Pakistani nation has celebrated its 66th Independence Day on 14 August, 2012
with full enthusiasm. Every Independence Day always infused new spirit in me.
Last midnight of 13-14 August, rounding up of Lahore city with the family in the
company of 82 years old Squadron Leader, Retired Abdul Ali Shaukat (my uncle)
has also turned out another unforgettable moments of my life. In fact, due to
the job compulsion, my uncle shifted to Lahore a month earlier or so. He
received the family that had migrated from India to Pakistan. The visit of
Lahore, which has freshened up the memories of the old veteran but also created
touchy and aspiring effects in me and my family as well, after listening the
unfolding of events from an eye witness of Independence Day. He narrated that
most of families migrated with empty hands and faced multiple crises but the
spirit of sacrifices, determination and happiness of freedom do reflect from
their faces. He further expressed that although they left their property behind,
yet they never lost the hope of moving forward and forward.
Anyhow, Pakistan became nuclear power, developed her communication
infrastructures, modernized her cities, produced agriculture, supplied trained
and technical manpower to other countries, and progressed in medical profession
despite fighting three wars with India and passing through global war on terror.
Thus, all this development indicates the sign of strength and potentials of a
valiant nation. However, some of political and defence analysts keep on
presenting depleted picture of the country and are busy in spreading
disappointment while saying that “Pakistan is under siege and in mess”.
We must acknowledge here that besides facing multi-lateral economic crises
such as high prices, load-shedding, unemployment etc., Pakistan and its security
forces are coping with suicide attacks, bomb blasts, sectarian violence and
targeted-killings including with sporadic battles with the militants in some
tribal areas. Besides 30,000 innocent persons, more than 5000 thousand soldiers
and several police men have become martyrs in this ‘different war’. In fact,
there are a number of external elements like US, India and Israel whose secret
agencies, are in collusion to destabilise Pakistan because it is the only
nuclear power in the Islamic World. Besides other terror-incidents in various
cities, these foreign elements are also fueling sectarian and ethnic violence
in Pakistan’s seaport Karachi and Balochistan.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the facade of Osama Bin Laden by a US
military raid in Pakistan on May 2, this year, intermittent subversive events in
the country coupled with the sporadic attacks of heavily-armed militants who
enters Pakistan from Afghanistan have continued, killing several police men and
paramilitary soldiers in wake of continued wave of drone attacks and American
false blame game regarding cross-border terrorism in Afghanistan. These
anti-Pakistan developments clearly show that the US, India, Afghanistan and
Israel are in connivance as part of a conspiracy to ‘destabilise’ Pakistan for
their common strategic interests. Pakistan stands on restoration of NATO supply
forced US to admit her fault over attack on Salala Check Post. We must accept
that Pakistan is again confronting with various kinds of crises like she was
facing just after the partition. Some of our internal elements are being
manipulated by their foreign masters. Pakistan’s civil and military leadership
has repeatedly been revealing that RAW, Mossad and other foreign agencies are
involved in supporting insurgency and acts of terrorism in various cities of
Pakistan, and separatism in Balochistan.
Unfortunately, it is due to lack of national solidarity among our
politicians, leaders and media that foreign opportunists have been manipulating
the chaotic situation of Pakistan in order to fulfill their secret agenda by
weakening the country. Few immature politicians and segments of societies are
also targeting the armed forces and Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI so as to
increase their vote bank. For example, now they have started propagating that
some secret deal on drone attacks between ISI and CIA has been concluded.
Contrarily, according to highly reliable sources, Chief of Pakistan’s supreme
intelligence agency (ISI), Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam categorically asked CIA to stop
drone attacks in Pakistan.
While our media, particularly most of the TV channels conduct controversial
debate between politicians and commentators, contesting internal politics. Like
the foreign enemies by ignoring the sacrifices of Pakistan’s security forces and
its superior secret agency, they malign Pak Army and ISI. In this context, some
of our media anchors and most of politicians or political experts pay no
attention to national solidarity and cohesion among various civil and military
institutes of the country. At this critical juncture, while situation demands
selfless unity, both our media and some politicians manipulate every
terror-incident or negative development against Pakistan. On renowned TV
channels, our politicians oppose their rivals for the sake of opposition. In
this context, they opine as to what the people want, but conceal as to what
people actually need? Particularly, it seems that a majority of Pakistan’s media
anchors are on the payroll of external enemies.
However, severe implications of the ongoing precarious situation cannot be
grasped by the general masses at large, who abruptly change their opinion
without reason. Hence, they become easy prey to the internal politicians
(exploiters), unintentionally benefiting the external conspirators who want to
weaken Pakistan by creating a rift between our general masses led by
politicians, and the security forces. Apart from it, foreign agents misguide the
disgruntled elements that national institutions are not made to develop the
backward areas, and policies formulated at Islamabad are not congenial to other
provinces except Punjab. Meanwhile, by ignoring public backlash in Pakistan, US
high officials had intensified their pressure tactics by continuously insisting
upon the country to ‘do more’ by taking military action against the Haqqani
network. On the other side, taking note of the US coercive diplomacy, Pakistan’s
civil and military leadership flatly refused to launch military operation
against the Haqqani Network and asked US to close Pak-Afghan border for having
better control over the crosser.
Nevertheless, it is due to a wave of ‘emotionalism’ instigated by some
irresponsible politicians and media anchors that general masses have forgotten
the services of our security forces and have started disgracing even army and
ISI. In this regard stereotypes and prejudices have been created by the foreign
enemies through a propaganda campaign which have been misguiding the people who
have set aside innumerable services and sacrifices of the Pakistan Army during
the Swat and Malakand military operations— resettlement of the Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs), floods, desilting of canals (Bhal Safai)—particularly
during the Earthquake of 2005, entailing restoration of law and order on many
occasions. Since its existence, military personnel saved the countless helpless
people by sacrificing their own lives.
Nonetheless, at this critical hour, Pakistan’s survival lies in selfless
national solidarity. For this purpose in order to scold the conspiracy of the
external enemies against the integrity of the country, our political leaders
must avoid exploiting any crisis not only against one another, but also against
the security forces and ISI whose image are deliberately being tarnished by the
external plotters. The present adverse circumstances demands sacrifices of
individual selfish interests. So, Pakistan’s survival requires a strong sense of
solidarity—team spirit and shared aims among the general public, politicians,
religious leaders and the security forces not only to resolve the present
multiple problems, but also to cope with the external enemies.
By Zaheer-ul-Hasan
The writer can be
approached through zameer36@gmail.com
Pakistan Cyber Force
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