Dawn, Pakistan’s English Daily, recently reported a news item with the headline “Decision at top brass meeting: War on Terror will go on: Says Military” http://dawn.com/2013/03/20/decision-at-top-brass-meeting-war-on-terror-will-go-on-says-military/. The title, the picture, and the content of the news item were hilarious. Here is an excerpt from the beginning of the article:

The meeting, chaired by Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne, was attended by Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Asif Sandila, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retd) Asif Yasin Malik, Chief of General Staff, Director General Joint Staff, Director General of Inter Services Intelligence, Director General of Strategic Plans Division and other senior military officers from the three services.

“It was reiterated in unequivocal terms that comprehensive strategy will be followed by armed forces to combat terrorist threat being faced by the country,” a military spokesman said after a quarterly meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, which is the principal military advisory body.

So the “who’s who” of the Pakistan military met on March 19^th, 2013 to commit to continue to fight terrorism! It was amusing to see “the top brass” sitting around a massive table discussing the fate of the nation and preparing a response for the Taliban. Let me explain why.

No there were no strategic maps, no strategy documents, no computer screens, no war room monitors, no military guide books, and no war plans. A dozen or so people sat around a large table, behind neatly marked names plates and water bottles, and all they could come up with was a “statement”. Reminiscent of their impotence, a large bouquet of flowers took the center stage in the picture – large enough to be displayed at a royal wedding, the bouquet stared back at the fear ridden faces of the “top brass”.

The latter part of the article explained that this was the first official response from the Pakistani Military since December when Taliban had offered to talk with the government.  The Pakistani Military issued the statement only after the Taliban had withdrawn their offer of peace talks. Why did it take so long to issue this statement? Even the elts (talking trees in the movie Lord of the Rings) were more efficient in deciding to attack Isengard than the Pakistani Military trying to make a decision about declaring a war on the existentialist threat to Pakistan. Perhaps the military was hoping that the Taliban would give them an easy way out and reach to some type of an agreement. Perhaps the dark shadows of losing war after war, with both external and internal enemies of Pakistan, loomed over the pathetic psychologies of so-called defenders of Pakistan. Perhaps a military action against the sworn enemies of the state made them jittery and nervous. Who knows? But what we do know is that if indeed there is such a war, we know who is winning it and it is certainly not the military.

Could it be that they met to declare that the war on terror would go on as it has gone on till today?  Assuming that Pakistani military is sincerely engaged in this war on terror, then one can ask some relevant and noteworthy questions:

1)    What specific infrastructure and assets are allocated to fight against terror?

2)    What is the overall strategy of the fighting this war? Does a document exist that lays out that strategy? Has the country been informed of that specific strategy?

3)    Which specific military units are engaged in this fighting?

4)    Is “war on terror specific” training being provided to the army?

5)    What intelligence apparatus is being used to engage in this war?

6)    Who is in command to fight this war? Who should get fired if the country continues to lose this war?

7)    How is the progress being measured? What is the scorecard?

8)    Which units are assigned to protect civilians in Karachi and Quetta?

9)    Why isn’t there an organized campaign in Waziristan?

10) Wouldn’t the terrorist attacks be declining instead of increasing year over year?

And obviously the fundamental question is that who is wining this war? 

Winners:

1) Army Generals, their real estate brokers and the golf industry.

2) The Talibaan who have created new a new occupation, mercenaries for hire. They can be rented to the highest bidder anytime. Everyone makes money.

 

Loosers:

1) Rank and file of the Army who are sent to die by the Generals https://lubpak.com/archives/248307

2) Shia Muslims and monorites of Pakistan who suffer as the Taliban (aka Sippah Sahaba ASWJ Or LEJ) develop hate ridden mobs which become Talibaan.

3) Economy and people of Pakistan.

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