Crossed Swords: Pakistan, its Army and the Wars Within

General

A book discussion was held at CLAWS on 27 May 08 on a book titled “Crossed Swords: Pakistan, its Army and the Wars Within” written by Mr Shuja Nawaz. The author of the book Mr Shuja Nawaz made a presentation on the book and initiated the discussion. Lt Gen R K Sawhney (Retd) chaired the discussion. Mr Nawaz has been a newscaster and current affairs producer with Pakistan Television from 1967 to 1972, wherein he also covered the 1971 Indo-Pak war as a defence correspondent. Later he worked with the New York Times, the World Health Organisation and as a Division Chief with the International Monetary Fund. He also served as a Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency. His elder brother General Asif Nawaz was COAS of the Pakistan Army. The book is a historical analysis of the country’s polity that is dominated by the Pakistan Army as well as its turbulent relationship with the United States both in peace and war.

Aim and Genesis of the Book

The author dwelled on the following aspects with regard to the aim and genesis of the book:-

(a) The aim of the book is to help better understanding of the Pakistan  Army, both by the people of Pakistan and countries inimical to Pakistan.

(b) As probably the first war correspondent of Pakistan the author covered  all action in the Shakargarh Bulge during the 1971 war.

(c) He was given unrestricted access to the defence archives at General  Head Quarters as he was associated with an Army family. He also had  access to a  secret war report written six weeks after the end of the 1971  Indo-Pak war which was highly critical of the Pakistan Army debacle.  The report was not  even made available to the then Prime Minister, Mr Z A  Bhutto.

(d) He had free and frank interviews with two former Army Chiefs – viz  Gen Aslam Blg and Gen Pervez Musharaff which helped give insights about  the psyche of the Pakistan Army as it has evolved over the years.

Key Elements of Pakistan Army

The author emphasised the following the key elements of the Pakistan Army:-

(a) There has been either military or quasi-military governance in  Pakistan for last 60 years. This has resulted in a stunted political system in  Pakistan.

(b) Pakistan will need to re-learn the ways of democracy which is  essentially noisy and will have dissent and debate on every issue.

(c) The Pakistan Army suffers from a strong perception of external threat, especially from India; and thus it is of utmost importance for Pakistan to have  a strong military. This strength will keep India from becoming a hegemon. 
 
(d) However, the Pakistan Army does not suffer from a fear that India will  ever conquer Pakistan; but what it fears is domination by India in the region.

(e) Over the last few decades or so, it has become clear to the Pakistan  Army that there can be no military solution to Kashmir and that the time for  large scale manoeuvers is over.

(f) The Jihadi groups fostered by the Pakistan Army and the ISI for  over two decades have broken out of control of their mentors. This is a  cause of deep concern for the Pakistan Army.

(g) As a result, internal conflict in Pakistan between various religious /  economically backward groups has escalated to alarming levels.

(h) The US on the other hand is relying heavily on Pakistan to win the war  on terror so that the US can exit Afghanistan respectably.

(j) Re-training its officers and troops to undertake low intensity conflict that  is brewing internally, is a huge challenge for the Pakistan Army.

(k) Pakistan Army continues to enjoy a wide footprint in key business  areas of the country. Over the last few years as many as 1200 senior officers  of been inducted in to core civilian businesses that are controlled by the  government. This practice has proved to be counter productive as an  individual trained to serve in the Army cannot be competent to run a business.

Change taking place in Pakistan Army

The author dwelled on the following far reaching changes that are taking place in the Pakistan Army:-

(a) From being a Punjabi dominated Army the recruitment base has shifted  to central and southern Pakistan.

(b) Since 52% of Pakistan’s population lives in urban qreas, there is a shift  from a rural base to urban areas in their recruitment. 

(c) The Pakistan Army is increasingly becoming a more conservative  Army, but not necessarily fundamentalist in nature.

(d) With most of the actively radical ex-Generals of the Army having been  side-lined, e.g Lt Gen Gul Hamid, there is little likelihood of any radical groups  or elements rising within the Pakistan Army.

(e) The present Army Chief of Pakistan Gen Ashfaq Kiyani is pushing for  giving more room to civilian institutions to take their own decisions and for the  Army not to have any leanings towards any radical groups.

(f) With Gen Pervez Musharaff having opened up foreign training and  exposure to officers of the Pakistan Army, the present lot of officers are much  better trained and prepared than at any time in Pakistan’s history.

(g) The Army is convinced that there has to be only 10% military effort, but  90% civilian effort in finding a solution to its internal insurgency.

Conclusion

The talk and discussion held on the Pakistan Army gave good insights into the past and present day mindset of the Pakistan Army. The author has been highly critical of the Pakistan Army at a number of places, which has run itself as a premier political institution rather than an Army. Whether the Pakistan Army continues to remain the centre of gravity in Pakistan; only time will tell. However, the author has drawn lessons from the history of the Pakistan Army that may help Pakistan end its wars within and create a stable political entity without interference from the Pakistan Army.