The army’s role

Random thoughts
In one of my previous columns I had suggested that the army should take concrete steps to help the poor who lost almost everything in the recent floods. We have been seeing and hearing how frightening the ferocity of flowing waters in low, medium or high floods is.
When out of control, fire and water possess the most devastating power. We have seen how billions of acre foot of water – sweet water at that – flows out to sea. What a waste in a country with severe water shortages! People and cattle have been lost and huge areas of standing crops washed away. The photo shoots of political bigwigs could, of course, not be missed. Those in authority flew in by helicopter, surveyed the area, were sumptuously received, gave a statement and returned to their cushy lives.
The only people seen actively helping the flood affectees were army jawans. We saw them evacuating people, providing emergency supplies, medicines, tents, etc. They were on their feet 24/7 while those at the top continued on as usual – elaborate dinners, air conditioned villas, etc. Gen Raheel Sharif, COAS, was himself constantly on the move to take action on two fronts – one against terrorists and the other against the forces of nature. We had seen similar activities of the jawans during the earthquake and earlier floods too.
I had previously requested the army chief to involve the army more effectively and productively in the development of the country along the lines of that implemented by the PLA of China. The other day I received an email from a Pakistani water expert in Canada who found my idea of forming lakes along flood routes to be pragmatic and invaluable. He felt that the government should give it serious consideration and take necessary action. I personally believe that, under the able guidance of the present COAS, army engineers and jawans could do wonders for the country.
After the 1971 debacle due to selfish, corrupt and incompetent rulers, the nation had not even had the time to recover from that shock when they received yet another in the detonation of an Indian nuclear device on May 18, 1974. I had witnessed the hatred of Hindus against Muslims in India. They seemed hell bent on repeating the history of Spain in wiping out all traces of Muslims. Indira Gandhi had already boasted of having taken revenge for 1,000 years of Muslim rule and that she had every intention to “sort us out” once and for all.
It was under these very real and serious threats that I offered my services to Bhutto to turn the country into a nuclear power. While giving up an excellent career with bright prospects and an offer of a professorship, we did not ask for any favours in coming here. Our project had to face many intrigues, but thanks to Z A Bhutto, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Agha Shahi and Gen Ziaul Haq, we managed to overcome them all. Our nuclear success was achieved through the hard work of patriotic colleagues – both civil and in uniform.
When setting up the project, I had been extremely impressed with the loyalty and love of the armed forces personnel for Pakistan. Furthermore, they looked smart and were very disciplined. For these reasons I acquired the services of a large number of army personnel – Gen Zahid, Gen Anis, Gen Chowhan, Gen Ashfaq, Gen Kamal Shah, Gen Butt, Brig Sikander Hayat, Brig Sajawal Khan, Brig Habib Zaman, Brig Saeed Baig, Brig Tariq Nafis, Brig Haider, Brig Iftikhar, Brig Aziz, Brig Qayyum, Brig Rafi, Brig Tariq, Brig Jaffar, Brig Saghir, Brig Mazhar, Col Rahman, Col Qazi, Col Majeed, Col Nazeer, Col Nagra, Col Aslam, Col Naeem, Col Rafiq, Col Idris, Col Zulfiqar, Col Qaisar, Maj Islam, Maj Iftikhar Adil, Maj Anwar, Maj Siddiq, Capt Fida, Capt Alam, Capt Siddiq, etc, to name but a few. They all made invaluable contributions to our programme, as did too all those civilian scientists and engineers under the very able guidance of Dr F H Hashmi. Our work shook the western world and took them by surprise.
We worked 24/7, often sacrificing our family lives. We managed to turn our country into a nuclear power in just seven years – something unimaginable to the whole world. After having given our blood and sweat for the project, many of my colleagues and I were subjected to a despicable treatment that we did not deserve.
Coming back to the present, I am sure our army chief is aware of the history of the South Koreans. Their military chief, Park Chung-hue, ruled for 16 years and brought their backward, poor country into the 21st century. They have now become an industrial giant. Some outsiders did not like this and had him killed by his own intelligence chief, Kim Jae-Kyu. However, the foundation was laid to ensure South Korea’s bright future.
If COAS Gen Raheel Sharif can help put this country onto the road of progress, we could become a Malaysia or Turkey, or even better, in five to seven years. Our former military dictators merely acted to perpetuate their own self-interests and power.
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com