The new era and our old narrative

Addressing a special session of the National Assembly on National Security, Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir has said that we should leave the discussion of new and old Pakistan and talk about “our Pakistan”.

Pakistan has no shortage of resources and manpower, the elected representatives of the people determine the destination and the Pakistan Army will fully support them in the journey of development and success of Pakistan.

He clarified that the center of gravity is the people of Pakistan, the constitution and the parliament are the manifestations of the opinion of the people, the people exercise their opinion through the constitution and the parliament. All the members of the National Assembly welcomed the views of the Pakistan Army Chief by banging the desks and applauding him.

The Army Chief further said that the sovereignty belongs to Almighty Allah, the Constitution has been empowered by this order of Allah, the Constitution says that the authority will be exercised by the elected representatives of the people. The Chief of Pakistan Army also paid homage to the makers of the 1973 Constitution.

The army chief said that this is a campaign based on the pre-approved and ongoing strategy data, dialogue and development of the state of Pakistan, this campaign will include all the essential elements of the government like legal, economic, social, apart from the security institutions. , including externalities. This is not a new operation but reflects the whole of nation approach ie the unwavering trust of the people which includes all elements of the state.

He said that there is no no-go area in Pakistan at this time, Alhamdulillah, behind this success is the sacrifice of a large number of martyrs and Ghaziyans who have cultivated this country with their blood. More than 80,000 people offered sacrifices, including the blood of more than 20,000 Ghaziyans and more than 10,000 martyrs.

The Pakistan Army chief bluntly said that the terrorists have no other option but to accept the writ of the state. The consequences of negotiations with the terrorists came in the form of their further grouping. The security forces are ready to maintain peace in the country, intelligence-based operations are being conducted on a daily basis in this regard.

The in-camera session of the National Assembly was presided over by Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Sharaf. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir, DG ISI, DG Military Operations and senior military leadership. In the meeting, full confidence and determination was expressed on the supremacy of the constitution and law. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to the officers and men of the law enforcement agencies including Army, Rangers, Police.

The Prime Minister said that the peace achieved by four years of sacrifices has been destroyed. Peace was restored by the great sacrifices of our martyrs, this hard work was wasted in four years, why did terrorism return in the country? who brought Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif raised questions.

He said that all the provinces had given funds under the objectives of ending terrorism and FATA reforms, where did they go? Where were the resources of billions of rupees given to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa used? They have to be answered. Asif Ali Zardari, Maulana Asad Mahmood, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other leaders also addressed the meeting.

In the current situation of Pakistan, the special session of the National Assembly related to national security is very important. In this meeting, the importance of the elected representatives of the people in the affairs of the state has come to light. What the Pakistan Army Chief has said under the title “Our Pakistan” is the most important need of the hour. The slogans of New Pakistan and Old Pakistan and the politics of those who raise these slogans are in front of the people of the country. The real thing is that the discussion of new Pakistan and old Pakistan is futile because the real truth is that Pakistan belongs to all of us.

If there is Pakistan, our present and the future of our children and our interests are safe. If there is no Pakistan, no one’s situation, no future, and no one’s interests are safe. Protecting the lives and property of all citizens living within the borders of Pakistan is the first duty of all institutions, civil servants, parliamentarians, political and religious parties and the business community of this country. In this work, everyone has to fulfill their duty within their own constitutional and legal scope.

It is not the duty of any single institution to follow the Constitution of Pakistan, but it is the duty of all the state institutions to perform their duties within the prescribed limits of the Constitution. The business community also has a duty to conduct their business in accordance with the law and while doing charity work, take into account that the organizations or institutions they are donating to do not cause problems for the society and the state. Be

The Pakistan Army chief has used ambiguous words regarding terrorists and their facilitators, without any ambiguity. Those challenging the state deserve no concessions. Pakistan cannot be called our Pakistan without destroying especially the terrorist organizations, i.e. the leadership of these organizations, their armed groups, their facilitators, their financiers, their handlers and carriers.

Isn’t it cruel to the state and its people that the state, any institution of the state, any political or religious leadership tries to play the game of negotiations with those who massacred them and that too in such a way that terrorists surrender too? Don’t and boldly put forward your terms, even if they are against Pakistan. Can an influential group be allowed to negotiate with such rebellious and anti-national thinkers in the name of the state?

A self-interested class was cultivated in Pakistan during the reign of Ayub Khan. Ayub Khan diverted the government resources to this vested interest group under the guise of the slogan of so-called development. Abandoned properties, government properties were acquired on the principles of nepotism, cronyism and vested interests. Thus, in Pakistan, a class was included in the list of nobles, who acquired resources without hard work and these resources were owned by the state and government or in the form of abandoned properties and waqf properties.

Ayub Khan’s power and his tyranny were driven by Cold War interests. America, Great Britain and NATO countries supported Ayub Khan’s rule and provided grants and dollars. After Ayub Khan, the power of Yahya Khan was the continuation of the same. These policies ultimately resulted in the fall of Dhaka.

After the fall of Dhaka, the current political leadership of Pakistan adopted a consensus constitution in 1973. Even in this constitution, there were inconsistencies, ambiguities and doubts, but despite them, this constitutional document became a torch to put Pakistan on a democratic journey. When Zia-ul-Haq assumed power in 1977, the class that had become powerful under Ayub Khan joined him. Now the Cold War was in its final phase.

During the Zia-ul-Haq era, the specific religious narrative provided the cover of the state so that the US and NATO could successfully fight the last round of the Cold War against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. During Zia-ul-Haq’s 11-year rule, certain religious narratives and the wealth of their supporters grew, and a certain mentality emerged in the form of capitalism. The problems that Pakistan is facing today are the result of the alignments that took place during the Cold War.

Now that the Cold War has come to an end, Pakistan needs a new way of thinking. New thinking has prevailed in the world. New alignments are forming and new state narratives have been created. Today’s world is not a world of ideological wars, but a world of wars fought for economic interests. To take Pakistan forward, we have to get out of the Cold War narrative and specific thinking.