Opinion: Is It Payback Time For Pakistan Army?

It's ironic in the extreme. Even as the Pakistan Army marched in precision on the parade ground and showcased its might on the occasion of Pakistan Day two days ago (March 23), facts indicate that it is riven with divisions on an unprecedented scale. Apart from near-daily attacks on itself, the army has turned into a brute force, with its ‘counter-terrorism' operations not differentiating even children or women from terrorists. That's terrible for the people on the receiving end, but deeply corrosive also for the forces that undertake such actions. So what explains the rumours of deep resentment within the lower ranks, and, if reports are to be believed, calls for the Army Chief to resign?

A Bloody War

The parade itself was held with all fanfare, with a rather uncomfortable looking Prime Minister in front, while President Zardari delivered the formal address. Behind him was the Army Chief and his cohorts. The whole seating arrangement could have been reversed and nobody would have batted an eye, so obviously was the Army Chief in charge. 

However, recent attacks on his forces—not just the hijack of the Jaffar express but also a series of attacks thereafter not just in Balochistan, but also in the highly unstable Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region—have called into question the Army's slipping grip. Reports from Pakistani think-tanks have already highlighted 2024 as the worst year on record in a decade in terms of terror attacks; the graph is likely to only rise this year. Reports indicate that there have been 179 incidents till March 11 with 255 casualties, which include members of the Army, Frontier Corps, Levies, Constabulary, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and Police. 

In a rage, the Pakistan army acted exactly as per precedent. It turned upon the hapless population, firing on crowds, including children, and picking up those who have stood up peacefully for Baloch rights. That includes the charismatic Mehrang Baloch, who is fast being made into a leader of repute, ironically due to the actions of the army itself. She has been charged with sedition and terrorism, all for staging a sit-in at a university. But anger within Balochistan is growing. Quetta erupted with protests after her arrest and hundreds turned up for the funerals of those killed. As the numbers mount, so will the situation.

No Counter-Strategy

Amazingly, the Pakistan army, arguably the most experienced ‘terrorist'-sponsoring army in the world, seems to have no conception at all about counter-terrorism in its own country. It has bombed, strafed and used artillery against its own citizens, even taking journalists on an air ride to see the destruction caused in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where hundreds upon hundreds of houses had roofs missing even as some 72,000 fled the area. That was 2016. Anyone with a modicum of knowledge would have said that things were likely to get much worse roughly three to four years down the line. That's how much it takes for an angry population to turn upon its tormentors, and for resistance groups to regroup. 

And that did happen. Now, there are few areas where Pakistani forces can move with impunity. That also applies to Balochistan, which has been treated with colonial contempt. But the real downside is this: such operations against one's own people have eroded the cohesion of the army that is fighting it. Armies are honed and trained on ‘honour' in battle against an ‘enemy', for which valour they are rewarded and respected, most of all from the villages they come from. But fighting civilians and children carry no such benefits, and no army man, whether Pakistani or Indian, will tolerate this. That is the core reason why the Indian army has had the sense to fight with ‘one hand behind its back', and why it organised its own outreach programmes such as ‘Sadhbhavana', which has a range of initiatives aimed at providing services to populations in insurgency-hit areas. That's not just morality, it's an operational necessity.

Missing In Action

Pakistan army's governance is “missing in action”. Recent reports indicate that even a star project such as the Gwadar deep sea port has remained in limbo due to the unavailability of even basic drinking water and a power source. Not that China hasn't supplied the required equipment. The recent meeting by Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning was told that 10,000 Chinese solar panels were delivered in May 2024, followed by another 5,000 in September, under a grant-in-aid programme, apart from much else. China rather sensibly had also provided grants for a desalination plant and a huge hospital in a bid to woo the Baloch. None of that is operational. Despite providing Pakistan with natural gas to sustain its economy, the state itself faces a severe lack of power. 

The point here is that it's the Pakistan army that's in the driving seat in the Balochistan province. Nothing moves—quite literally—without the say-so of the security forces, in this case, the X11 Corps with its two Infantry Divisions, as well as an unknown number of Pakistani Rangers, a paramilitary force that comes under the direct command of the army in crisis situations. Then are several thousands of troops of the Frontier Corps, which have only increased in strength in recent months. Even with all this, Balochistan, as lawmakers say, is out of the control of the state. It was not just Maulana Fazlur Rehman who said on the floor of the house that “Pakistan's physical boundaries might be altered sooner rather than later”. The opinion was also echoed by former Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, a trusted advisor of the government. In other words, the Pakistan army, which not only runs counter-terrorism operations but also heads almost everything in the state, including the Strategic Investment Facilitation Council, the lead body intended to ‘drive' investment into a declining state, not to mention a $100-billion economic empire, seems to have failed at all its tasks. Rampant insurgency, a declining economy and, if reports are to be believed, a large group of junior officers shooting off a letter demanding that the Army Chief resign, are testament to the Pakistan Army's failures. The ‘secret' letter, by the way, accuses the Army Chief of dragging the institution into muck and using it for his own vendetta. This is powerful stuff.

Glory Days, Gone

This is an army that once used to get praise for its professionalism, earning at times the envy of its ‘enemy' for its absolute discipline and superior position in society. That is all history. Today, the army is seen as an oppressor and a bandit force (remember that the ISI has been accused of extorting money from businessmen). Most vitally, its extreme violence has caught the attention of the world. As of today, all major newspapers, including the New York Times, are covering the ‘forgotten war' that has been Balochistan in the last four decades. Mehran Baloch is nominated for the Nobel, while her compatriots are slated for the prestigious Nelson Mandela Prize. The world is sitting up to take notice, and not in a good way. The irony: none other than the Pakistan army, or rather, its leadership, has made this happen over the years. It may well be payback time now. 

(Tara Kartha is a former director of the National Security Council Secretariat)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author