‘Forces reinforcing democracy’

LAHORE: Pakistan’s armed forces believe that even the weakest democracy is he best form of governance as it carries acceptability and moreover it is wrong to assume that different religious schools of thought want to destroy peace, barring a handful of misled miscreants.
Talking exclusively to The News, these views were expressed on the condition of anonymity by one of the senior armed services’ functionaries who also happen to be part of the National Action Plan (NAP) framework responsible for implementing as well as reinforcing the counter-terrorism strategy.
According to the source, during the course of monitoring and surveillance of sensitive occasions involving sectarian sensitivities, it has been usually found out that people of rival camps have normally desired peace rather striving for it to ensure trouble-free observance of their respective religious rites. It has most often been the third element that would act right at the moment when there would be peace and tranquility, the source added.
But how it can be said with certainty that the third element has remained involved in bomb blasts, suicide attacks and incidents of firing, the source was asked. The reply was, “It has been observed with solid evidence that the leaders of different sects and schools of thought had been exercising and preaching restraint because any untoward incident had never been beneficial to them in any way. Moreover, some people had confessed on many occasions in the past that they had been imparted training by some foreign intelligence agencies based on Pakistan’s eastern and western flanks. Their objective had always been destabilisation of Pakistan.”
Such acts of destabilisation have been rampant on a yet greater scale in Balochistan, though other spots like the ones in Fata have also been creating trouble.
So what should have been the strategy to deal with this never-ending troublesome situation? The answer was, “That the state machinery has never ceased to tackle the issues but the issues always needed to be dealt on case to case basis. Sometimes, there was the need for going upfront whereas at times, the soft approach had to be adopted.”
At this point, the source added that it was wrong to assume that the forces always believed in strong-arm tactics to deal with insurgencies. Both the stringent and light measures would be adopted according to the demands of the prevailing situation.
In the case of some insurgencies of the past like that Malakand, Kalat and some other areas, the state has been coming upfront and that did break the ice since the message conveyed to the anti-Pakistan elements had been loud and clear and firm, thus resulting in the reinforcement of Pakistan’s solidarity.
But when the strategy was changed from the ‘state’s upfront approach’ to creating counterweights like the one created in Sindh to ‘neutralise’ G M Syed’s Jiay Sindh movement, that ended up in disastrous situations as the counterweights had become monsters (sic). Most of the times, the country’s energies and resources were heavily consumed on tackling these monsters. This ‘counterweight’ option had been exercised as an option between the hard and soft approach.
As for the soft option exercised on certain occasions, the senior NAP participant, quoting an example, told The News that humanitarian or soft handling of even high profile toughies has been highly beneficial from the peace angle on several occasions in the past. The strategy has been to remain firm and courageous but at the same time, convey a message of peace to the insurgents. The source also quoted an example when two high value insurgents, namely Bahar Khan and Karim Nawaz, showed their complete willingness to surrender along with their rocket launchers, landmines and other weaponry just in response to the soft initiatives of armed forces officials deployed in that region.
In order to make the rebellious lot realise the worth of peace, the local commanders posted in some areas of Balochistan even attended the wedding ceremony of the daughter of an armed rebel and also did not arrest the close affiliates of one of the most wanted rebels when he was present in the house of an elder who had arranged the meeting between the forces and the people from amongst the rebels’ close circles. Such strategies involving greater contact and communication between the forces’ officials and disgruntled elements and their Sardars/chieftains, have been working excellently and need to be tried once again for securing lasting peace.
The source quoted another example: “Even Akhtar Mengal whose allegedly rebellious conduct would be blown out of proportions, once fully cooperated with the armed forces’ commanders when the latter contacted him to set up a medical camp. Jirgas held off and one among the locals and armed forces’ seniors have also been quite helpful toward the cause of social tranquility. “However, despite the momentary transformation affected in the wake of light measures, these elements had been vowing allegiance to their Sardars whose dictates (good or otherwise) were to be obeyed and implemented slavishly.”
Giving yet another example of the patience exercised by the armed forces’ seniors, the source said in line with its commitment to the cause of democracy, the armed services’ seniors exercised great caution and patience even at the time when certain loose talkers had nicknamed those in the top brass as ‘lassi’ drunkards who were enamoured with inaction. Even at the time when conspiracies were hatched to pit politicians against the armed forces and vice versa and pit one institution against the other, the armed forces opted to tread the path of patience with the belief that ‘discretion is the best part of valour’, commented the source.
It was, however, saddening to note that nobody appreciated the fact that the patience was exercised by the armed services to solidify the democracy because the armed services believed and continue to believe to this day that even the weakest or the most poorly performing democratic system with all the national institutions playing their due role, is better than any other dispensation.