ON 16 December, the nation recollected bitter memories of two tragedies that constitute the darkest chapters of the checkered history of the country. It was the 53rd anniversary of the fall of Dhaka an ignominious development that served as a big blow to territorial integrity of the country due to political alienation and deep-rooted foreign conspiracy to dismember Pakistan. It was also on the same day that a dastardly terrorist attack was mounted on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar resulting in the loss of innocent lives and triggering moves aimed at eliminating the scourge of terrorism.
The APS tragedy underscored the threats and challenges to the remainder of Pakistan, prompting the civil and military leadership of the country to evolve a robust response to the threat. A national security policy and a national action plan against terrorism were formulated with the full backing of the parliament and the armed forces launched an effective operation to break the back of almost all terrorist outfits. No doubt, there is a renewed surge of terrorism taking heavy civilian and military toll because of regional factors and mischievous attitude of the Taliban Government in Afghanistan but our forces have the necessary capability and strength to take the campaign against terror to its logical conclusion. The objective is to create a congenial environment for socio-economic development of Pakistan and ensure safety and security of its citizens.
Pakistan will surely emerge victorious in this unconventional war because of the national consensus to stem the rot. However, it is regrettable that we have not learnt necessary lessons from the East Pakistan debacle as factors and reasons that culminated in the humiliating surrender at the Paltan Maidan due to political and strategic follies have not been addressed by the successive rulers and polarization and sense of alienation is increasing with the passage of time. This is despite the fact that the tragedy represented loss of identity and solidarity of the country and sincere and genuine steps to promote unity should have been the priority for rulers. It is an undeniable fact that India provided logistical and military support to the separatist group Mukti Bahni, facilitating the insurgency and ultimately invading East Pakistan in December 1971. India never accepted the reality of an independent and sovereign Pakistan and dismemberment of the country was planned to weaken Pakistan. This was confirmed by the remarks the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made we have avenged one thousand years of Muslim rule. India’s anti-Pakistan posture remains today as before which is evident from its involvement in acts of terrorism and backing of militant groups as well as conspiracies against purely economic ventures and projects like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Credit goes to visionary leaders like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who fathered Pakistan’s nuclear programme to serve as an effective deterrence against India’s hegemonic designs.
This deterrence has served the cause of security and defence as it prevented India from escalating conflicts and tensions into wars. Similarly, our premier intelligence agency, the ISI, is playing a lead role in thwarting nefarious designs of the enemy and despite lack of resources our defence forces are always ready to face any threat to the security of the country. However, political instability and tug-of-war among power players are now allowing the country to achieve desired levels of unity and economic progress. The Constitution envisages clear parameters for all stakeholders but instead of pursuing the constitutional provisions in letter and spirit, frequent attempts have been made to amend them to suit vested interests. One of the major factors behind the fall of Dhaka was the fact that the mandate of the Awami League was not accepted and respected and this tendency persists today. The situation is unlikely to improve meaningfully until and unless there is commitment to constitutionalism, rule of law, transparency, merit and pro-poor reforms.
