This article was originally published on 13/11/2015 and was forced to be taken down from the blog. However, under the current security scenario of Pakistan, and the initiation of military action against militants and terrorists in Punjab, the article holds valid and extensive grounds to be republished on the basis of the analysis it presents regards security situation of Pakistan.
The politically powerful Army of Pakistan blew the whistle at the inefficient and corrupt civil government to mend ways and get serious in defeating the menace of Terrorism in the country. The cause of the Army's concern is the political patronage afforded to the religious extremist organizations essentially operating in the province of Punjab. Punjab happens to be the bastion of power for the ruling clan of Nawaz Sharif, the incumbent Prime minister of Pakistan. The Pakistan Army views their anti terrorism drive across the country as being directly linked with the anti corruption and accountability efforts in the country. Corruption has become an even bigger threat than terrorism in Pakistan. Corrupt political mafias led under the ruling clan use religious extremist organizations to coerce public votes in their favour and in return provide patronage to these groups. Reportedly, a senior minister in the provincial government of Punjab, heads the umbrella organization over seeing various Punjabi religious extremist splinter groups. These groups are said to be involved in incidents of terrorism and makes money through kidnapping for ransom. This minister is said to be the head of this mafia of terrorists in Punjab with the full knowledge and support of the Punjabi Chief Minister Mr Shahbaz Sharif, the younger brother of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. It is said that irrespective of the ruling brothers wish to stop this minister, they are unable to do so as the said politician has deep rooted dirty secrets of the party in power at the Punjab and center. The complete bureaucracy and police is subservient to the whims of this minister owing to his official position. This minister reportedly gets away with murder, kidnapping and extortion by controlling the judicial system in the province through sell out judges and police officers. This system suits the Punjabi politicians in power. Those few brave and honest officials who refuse to play ball are either black mailed into submission due to their immediate families being threatened or controlled through the threat of being transferred from the province. Officials putting up a stand against this system and its patrons have been reported to be murdered through the religious extremist militant groups working under the patronage of the said minister at Punjab. Pakistan Army in its successful counter insurgency drive in Pakistan wiping off extremism wants to now focus its attention on the cancer of extremist militant violence in Punjab. This irks the ruling clan who banks on the same religious fundamentalists to hold on to power and dictate terms making them billions in the bargain. For the Pakistani Army it is a matter of Pakistan's survival as a progressive state in the world, and for the ruling political clan it is about their hold on to power which enables them to run their businesses generating billions in revenues.
On the economic front, the government of Nawaz Sharif is taking unprecedented loans from international borrowers on sovereign guarantees. His brother in law Ishaq Dar, the finance minister terms these loans as the economic success of their government. Pakistani economic growth in reality is singularly dependent on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which is still in its infancy, being chartered by the Chinese investment being made under explicit security guarantees of the Pakistan Army. Mega corruption scandals are surfacing in mass infrastructure projects in Punjab which is said to have made billions essentially for the Sharif clan in power and their associates. All these projects are being funded from the borrowed money from local and international vendors. Inflation and price hikes have sky rocketed which is being faced by the poorest of the Pakistani society. These poor masses, under severe financial distress turn to any violent/extremist philosophy sold by groups like the Pakistani Taliban and their affiliates. Under no hope of justice and facing acute poverty, the youth which form the visible majority of the Pakistani population, may be easily led to militancy and there are indicators of such happenings in Pakistan in abundance. The Pakistani Army while appreciating the whole situation deducts that its a time bomb waiting to explode if not neutralized in time. To avoid such a disaster, the inhuman practices in Punjab by the leading politicians not only needs to be curbed, but rooted out for the secure future of Pakistan. However, doing so is viewed by the ruling political clan as the demise of their brand of politics. It's a matter of survival for both Pakistan and the Sharif clan currently ruling it through extortion and terror where required.
There is a consensus among the influential elite and educated Pakistanis that democracy is the only future of Pakistani politics and the Pakistan Army shares this school of thought. Having said that, there is no way under the current fascist political system that democracy has any future in Pakistan. this fascist system is represented by a class of rotten politicians serving self interests rather the country's. Even the democratic watch dogs are compromised with the appointments of corrupt and controversial lackeys of the Sharif regime as their heads. These appointments are supported by the Pakistan People's Party in opposition, which has its own numerous skeletons to hide. Mere cupboards are not enough to hide these skeletons which now need storage houses. Honest officers and other whistle blowers are silenced through the barrel of the hired guns. Injustice prevails in abundance and justice is out of the reach of a common citizen in Pakistan. The general perception of the masses in Pakistan is that the Pakistani judiciary has failed the common man in Pakistan but serves the rich and mighty.
The Pakistan Army recently underwent an internal anti corruption cleansing drive penalizing dozens of officers who made assets without visible earnings to prove. Even Generals have not been spared in this anti corruption cleansing of the Army. The Pakistan Army's higher command have put their own house in order. They have witnessed their young officers laying down their lives in the hundreds during the anti terrorist operations and are now demanding the politicians of the country put their affairs in order or face the music.
The Pakistan Army would support the democratic government of Nawaz Sharif Clan or any other party until the time that they are not providing patronage to anti state corrupt elements of the society. Corruption and nepotism define the current democratic political system of the Pakistani state which may refine itself in time, however, under the ongoing patronage of the extremist militant outfits in Punjab by the Sharif clan and its cronies, Pakistani federation is under a dire threat. Pakistan Army is under severe pressure from the population and politicians of other smaller provinces where the Pakistani Army operated ruthlessly to root out economic and militant terrorism, to take action in the biggest province of the Punjab. Punjab holds the key to eliminate extremism in Pakistan and avoiding a clean up there would be detrimental to the counter insurgency efforts of the security forces of Pakistan who are paying with blood for their efforts to wipe terrorists off the face of Pakistan . Pakistan Army is demanding an action from the civil government in accordance with the earlier agreed upon national action plan to eliminate extremism and terrorism at Pakistan which requires across the board accountability. Nawaz Sharif's government and the rest of the political elite of Pakistan will not let the same accountability occur at any cost if it is within their power as the same directly affects their own corruption spread over decades. It's a battle of survival for the corrupt politicians of Pakistan and their associates. They are anxiously hearing the warning bells being rung by the Army higher command to clean up their act. The Pakistan Army will get their way one way or the other in the coming days during which terrorists and their political patrons in Punjab will be targeted like the other provinces, whether the ruling politicians likes it or not. They can either cooperate or face the music themselves, either way the Pakistan Army will lead the operation at Punjab. Resisting the anti militancy operation in Punjab by the Sharif clan in power would create frictions which may give way to their ultimate destruction by the very hands which created them in the first place. The choice is theirs, if they want to fight this change and diminish or cooperate with the Army and stay relevant to the power dynamics of Pakistan. Tough choice either way for Nawaz Sharif and Co.
ALL POLITICAL POWER, COMES FROM THE BARREL OF A GUN
MAO ZEDONG-
The politically powerful Army of Pakistan blew the whistle at the inefficient and corrupt civil government to mend ways and get serious in defeating the menace of Terrorism in the country. The cause of the Army's concern is the political patronage afforded to the religious extremist organizations essentially operating in the province of Punjab. Punjab happens to be the bastion of power for the ruling clan of Nawaz Sharif, the incumbent Prime minister of Pakistan. The Pakistan Army views their anti terrorism drive across the country as being directly linked with the anti corruption and accountability efforts in the country. Corruption has become an even bigger threat than terrorism in Pakistan. Corrupt political mafias led under the ruling clan use religious extremist organizations to coerce public votes in their favour and in return provide patronage to these groups. Reportedly, a senior minister in the provincial government of Punjab, heads the umbrella organization over seeing various Punjabi religious extremist splinter groups. These groups are said to be involved in incidents of terrorism and makes money through kidnapping for ransom. This minister is said to be the head of this mafia of terrorists in Punjab with the full knowledge and support of the Punjabi Chief Minister Mr Shahbaz Sharif, the younger brother of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. It is said that irrespective of the ruling brothers wish to stop this minister, they are unable to do so as the said politician has deep rooted dirty secrets of the party in power at the Punjab and center. The complete bureaucracy and police is subservient to the whims of this minister owing to his official position. This minister reportedly gets away with murder, kidnapping and extortion by controlling the judicial system in the province through sell out judges and police officers. This system suits the Punjabi politicians in power. Those few brave and honest officials who refuse to play ball are either black mailed into submission due to their immediate families being threatened or controlled through the threat of being transferred from the province. Officials putting up a stand against this system and its patrons have been reported to be murdered through the religious extremist militant groups working under the patronage of the said minister at Punjab. Pakistan Army in its successful counter insurgency drive in Pakistan wiping off extremism wants to now focus its attention on the cancer of extremist militant violence in Punjab. This irks the ruling clan who banks on the same religious fundamentalists to hold on to power and dictate terms making them billions in the bargain. For the Pakistani Army it is a matter of Pakistan's survival as a progressive state in the world, and for the ruling political clan it is about their hold on to power which enables them to run their businesses generating billions in revenues.
On the economic front, the government of Nawaz Sharif is taking unprecedented loans from international borrowers on sovereign guarantees. His brother in law Ishaq Dar, the finance minister terms these loans as the economic success of their government. Pakistani economic growth in reality is singularly dependent on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which is still in its infancy, being chartered by the Chinese investment being made under explicit security guarantees of the Pakistan Army. Mega corruption scandals are surfacing in mass infrastructure projects in Punjab which is said to have made billions essentially for the Sharif clan in power and their associates. All these projects are being funded from the borrowed money from local and international vendors. Inflation and price hikes have sky rocketed which is being faced by the poorest of the Pakistani society. These poor masses, under severe financial distress turn to any violent/extremist philosophy sold by groups like the Pakistani Taliban and their affiliates. Under no hope of justice and facing acute poverty, the youth which form the visible majority of the Pakistani population, may be easily led to militancy and there are indicators of such happenings in Pakistan in abundance. The Pakistani Army while appreciating the whole situation deducts that its a time bomb waiting to explode if not neutralized in time. To avoid such a disaster, the inhuman practices in Punjab by the leading politicians not only needs to be curbed, but rooted out for the secure future of Pakistan. However, doing so is viewed by the ruling political clan as the demise of their brand of politics. It's a matter of survival for both Pakistan and the Sharif clan currently ruling it through extortion and terror where required.
There is a consensus among the influential elite and educated Pakistanis that democracy is the only future of Pakistani politics and the Pakistan Army shares this school of thought. Having said that, there is no way under the current fascist political system that democracy has any future in Pakistan. this fascist system is represented by a class of rotten politicians serving self interests rather the country's. Even the democratic watch dogs are compromised with the appointments of corrupt and controversial lackeys of the Sharif regime as their heads. These appointments are supported by the Pakistan People's Party in opposition, which has its own numerous skeletons to hide. Mere cupboards are not enough to hide these skeletons which now need storage houses. Honest officers and other whistle blowers are silenced through the barrel of the hired guns. Injustice prevails in abundance and justice is out of the reach of a common citizen in Pakistan. The general perception of the masses in Pakistan is that the Pakistani judiciary has failed the common man in Pakistan but serves the rich and mighty.
The Pakistan Army recently underwent an internal anti corruption cleansing drive penalizing dozens of officers who made assets without visible earnings to prove. Even Generals have not been spared in this anti corruption cleansing of the Army. The Pakistan Army's higher command have put their own house in order. They have witnessed their young officers laying down their lives in the hundreds during the anti terrorist operations and are now demanding the politicians of the country put their affairs in order or face the music.
The Pakistan Army would support the democratic government of Nawaz Sharif Clan or any other party until the time that they are not providing patronage to anti state corrupt elements of the society. Corruption and nepotism define the current democratic political system of the Pakistani state which may refine itself in time, however, under the ongoing patronage of the extremist militant outfits in Punjab by the Sharif clan and its cronies, Pakistani federation is under a dire threat. Pakistan Army is under severe pressure from the population and politicians of other smaller provinces where the Pakistani Army operated ruthlessly to root out economic and militant terrorism, to take action in the biggest province of the Punjab. Punjab holds the key to eliminate extremism in Pakistan and avoiding a clean up there would be detrimental to the counter insurgency efforts of the security forces of Pakistan who are paying with blood for their efforts to wipe terrorists off the face of Pakistan . Pakistan Army is demanding an action from the civil government in accordance with the earlier agreed upon national action plan to eliminate extremism and terrorism at Pakistan which requires across the board accountability. Nawaz Sharif's government and the rest of the political elite of Pakistan will not let the same accountability occur at any cost if it is within their power as the same directly affects their own corruption spread over decades. It's a battle of survival for the corrupt politicians of Pakistan and their associates. They are anxiously hearing the warning bells being rung by the Army higher command to clean up their act. The Pakistan Army will get their way one way or the other in the coming days during which terrorists and their political patrons in Punjab will be targeted like the other provinces, whether the ruling politicians likes it or not. They can either cooperate or face the music themselves, either way the Pakistan Army will lead the operation at Punjab. Resisting the anti militancy operation in Punjab by the Sharif clan in power would create frictions which may give way to their ultimate destruction by the very hands which created them in the first place. The choice is theirs, if they want to fight this change and diminish or cooperate with the Army and stay relevant to the power dynamics of Pakistan. Tough choice either way for Nawaz Sharif and Co.
ALL POLITICAL POWER, COMES FROM THE BARREL OF A GUN
MAO ZEDONG-
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