing the number of articles written by Pakistani military men in the media, world must be wondering how come their military is not producing such literary geniuses.
@Rizwan: Er...hmm..excuse moi not so. Chief Financial officer was fired. The Human Resources Manager was fired. Project Managers were fired. There was a management team that was decimated. Do not manufacture facts to suit your dippy comment!!
When IBM company suffered its first quarterly loss after 70 years of non-stop profit, it fired only one employee out of a force of 400,000. That one employee was the CEO. The idea was as follows: the person who holds most power is most responsible for the mess. By corollary, who is most responsible for the mess Pakistan is in? Answer: the entity that has held most political power in the last 67 years, which has also made all major policy decisions of the past half century. This entity is the military. Why is the general miffed that Pakistanis are now catching on the fact that the root cause of their miseries - including the birth of corrupt politicians - is the army and its lust for political power and its lust for wealth?
@Multan wala: All 1.8 billion of the teeming mass, arranged by castes, of course
You got many things wrong, least of all being the population of India which is just a shade over 1.25 billion.
Now pray tell me which caste I belong to since I am a Christian. Then enlighten me how Narendra Modi became PM of our country when he belongs to one of the lowest castes in India.
@Strategic Asset: No need for the author to hold the mirror,..everyone and his brother knows it is the saffron?..vermilion?..no wait..yellow? neighbor to the east. Hindustan. All 1.8 billion of the teeming mass, arranged by castes, of course
All this because of secrecy behind the functioning of The Third Force. Let them function more open. Let them reveal the real things happened during all the wars with India. Let them reveal what happened in East Pakistan before 1971. Then judge the public opinion.
@Parvez: This is a second article in row where he has not written clearly and coherently. I wonder how could he have been a good strategist, which was supposedly his job. He must have been close to Musharraf who must have appointed him as a commander of strategic forces.
The "third force" is not a monolith. It changes over time. But nevertheless it is the intriguing powerful elements of the establishment that influence the govt of the day unseen. This influence is some times directly leveraged. At other times, forces opposing the govt. are used to twist the arm of the govt. to give into the preferences of the third force. The third force however is not an elected entity and can therefore undermine democracy and a representative govt. Quite often, the third force is not conspicuous but quite removed from public appearance and hence there is a mystery surrounding it, which intrigues the public at large.
But Sir, are you not forgetting India, our all-time enemy and the main conspiraor?
Personality cult or hero worship appears to have replaced history leaving no room for discussion. This clever scheme makes it very convenient to blame Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq, Musharraf and now some rogue elements within the army First of all our history is all based upon personality cult around kind kings, and sheiks. Despite several defeats Pakistani history is filled with the military heroes and no mention of how we lost more than half population. No wonder the writer conveniently forgot to add Gen Yehya's name among other dictators. What a shame we openly talk about the third force who are our paid servants. These innocent generals never committed acts of high treason and never ambushed constitution and their own oath of office in the dark of night and got away each time. There are crimes and then high crimes and then high treason. The generals do not consider the worst crime the most serious against the nation called high treason even a minor crime.
Please stop being an apologist and covering up for the boys. Simple fact, for about half of the tragic country's existence it has been ruled by the boys, so doesn't take an above normal level of IQ to link a fair bit of problems to the boys. Poor article, lacking substance and sincerity - relying on smirk to project an inverted view.
General Sahib has used a non-military approach in not defining with precision the topic of his article. If the ever green villain in the eyes of the political aficionados is simplified to a green villain, the answer is the Army. My approach is whimsical but it gets directly to an essential topic.
We need complete awareness that our political system, our style of democracy, even our constitution, are feudal instruments resulting in constant misrule of near on 200 million. The Country's failings and structural faults are laid squarely at the feet of periods of military rule. In fact, these failings are inevitable, even essential, to the workings of a feudal system.
As our neighbour India, starting out at the same as us, now reaches Mars, we find ourselves reduced to finding basic answers to help save us from this medieval and intensely corrupt existence.
In this critical state of illness, the patient may have to be put into a state of hibernation for no longer than it can survive, the diseased heart and organs replaced with healthy ones, and the cancerous tumours excoriated and removed. The only surgeon sufficiently skilled in this task is the Army and teams of technocrats of proven capability need to take over the life critical functions.
Typical tin-pot thinking. Wish the good General had taken the time to think and evaluate the context of each political development. But that needs critical thinking skills and not just a smart salute to anything moving.
I may agree with you on some of your assertions but there is no way any one living in a democratic country like myself will agree to military taking over with the barrel of the gun. Zia had sown the seeds of Islamic extremism which the country is facing it today. There will be no forgiveness for him, he was the worst of the worst kind and mega hypocrite. Granted that so called civilian-democratic government were corrupt to the core in the past and even now but under these Generals that you have mentioned above, the corruption also flourished. Look around you and see the children and relatives of Ayub, Zia and Musharraf, they are millionaires now and no one dare ask them where did they get the loot. Ayub's children's corruption was in the past and I remember is vividly but now look at Zia's son and Musharraf's son's father in law, they have become millionaires overnight. And by the way NS is also the creation of that despicable dictator Zia. So as the saying goes what goes around comes around. And if there is any consolation in all this corruption affair , military people are also the product of the same society that the civilians are and they have not descended from heaven.
Doesn't take rocket science, the word "force" itself should have sufficed as a dead giveaway. The third force in Pakistan is always the first force, or rather its sinister sibling which has been proven in the past to be instrumental in propping up and funding political parties, rigging in elections, planting of stories and numerous other well documented acts including executing a ruling Prime Minister.
Dear author, hold a mirror at yourself, see what your country has become and blame yourself for being a part in the creation of this mess.
Never thought a general could produce such an intellectually stimulating piece. Keep it up!
A silly article to justify Musharraf's present conspiracy to free himself as he undermines the present govt. that is out to try him for subversion of the State and the Constitution of Pakistan.
Very simple. Nothing to worry about. The Third came into existence when Jam Tamachi's grand mother's sister in law's aunt ran away or was kidnapped and married a Talpur Ameer thereby starting a dynasty that was always third. Third in line for the throne, third in line at the water well, third house down the lane, owning three horses and so on. Also the third son came up with the Jam Tamachi Justice. Therefore, eventually this started to be regarded as the Third Force. Evidently it is still in use. See, Musharraf fought in three wars for this country, and is being tried for treason by three,..Nawaz, Shahbaz and Nisar....see?..follow?
I wish you had been more straight forward and clear.......this came across as a ' light and shadow ' show.