Qamar Bashir
Hamid Mir’s interview with Channel 24 was heartbreaking, unbelievable, and demoralizing for the entire nation when he quoted former Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwas as saying that he cannot go to war with rusting tanks and no diesel to power them. He added insult to injury by saying that the former army chief sold out Kashmir to India, and he finally hammered the depression into the entire nation by saying that Bajwa arranged a visit of Indian Prime Minister Modi in 2021 by bypassing the foreign office or even keeping the prime minister in full picture, but pursued it vehemently until foreign affairs dug it up after hearing from other sources. He held a grudge against those who did not obey his orders and used it as one of the reasons for instituting regime change. The stunning and surprising revelation that our army is incapable for fighting any battle or war gave the entire nation bouts of depression, betrayal, and disappointment. This has broken my heart and the hearts of my countrymen like nothing else can.
I witnessed the shift in emphasis on the Kashmir issue while serving as Press Minister at Pakistan’s Embassy in France. From 2016 to 2020, our undercover diplomat used to motivate the community by providing psychological and patriotic motivation as well as resources such as banners, transportation, pocket money, and protection to stage agitation across Europe so frequently that it sometimes resulted in over fatigue to the community, but later, we saw a visible slow down in such pursuit, which has now almost halted. The local media, which was forced to air Indian atrocities and create videos of human rights violations in the newly renamed Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, lost almost all of its steam, and hostility along the line of control ceased completely. When the army was romancing and flirting with India, the civilian leadership continued to pursue a belligerent attitude toward India, oblivious to the fact that the army had changed its heart toward India and had allegedly sold Kashmir. It was ironic that while on the civilian side any association with Indian politicians was still considered an unforgivable crime, a taboo, our Director General Inter Services Intelligence was warming up its relations with his counterpart, selling out Kashmir, planning a visit by the Indian Prime Minister to Pakistan, and restoring trade and business relations without even looping in civilian leadership. Does it vindicate the truth in what Mr. Hamid Mir said in his interview? If not proven with authentic qualification otherwise, his assertion still raises many eyebrows and everyone is now connecting the dots on the army slowing down its rhetoric against Indian aggression in IIJ&K and Indian leadership and an attempt by them to restore full diplomatic, trade, and business relations. Like many of my countrymen, I believe that a clarification from the army based on tangible, irrefutable, and authentic documentary evidence, rather than usual verbosity, boosting, unfounded claims of bravery, and unsupported rhetoric, is required.
It was also disheartening to hear the pathetic, unbelievable, and disappointing aspect of the interview, which, if true, had let down the entire nation and insulted and betrayed all those direct and indirect tax payers, including laborers, who give away a large portion of their earnings in the hope and expectation that the country’s defense is impregnable. I hope it is nothing more than a bunch of lies concocted, but if there is even an iota of truth, it is a betrayal of the entire nation, politicians, businesspeople, traders, civil society, and the media who were twisted to adopt a belligerent attitude against India. I hope and pray that this interpretation is incorrect, and that the truth remains that the army was fully committed to playing its constitutional role and was subservient to the constitution and the institutions under it.
The terrifying part of the interview, which gave me and the entire nation bouts of depression and shudders was the alleged statement in which Mr. Bajwa stated that the army is incapable of fighting any battle or war. I, and perhaps the entire nation, want to believe and maintain that our army is formidable, unbeatable, and fully capable and ready, both in terms of human resources and top-notch equipment, to defend every inch of the motherland. I want to reiterate my belief that the army is the only world class institution in terms of professional competence, bravery, morale, and unwavering commitment to defending every inch of the country.
Let us pause for a moment to take a bird’s-eye view of our defense budget for fiscal year 2022-23. Net federal revenue was Rs 3,803 billion, plus non-tax revenue of Rs 1,315 billion, for a total of Rs 5,118 billion. Debt servicing consumed Rs 3,144 billion, defense expenditure Rs 1,450 billion, and an additional Rs 513 billion paid as pension to retired armed forces personnel from the “civilian kitty” since 2011. The total defense expenditure is Rs. 3553 billion (outright allocation 1450+ debt apportionment to defense 1573+pension to armed personnels 530 billion). This is colossal when compared to the Rs. 530 million spent by the entire civil administration, which manages the whole 230 million people, and when the strength of both is almost equal, with defense personnel at 560,000 and civilians at 581,755. The amount spent on civilians is 6.7% less than the amount spent on the armed forces. What do we get in exchange, rusted tanks and no fuel to power them?
This enormous sacrifice by the nation was acceptable when we had the self-serving allusion that the army is always ready to defend the country, but if the content of the interview is true, then the entire nation is exposed to imminent external and internal threads that, like me, the entire nation is not ready to believe but will eventually wake up from falsely induce sleep and dreams.
According to Hamid Mir, this poor, dilapidated, and crumbling state of the army was painted by none other than the former may chief, whose declared assets were worth more than Rs. 13 billion (approximately USD 80 million), and since the revelation, there has been no rebuttal or refusal, only arrest and punishment of those allegedly involved in leaking General Bajwa’s asset detail. This poor state of the army cannot be explained by General Asim Saleem Bajwa’s alleged accumulated wealth, which includes a business empire that established 99 companies in four countries, including a pizza franchise with 133 restaurants worth an estimated $39.9 million. His wife was a shareholder in 85 companies, including 82 foreign companies (71 in the United States, seven in the United Arab Emirates, and four in Canada). His wife has also made real estate investments, and she owns 13 commercial properties in the United States, including two shopping centers worth $52.7 million.
It is the same army where former naval chief Admiral Mansurul Haq was caught red handed for receiving commissions and kickbacks worth $3.369 million in defence deals.
This is the same army that allegedly sits on assets and companies worth more than $20 billion in 2016 and must have more than doubled by now. These assets were never subjected to the effects of any economic downturn. The army declared 50 housing projects, oil and gas drilling projects, stud farms, an aviation company, a diesel producing company in collaboration with the world’s largest US-based oil and gas company, Exxonmobil, and over 120 high value entities in virtually every aspect of life, from phosphorus, aviation, sugar, and apparels to academic institutions and even security guards in 2016. All of these and many other companies, whose capital has been generated by Pakistan’s top generals over the years, are managed by the “Army Welfare Trust” (AWT), a conglomerate founded in 1971 and entirely managed by Pakistan army officials.
There have also been numerous allegations leveled against serving and retired generals of accepting handouts from foreign potentates, taking jobs in foreign companies, being hired by local businessmen to peddle influence, assisting family members in dodgy deals, using their positions to trade favors, particularly with businessmen under a cloud, engaging in good old-fashioned extortion and protection rackets, particularly in troubled areas like Balochistan, and taking commissions on defence contracts (even with the Chinese).
It is the army that former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf used to buy apartments in Dubai and London with millions of dollars from the Saudi king. Another former army chief, Pervez Kiyani, was accused of shielding his brothers’ shady land deals while in office and amassing a massive real estate portfolio. Kayani’s successor, Raheel Sharif, was given 90 acres of prime agricultural land near the border with India, as well as a post-retirement job as the commander of a new international force formed by the Saudis, which raised eyebrows in Pakistan.
After retiring, former ISI chief and ‘super patriot’ Ahmad Shuja Pasha took a job in Dubai and received ex-post facto clearance after the Supreme Court questioned how he and Raheel could take up these jobs without government clearance. Given the preponderant influence of Pakistan Army in virtually every sphere of national life, businesses in the country have figured that employing generals on fat salaries is the surest way to get work done, obtain clearances, browbeat rivals and even clients. A former ISI chief along with other 3-star generals were booked for leasing the land of Pakistan Railways on throwaway price for a golf club in Lahore causing a loss of around Rs 200 Crore by investing funds of the National Logistics Cell (NLC) in the stock market in exchange of commissions and kickbacks. While the two 3-star generals were let off by a military court, the 2-star general was punished by being ‘dismissed from service’.
The 3-star general, Obaidullah Khattak, was alleged to have made Rs 1500 Crores in his three years as IGFC. His successor, Maj. Gen. Ejaz Shahid was made to deposit Rs 5 Crores with the GHQ as punishment. Ejaz Shahid had procured a non-custom duty paid fancy sports car for his son and it was an accident of this car that blew the whole scam in public – protection rackets, extortion, and every other illegal activity possible. the business arms of the military – banks, logistics firms, real estate development, construction companies, bakeries, marriage halls, industrial concerns – have a virtual run of the country, landing lucrative government contracts and having the ability to edge out competition.
Allegedly, in Karachi, the modus operandi is different. Every Corps Commander is believed to turn into an overnight stock market genius. The way this happens is that one or more of the top stock market players offer to invest a modest amount of money for a new Corps Commander. Within months the money starts to grow exponentially and by the time the tenure ends, the general is a billionaire.
It is also alleged that if it were left to the generals – whom they refer to as real estate agents – they would even extend their lucrative Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Schemes beyond the border with India. No Pakistan Army general it is alleged can afford a war with India to save their properties.
I recall Qazi Husain Ahmed, the then-Emir of the Jamaat Islami (JI), saying in late October 1998 that the generals are not Corps Commanders but ‘Crore Commanders who allegedly have captured Pakistani state, society, and economy is not only the largest and most powerful political party in Pakistan and the de facto government, but also the country’s largest and most diverse business conglomerate and land owner.
I want to believe that all of these allegations of corruption are false and without merit, but if they are, it is cause for great concern and a clear indication that our defenses against both external and internal threats are severely weakened. It also exposes the naked fact that the civilian government has always been a stooge of the armed forces, with no say in major decisions, key appointments, allocation of national resources, and fiscal prudence in spending public money. It also reveals that the army believes it is fully capable of making decisions on foreign affairs and diplomacy on its own, and that it treats civilian leaders as wax noses that it can turn in any direction and at any time. It considers itself above the constitution and the law, and it violates the law with total impunity. If this is true, it means that all army and national resources are being diverted to increase the personal wealth of generals, their accomplices, and their families, while leaving the army and the nation poorer, and tanks without fuel and guns without ammunition. It is up to the army to take stock of the interview content, separate fact from fiction, bring all material facts bearing on the security and safety of the country to the fore, and take severe punitive action wherever either the constitution or the law of the land was violated, an incident of corruption was noted, and any army officer was found to have built assets worth more than his or her known source of income. It is also now necessary to shift all spying assets from monitoring and profiling civilians to monitoring and profiling generals and their subordinates in order to create some deterrence for the entire army, from Jawan to General, to stay within the constitutional framework at all times and return to the federal government any asset accumulated through illegal means.
