Unabating terror

Addressing an election rally on September 8 in Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India is ready to start a dialogue with Pakistan if it stops supporting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The question arises: can Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif take the initiative to end the policy of sponsoring terrorism and start talks with India?

Sadly, Pakistan is not a democracy where the elected government decides foreign policy. Rather, Pakistan is run by a 'Deep State' which is an unelected authority, and which wields control over all important issues. The Deep State comprises the army and its intelligence wing, the ISI. The army is the final arbiter in politics and perhaps everything else.

We have repeatedly witnessed how civilian authority has been systematically humiliated, crushed and demoralised in Pakistan. Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto tried to exert himself but he was overthrown and later hanged by Gen. Zia ul Haq. Nawaz Sharif stood up to Gen. Musharraf but he was overthrown in a military coup and placed under arrest. Later on, he had to go into exile. More recently, Imran Khan tried to stand up to the Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir but he was summarily overthrown and is still languishing in prison.

A hostile relationship with India serves the interests of the Pakistani Generals, for they are able to project themselves as the real defenders of Pakistan. If there is peace with India, the army would have to confine itself to the barracks. However, if there is hostility with India, the army is able to call the shots on the ground that it alone can protect the country. That is why their top military leaders have traditionally opposed the idea of a rapprochement with India because hostility serves their interests.

Ever since Pakistan was routed in the 1971 war and lost its eastern part which became Bangladesh, Pakistani Generals have spoken about taking revenge and 'bleeding India by a thousand cuts'. Being fully aware that an all-out war with India could be disastrous, Pakistani Generals want to destabilise India without actually going to war. They cannot overlook how the adventurous and cocky Musharraf had risked the Kargil war with India in which Pakistan suffered a crushing defeat.

Knowing full well that India’s economic and military strength is much greater, and that there is no way Pakistan can win a war against us, Pakistani Generals have based their strategy on carrying out covert warfare. They have tried to achieve this through terrorists who are trained by the Pakistan army and sent across the Line of Control to fight against Indian security forces. Simultaneously, there is an all-out effort by the Pakistani establishment to pass off these terrorists as indigenous Kashmiri freedom fighters.

With his government heavily reliant on the army to stay in power following a controversial election, Shahbaz Sharif is unlikely to do anything that would go against the wishes of the Generals. Thus, it is too much to expect that the government of Shahbaz Sharif will be able to end terrorism against India when carrying out terrorist attacks against India has been the Pakistan army's policy for decades and continues to be the same even now.

One interesting offshoot of the army's ruling the roost in Pakistan is the Fauji Foundation, a corporate organisation run by the army. It has been expanded slowly and steadily and has now become one of the largest corporate groups in Pakistan. It is active in several areas such as fertilisers, cement, food, power generation, gas exploration, LPG marketing and distribution, financial services and security services.

The Fauji Foundation is managed by the Pakistan Army, with about 85-90 per cent of the positions filled by serving or retired personnel from the three armed forces. The managing director is usually an Army general, and the Board of Directors is chaired by the Federal Secretary of Defence, with members drawn from within the Army organisation. Naturally, all the plum positions in the Fauji Foundation go to senior Generals who are loyal to the Army Chief. It is cronyism of a sort which could never have happened if the army did not completely rule the roost.

The army is seen to have generated unprecedented material benefits for itself, a fact which has become a source of resentment among the common people. This is especially visible in the real estate sector. Defence Housing Societies have been developed with vigour in many Pakistani cities, and army officers have got large plots of land at throwaway prices. Many Pakistanis feel that the army is misusing its position while also getting distracted from its actual role and functions.

Pakistan's leading newspaper The Dawn had reported on January 1, 2019 that the then Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had said while hearing a case pertaining to a Defence Housing society— “Is it the army's job to develop housing societies? I ask you, the army and everyone else: Which country's army operates housing schemes? The army's job is to protect the country's borders; not to participate in commercial activities." He further added, "Had the DHA done this for our martyrs, it would have been [understandable]." The Chief Justice then commented: " Your name has been [stained] every time you have gone into housing schemes. It seems that you people run your business by using widows and martyrs as a shield, and you pocket royalties."

I must recount an unforgettable joke which I heard from a Pakistani friend, and which reflects the widespread cynicism over what was going on in that country:

Generals from various countries were sent up in a rocket to orbit around the planet. They were given telescopes to see what was happening on planet Earth.

The American quickly found a nice location for himself and was soon looking intently into his telescope. When asked what he was looking at, he replied that he was looking at the deployment of Russian troops.

The Russian who was also peering into his telescope, explained that he was observing the build-up of the NATO troops.

The Indian said he was looking at the borders of China and Pakistan to see their troop deployments.

Similarly, all the Generals explained what they were looking at.

The Pakistani General was by himself in one corner, looking intently into his telescope. When the others around him asked what he was looking at, he replied nonchalantly, “I’m trying to see which corner plots are available in Lahore’s Defence Housing Society!

It is the Pakistanis themselves who have to rectify the situation that exists in their country, though it will be a long haul for them. They have to wake up to the fact that their country is being run for the benefit of a privileged few, and the Generals are right at the top in this list. Until the stranglehold of the military weakens, Pakistan’s policy towards India will continue to be extremely hostile, and we in India will have to be prepared to handle the fallout of this.

The writer is a retired Indian diplomat and had previously served as Consul General in New York. Views expressed are personal