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Defeat-All-Around
The Ills of The Pakistan Army
Origins of the Pakistan Army
The Pakistan army was a part of the British Indian army till 1947. After that date it became the Pakistan army and the nucleus were the Muslim units of the British Indian army. The Muslim units of the British Indian army were known as hardy fighters who were fiercely loyal with an almost fatalistic contempt of death.
Pakistan army after 1947
During the 66 years of its existence after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Pakistan army has not exactly covered itself with glory. On most occasions it has been decisively defeated. A summary of the events related below will show the poor performance of the Pakistan army. It is about time the people of Pakistan questioned the competence of the force on which billions of dollars have been spent.
The Kashmir Operations 1947-48
a) In October 1948 the Pakistan army aided by tribal militias invaded the Kashmir valley. This was after a’ stand still’ agreement had been signed by the Maharajah of Kashmir with Pakistan in August 1947. The raiders quickly over ran the state forces and reached the outskirts of Srinagar. On 26th October, 1947 a panic stricken Maharajah Hari Singh acceded to India and on 27th October 1947 Indian troops entered the conflict.
The battle now took a different turn as the Pakistan regular troops and tribal militia were pushed back. In 5 months of fighting the infiltrating troops were forced to vacate the entire Kashmir valley. This was a big blow to Pakistan’s plan and they lost a golden opportunity to annex Kashmir.
The 1965 war Operation under Ayub Khan
b) The 1965 war with India again brought home the fact that the Pakistan army was not a potent fighting force. General Mohammed Ayub Khan thought it a ripe time to make an attempt to annex Kashmir. Thus ‘Operation Grand Slam’ was launched. The plan was sound and involved cutting of Kashmir from the rest of India while Pakistan infiltrators were expected to engineer a local uprising against India. In addition the confidence of General Ayub Khan was greatly bolstered with the induction of the latest weaponry from the USA for his army. Thus the sophisticated Patton Tanks and F-104 fighters were part of the Pakistan army’s arsenal.
The war which lasted 21 days ended without any tangible gains for the Pakistan army. On the contrary in various battles the Pakistan army was badly beaten. In the tank battle at Khemkaran tens of Patton tanks were abandoned by the Pakistan army as they retreated. No uprising also took place in Kashmir and over all Pakistan lost territory to India. It was a body blow to the Pakistan army which had been fed on a diet of Hindu’s as cowards and paved the way later for the exit of Ayub Khan.
Defeat in East and massive Surrender: Creation of Bangladesh 1971
c) The 1971 war is a water shed in the sub-continent as once and for all it established India as the dominant power in SE Asia. The Pakistan army was decisively defeated and has the distinction of losing half the country with the creation of the state of Bangladesh with Indian help. Worse the army displayed a marked unwillingness to fight and even with vast areas still under its control surrendered in East Pakistan. Close to 100,000 troops laid down arms, surrendered and became POW’s. This also surprised Richard Nixon the main supporter of Pakistan who had sent the elements of the 7th fleet with the aircraft carrier USS enterprise to aid the Pakistan forces in East Pakistan.
Kargil War 1998
d) The period after 1971 war allowed the Pakistan army to re-equip itself for another round. But involvement in political affairs and running the country took its toll and professionalism was at a premium. Thus in repeated battles and skirmishes the Pakistan army gave a poor account of itself. In the 1998 Kargil war, the Pakistan army again had to vacate precious ground and a cease fire was the only option.
Incompetence in West
Further its incompetence on the western border was manifest when the US Naval Commandos entered Pakistan airspace and reached just 60 miles from the Pakistan capital to kill Osama bin Laden. The Pak army knew nothing and could not detect this movement of US choppers. Even in the border incident n 2011,where 24 Paki soldiers died, the lack of proper training and a soft approach is apparent.
No Professionalism
The Pakistan army has given a go by to professionalism and the result is not good as Pakistan is a nuclear state. This inefficiency can translate to something more dangerous if these nukes fall into the hands of Islamic insurgents. This view has been articulated by the previous foreign minister Shah Qureshi who has in a speech on 28 November 2011 at Ghotki in Sind, opined that the nukes in Pakistan are not safe and could fall into the hands of Islamic insurgents.
Last Word
The sad part is that a superb fighting force is rendered impotent by a fat and inefficient Officer cadre, more intent in political power than professional work.
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