Sultan M Hali
ONE of the tools the great powers employ to extend their dominance over the world is to break larger nations into smaller independent countries, which can be manipulated with ease. Students of history can gauge from an example from the contemporary era—the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Reportedly CIA, in order to break it into four countries, first weakened its army and the strategy to weaken the army was to present it as corrupt and disgraceful in the eyes of the people of Yugoslavia. It then succeeded in disintegrating Yugoslavia into four countries: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Bosnia was the only province with Muslim majority, so through a heinous plot, brutal massacre of Muslims was planned in order to convert them into a minority. Mercifully, the plot did not succeed.
Even a cursory glance at the current machinations in Pakistan point towards the same. Despite its smaller size, Pakistan has been a thorn in the sides of the Occident and arch rival India. The eastern wing of the country was severed in 1971 and it was planned that the western wing will also be broken up into smaller pieces. Readers may recall that soon after the East Pakistan debacle, unrest and insurgency commenced in Balochistan, which was suppressed but the conspiracies to fragment Pakistan persist. Pakistan has not only survived the heinous attempts but become more formidable after becoming a nuclear weapons equipped state. A conspiracy was hatched to depict Pakistan as indulging in nuclear proliferation and sanctions were imposed.
Pakistan’s detractors hatched a plot for ‘Direct Action’, taking the plea of 9/11 and ‘Terrorism’ after they invaded Afghanistan. Then they tried their best to enter into Pakistan, but they couldn’t and failed miserably just because of our Army which didn’t allow their proxy terrorists: Al-Qaeda, TTP, later the Daesh to destabilize Pakistan, as they did in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen. Propaganda machinery of the West and India was mobilized to surmise that miscreants will steal Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and use it against targets in Europe and the USA. Using this as a plea, it was planned that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons should be confiscated and placed in a secure neutral location. Pakistan warded off the conspiracy through robust planning, creating a Nuclear Command Authority and establishing safety and security measures to safeguard its nuclear assets.
Through the placement of proxy terror squads, the protagonists were successful in wreaking havoc in Pakistan by killing innocent people in schools, universities, markets, churches, mosques and temples. Pakistan managed to break the backs of the terror mongers through military operations. It has been established by Pakistan’s detractors that the defence forces of Pakistan, having managed to weather all storms, are the only stable institution. In the past, the Army had usurped power, displacing civilian dispensations but since 2008, the Army has resolved to abide by the Constitution and follow the diktat of the civilian government. Unfortunately, elements hostile to Pakistan have been burning the midnight oil to destabilize Pakistan and fragment it into numerous states. They believe that the stumbling block in their odious stratagem is the defence forces of Pakistan. Various plots are hatched to denigrate them. Conspiracy theories abound regarding the alleged ill-gotten wealth by some senior officers of the military to discredit them in the eyes of the general public as well as erode the morale of their subordinates and through seditious means, making them lose their respect.
The agenda is to discredit the Pakistan Army, since it remains more in the public eye and is perceived as having a stake in Pakistan’s affairs. In the near past, politicians who were incarcerated after being found guilty of corruption but have sought asylum in safer climes, are being manipulated to spew venom against the defenders of Pakistan. Some gullible people fall victim to the disdainful propaganda campaign and believe it to be true. These discredited politicians have no future in Pakistan but having the sponsorship of enemies of the state and in a desperate ploy to save their ill-gotten wealth as well preserve the future of their children in Pakistan’s politics, they do not refrain from shaking the applecart of democracy even at the cost of Pakistan’s stability and possible disintegration. These enemy-agents have become very active on Social Media, since 2008 and are continuously deriding Pakistan’s defence forces, particularly the Army. The masses should recall how a former Prime Minister had tried to dismiss an Army Chief, while he was in mid-air, refusing to permit his aircraft to land. The Memogate scandal, false accusations by a former Prime Minister of Pakistan Army’s collusion in the Mumbai attacks and other false flag operations by India, speak volumes for concerted efforts by agencies inimical to Pakistan using susceptible but greedy politicians.
It is ironic that the factotums of hostile intelligence agencies never raise their voice against corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, police, judiciary but they always target the Army which is a big hurdle for them in disintegrating Pakistan like Yugoslavia which is their main objective. They want to dissolve the accountability setup to escape the wrath of the judiciary and the long arm of the law. The same politicians have business deals with the enemy and would do their bidding to harm the state but present themselves the champions of the people. They demand respect for the vote, while they themselves trample its sanctity under their feet. Their machinations to disintegrate Pakistan will never succeed.
—The writer is retired PAF Group Captain and a TV talk show host.
