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PASSIONS AND WEAPONS

PROFESSOR ALI SUKHANVER

 It is neither the Pakistan army nor the ISI; it is Pakistan which few of our own media-men are targeting, knowingly or unknowingly. For the last many years, the world around us has been exploiting all possible resources to defame the two very sacred and no doubt holy institutions of Pakistan, the Pakistan army and the ISI. The world is very well aware of the fact that no harm could come to Pakistan unless these two institutions are stable and strong. It won’t be an exaggeration if we call the ISI a continuous pain in the neck and a throbbing thorn for the forces eager to destabilize Pakistan. The international plan of defaming these two institutions could have never succeeded if our own people had not lent a helping hand to the so-called friends of Pakistan. A few hidden and secret forces in the Pakistani electronic media are openly playing in the hands of their foreign masters. They have altogether neglected the fact that by causing damage to the image of the Pakistan army and the ISI, they are in fact cutting their own roots and shaking their own very foundations. The existence of Pakistan would become a dream in case these two institutions face any loss. Success and failure always go side by side wherever there is a warlike scenario. One time failure can never spill water on all time success. It is true that like other security agencies of the world , the Pakistan army and the ISI may have some defects and flaws but the way they are being mocked at and ridiculed is no-doubt pathetically painful.

Now-a-days Pakistan is facing the ever-worst situation inside its boundaries as well as all along its borders. The presence of multi-national warriors in Afghanistan and an evergreen Indian ill-will for the state of Pakistan and certainly the artificially promoted terrorism in guise of extremism; all these elements have joined hands together to give the security forces of Pakistan really a tough time. Moreover lack of financial resources and a huge expenditure on the compellingly imposed war against terror has added to the sternness of situation. In such painful circumstances even the security forces of the USA could never have performed well. It is surely the extraordinary skill, matchless ability and marvelous professional talent of the security forces of Pakistan that in spite of all these discouraging, heartbreaking and distressing factors, Pakistan is still there on the map of the world as an undefeatable and undeniable reality. Other than the determination and skill of the security forces of Pakistan there is one more thing; the trust and confidence of the nation in the security forces of Pakistan including the Pakistan army and the ISI. Without this trust and confidence the achievement of such marvelous results in such a depressing situation could never be possible. So keeping in view all these facts and figures the international conspirators reached a conclusion that without depriving the security forces of Pakistan of this national trust and confidence, the  desired goals could never be achieved. This conclusive finding resulted in a very well-planned war against the security forces of Pakistan. Just to prove these forces incapable and inefficient various suicide attacks were staged throughout Pakistan. The sole targets of these attacks were the offices of the ISI, the FIA, the police and the army. From the terrorist attack on the police training school Manawan to the FIA and ISI buildings in Lahore and from the terrorist’s attack on the GHQ Rawalpindi to the recent Mehran Naval Base Karachi, the philosophy behind is the same; to propagate and promote an impression of inability and inefficiency of Pakistan’s security agencies.  Unfortunately some of our media-men fell a prey to this international conspiracy and in the name of liberty and freedom of expression they started targeting and defaming their own security institutions in a victimizing manner without considering the aftermaths and after-shocks of their action.

Criticism is a constructive and positive thing but criticism based on narrow-mindedness and prejudice can neither be positive nor constructive. The history of the Pakistan army and the ISI is enough to prove the supremacy and superiority of these security agencies. The critics of the Pakistan army and the ISI must not forget the defeat of the KGB, no doubt one of the best intelligence agencies of its time, at the hands of the ISI. The KGB failed to counter ISI and could not protect Soviet interests in Central Asia. For the students of defence affairs it would be something very strange and interesting to know that in comparison with the top ten Intelligence agencies of the world, the ISI is the least funded agency and it is running its system with the help of a very meager amount allocated in the national defence budget of Pakistan. For more than two decades under the command of the Pakistan army, the ISI has been countering at a time more than five international intelligence agencies including the CIA, Raw, Mossad, Khad and MI-6. If we draw a graph based on the comparison of success and achievements of the top intelligence agencies of the world, we would still find the name of ISI superseding others.

The critics of the Pakistan army and the ISI must also keep in mind that no security organization can perform well if it is not backed up by the nation it is fighting for. The continuous defeat of the NATO forces at the hands of the Taliban is the best example of this case. It is not the weapons but the passions that fight. Encouragement strengthens the passions. Undue and illogical criticism directly affects the performance. Particularly the media-men from Pakistan must realize and admit the countless sacrifices which the security forces of Pakistan have offered for the peace and stability of their motherland. We must not act as a weapon in the war against the security forces of Pakistan. If we did so, history would refer to us as the misguided missiles.

The writer is a Pakistan based analyst on defence and strategic affairs.

1 thought on “PASSIONS AND WEAPONS”

  1. You Pakistanis have not seen the worst yet. Pakistan will continue to pay the price for its army’s policy seeking ” strategic depth”, and it will continue to be consumed in its fire of hatred for a long long time. Your Army and the ISI will only watch over a burning Pakistan.

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