The Gola of Babot

Columnist Brig (Retd) SHER KHAN talks about the real Pakistan Army that remained untouched by the authors of the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report.

The last one or two months seem to have been declared as open season on Pakistan Army’s generals by its detractors, especially by those who claim to have a birthright to rule over this land, albeit in the garb of elected public representatives, despite the well-known fact that democracy in the real sense has been, and continues to be, the farthest thing from their minds. Not that one can find fault with democracy per se, but for it to take root and flourish, an enabling environment is absolutely essential, and we all know only too well what the environment in this country has been all these years; stark illiteracy, grinding poverty, exploitation in its worst forms, etc. First, it was the timing of the publication of parts of the Hamoodur Rehman Commission Report by India Today which carried some disparaging remarks about the performance of a few senior Army officers in the events that led up to the dismemberment of the country in 1971; the independent media and all manner of “experts” went to town over the disclosures, and bracketed all senior officers with the same coterie. This was followed by “disclosures” of corruption in arms purchases in which many names were thrown about, and by extension the impression was created that the entire military hierarchy must be thoroughly corrupt. Granted that there was the odd bad fish against whom there may be a prima facie case for indulging in corrupt practices, but what is lost sight of is the fact that the large body of officers remains untainted. And quite recently, there have been allegations about one individual apparently being indiscreet in the matter of disposing of a plot allotted to him, and everyone and his aunt in the media seems to think that senior officers have nothing else on their minds except to acquire plots at throwaway prices; the real story is quite different. Then again, it was time for annual “stock taking” as the present government completed the first year in office, which meant that everyone felt at liberty to take a potshot at everyone in khaki. As in everything in life, the perceptions are often quite different from the reality; so too is the case with the military services, which have always been largely professionally oriented, and continue to remain so. Perhaps it was time that the military’s PR organizations got a good shake up.

One thing has been conceded by one and all, detractors of the military included, and that is the fact that the rank and file, and the junior officers’ cadres, have never been found wanting or derelict in performing their duties, and on occasions too numerous to bear counting, gone beyond the call of duty. By sheer coincidence, while playing golf with an exceptionally fine retired senior army officer the other day, I learnt that he was going to attend a ceremony in an artillery regiment which he had commanded in the mid-seventies; it has been known as The Gola of Babot from soon after Partition. He had an interesting tale to tell about how the regiment came to get this name, and it seems to be worth sharing the story with readers.

On 23 November 1948, 7 Field Regiment, Royal Pakistan Artillery was ordered to move from Multan to the Bhimber Sector to take part in the Kashmir War, reaching Kotla on 30 November, after which it was placed in support of 14 Para Brigade and deployed around village Babot north east of Bhimber, from where it started engaging enemy targets. Since its firing was causing so much havoc, the Indians tried their level best to locate its gun positions so as to neutralize and destroy the guns. For eight days Indian aircraft flew photo reconnaissance missions, and finally located the gun positions. On 14 December, at about 8 a.m., the Indian artillery began counter-bombardment onto 7 Field, and soon two red coloured smoke shells exploded amidst the gun positions of C Troop, 15 Field Battery, and at about the same time Indian bombers were seen overhead. The smoke was obviously meant to indicate the target to the bombers so that they could destroy the target. 2nd Lieut Kamal Matinuddin, who was the Gun Position Officer (GPO) of C Troop, immediately had the smoke rounds extinguished.

Simultaneously, 2nd Lieut Mohammad Naqi Khan who was GPO of 11 Field Battery got two rounds of red smoke fired in an unoccupied area about two thousand meters to the right of the gun position. The Indian bombers then set about blasting the wrong target, while the guns of 7 Field continued to engage enemy targets. Counter-bombardment by enemy artillery continued throughout the day, with shells landing in and around 7 Field’s positions, without causing any damage.

At the time of the ceasefire, General D.D. Gracy, C-in-C Pakistan Army, visited 7 Field on 1st January 1949 to commend its excellent performance, and gave it the name of GOLA OF BABOT, which it has proudly kept ever since (GOLA being its code name during the Kashmir War).

Endnote: 2nd Lt Kamal Matinuddin served with distinction in the Pakistan Army, and retired in the rank of lieutenant general. Anyone wishing to engage in an objective study of the debacle in East Pakistan and the circumstances leading upto it would do well to read his authoritative book on the subject, which was published by the Services Book Club in 1993