Misconceptions within Pakistan Raksha Anirveda 21 Apr 2025
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Misconceptions within Pakistan Raksha Anirveda 21 Apr 2025
Addressing the Overseas Pakistanis Convention in Islamabad, General Asim Munir, their army chief, decided to play to the galleries. He commented on multiple subjects, boosted by a cheering audience of overseas Pakistanis. However, what he missed was a reality check on subjects which he discussed. He backed the two-nation theory, mentioning, ‘Our religion is different, our customs are different, our traditions are different, our thoughts are different, our ambitions are different.’
The two-nation theory collapsed in 1971, when Bangladesh was created. Even today Dacca seeks an apology for genocide as also its share of assets and funds looted by Pakistan, which Pakistan can ill-provide. If Munir is to be believed, Pakistan is the only nation which has conducted a genocide on its own populace.
Munir went on to add that Pakistani citizens must ‘tell Pakistan’s story to your children.’ Wonder which story was he talking about. Is it the story of the Pak army ruining the country by controlling every institution within, generals buying property abroad while the populace starves or politicians purchasing property in London as their retirement homes.
Or was Munir referring to the story of Pakistan and the begging bowl. Pakistan is known as the global beggar and seeks alms from everyone and every lending institution. Or was he speaking about a nation which has been globally ignored as it neither has the economy nor the military power to play a regional role, forget about a larger role.
On Kashmir, he mentioned, ‘Our stance is absolutely clear, it was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, we will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle.’ It is its own jugular vein Which Pakistan attempted to bleed for years, but failed miserably. Truly, Pakistani’s love to dream and that is all they can do on Kashmir.
Development in Kashmir, compared to poverty and backwardness in POK, has ensured that ‘Jeeve Jeeve Pakistan’ is replaced by ‘I Love my India.’ While tourists flock Kashmir, POK remains in protest. Today, the only thing left for Pakistan to do is compare Kashmir to every other global trouble spot, hoping someone will respond to their crocodile tears. It can only offer lip service as support and keep harping on the UNSC resolution.
Within the UNSC, Kashmir is no longer a dispute. India has completely sidelined UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan), rendering the UN worthless on the issue, thereby telling the world that Kashmir is no longer disputed. On the contrary, Pakistan jumps with fear whenever Indian politicians threaten to occupy POK.
Traditionally, whatever Pakistan has supported has failed. It backed Hamas, which is on the verge of collapse. It accuses Israel for its invasion of Gaza, but these have fallen on deaf ears. All that if left for them to do is ransack US eateries like McDonalds and KFC on their own soil.
Rawalpindi supported the Taliban for decades, angering the Americans, only to find them turning their back while arming the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) and Baloch freedom fighters. It supported Kashmiri separatists watching the organization break. Its terrorists have failed to create even a dent in J and K. The problem is that Rawalpindi has historically backed the wrong horse.
On the contrary, Munir threatens the Baloch. He mentioned, ‘We will beat the hell out of these terrorists very soon. You think these 1,500 terrorists can take away Baluchistan from us?’ Once again, empty words. Hijacking of a train, targeting of buses, attacks on multiple Pakistan bases, Chinese workers and almost stopping development of Gwadar and the CPEC cannot be achieved by a handful of 1500 terrorists. It has to be many more, backed by a community.
Those fighting in Baluchistan are determined and have an end state, something the demoralized Pak army does not. It is a suppressed Baloch community which is rising in arms against them. The fear they have created has pushed the Pak army onto the defensive.
On the contrary, Pakistan has resorted to human rights violations and targeting of innocent Baloch civilians. Yahya Khan adopted a similar policy in 1971, believing force and attacks on civilians could suppress them. It backfired. India was there to support the Bangladeshis. This time, the Baloch are powerful enough. They have shaken the Pak army, which is forced to hide its casualties to save face.
To add insult to injury, China, realizing that Munir’s army is incapable of controlling the Baloch insurgency, has deployed its own security personal to oversee Pak troops responsible for security. This conveys what Pakistan’s closest ally feels about their military capabilities as also of their ability to control the Baloch insurgency, which Munir threatens to eradicate. However, screaming before an audience of non-resident Pakistanis unaware of reality, as Munir did, is acceptable.
The TTP now controls multiple districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which Munir hides from his own nation. Movement of Munir’s forces are severely restricted. Both the Baloch and the TTP have their bases in Afghanistan, which Pakistan can do little about.
In reality, Pakistan stands on crossroads. It is losing importance to China, which has realized that its CPEC will soon come to a standstill. Pak has no money to repay loans. Its borrowings from the IMF restrict any repayment to China. It is forced to extend Chinese loans on which interest continues being piled. It cannot ignore China because of what it owes as also almost its complete military is China dependent for spares and logistics support. However, it borrows from the west, which controls its economy. It is surviving on a day-by-day basis.
At the end, all Pakistan’s leaders can do is drama on its identity, support for Kashmir and threaten to destroy its enemies. In fact, a similar speech will be played out each year, with possibly only a change in the speaker. The audience will cheer as it is expected to, aware that this is a façade with the reality being vastly different. The Pak army knows the truth and is aware of its struggles against the Baloch, TTP as also Indian forces along the LoC. India must await this yearly drama.
About the Author
Maj Gen Harsha Kakkar
Retired Major General Indian Army