The Pakistan Army has lost its Professional Ethos
Pakistan was created by an act of the British parliament and came into existence on 14 August 1947. It was created from the Indian state and the assets were also divided in the ratio of 2:1. The old British Indian army was also divided and Muslim units of the army were incorporated as the Pakistan army. The Muslim components of the Punjab regiments, the Baluchi regiments and the Frontier regiments were transferred to the new state. The Pakistan army at that stage inherited the ideals of the British Indian army, which laid great stress on professionalism and honor. The Muslim ( Punjab regiments ) have had a distinguished record while fighting as a composite unit of the British Indian army.
After 1947, things began to change in Pakistan and the army began to be politicised. Partly this was because of the abject failure of successive civilian governments to bring progress and development to the Pakistani people. To cover up their failure they resorted to religious chauvinism and minorities began to feel threatened. Hindus were attacked in East Pakistan and Christians and Ahmadis became the target in West Pakistan. In such a volatile situation General Ayub Khan carried out a military coup and seized power in 1958. Ayub was a Sandhurst graduate and had served in the Chamar regiment during the days of British rule.
The coming to power of Ayub Khan was not good for the Pakistan army, as many senior generals were rewarded with plum postings as governors, chairmen of corporations and other civil appointments. The stress changed from military professionalism to trappings of political power. Even junior officers kept an eye for lucrative civil appointments. As the army became more and more involved in administration and political activity, military training and planning became secondary..
The deficiency came to the fore in the 1965 Indo-Pak War, where with much superior weaponry ( supplied by the USA) that included the Patton Tanks and F-104 Star Fighters , the Pakistan army could not move an inch forward against an inferiorly armed Indian army, which was still in a buildup stage. In fact the Pakistan army lost large tracts of land in occupied Kashmir.
Ayub Khan was ousted, but his successors were also no better. General Yahya Khan and his ilk, thought that they could hold Bengal( East Pakistan) by their boots.The Pakistan army unleashed a mass terror campaign in East Pakistan and drove out nearly 10 million ( mostly Hindus) from there. The aim was to reduce the population of East Pakistan, so that in a fair election the leaders of the East could not hold the reins of power of Pakistan. Despite this Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won the election and staked his claim to be prime minister of Pakistan. He was arrested and the Pakistan army went on a rampage in East Pakistan, raping and killing anybody who opposed them.The action by the Pakistan army threw overboard a tradition of over 200 years of professionalism as taught and practiced during the days of the Raj.
This had an effect as in the 1971 war the Pakistan army was defeated and lost half the country, with the emergence of Bangladesh. Simply put, the Pakistan army used to a life of luxury, simply lost the will to fight and almost 100,000 soldiers surrendered without much resistance.
This defeat should have been an eyeopener for the Pakistan army, but it got the constitution amended and became a permanent fixture in Pakistan. It began to call the shots in politics and generals like Zia ul Haq and Musharraf failed to inculcate a professional approach. This was seen in the Kargil war in 1998 when despite having advantage of terrain and better logistic conditions, the Pakistan army still retreated from the heights.
This was also the time the Pakistan general staff were convinced that they could only beat India by a policy of cultivating terror groups. They gave Osama Bin Laden a haven, but their incompetence was exposed when an elite squad of US Navy commandos shot him dead in an operation barely a 100 miles from the capital. Those who ride the tiger are eaten by the tiger. This has happened to Pakistan and the army is facing myriad terror groups who want the establishment of an Islamic caliphate. The battle is on and despite use of airpower, the terror groups are not defeated.
The Pakistan army used to calling the shots politically and having tasted political power is unable to go back and concentrate on professionalism. This is the root cause of degeneration of a fine fighting machine, which has been made impotent by trappings of political power and a soft life. It can spell further disaster for Pakistan in the years to come.
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