Dear Readers,

The guns have been booming along the Line of Control (LOC) in Kashmir. According to the Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal SK Sareen, it is nothing unusual, it being a seasonal phenomenon’, unquote. One begs to differ, something was not not right. Given that the structure of command from the PM downwards is different in India from Pakistan, there was a deliberate and cynical geo-political air about the Indian shelling. In Pakistan, authority is usually delegated to the local commanders to respond as and when required when attacked. In India, the action and/or reaction is much more centralized, the Commanders of the three Services are very much subservient to the Defence Secretary and as such will only take initiative once it is cleared by civilian control. Since LK Advani, the former BJP Supremo and presently Indian Home Minister, has taken over direct charge of Indian Occupied Kashmir, deliberate escalation was to be expected, the scale was unprecedented. by targetting non-combatants, a message was being sent to Pakistan in a very ruthless manner. As DJ goes into print for August, the guns are silent, but for how long? One day in the near future the Kashmir problem will have to be solved and that can only happen if India becomes more flexible in its attitude. That should happen sooner rather than later, for the peace of the region and the world.

As the Publisher and Managing Editor of the Defence Journal, I would like to make an unqualified apology to the Chief Patron, Air Marshal (Retd) Asghar Khan, for some outrageous remarks published in the May 1998 issue in an article by Sqn Ldr (Retd) Shoaib Alam Khan. The remarks were highlighted because of an oversight and I personally take full responsibility, requesting the Air Marshal to forgive this criminal lapse on DJ’s part. I have received many (very) angry messages from senior armed forces officers, retired and serving, particularly from the PaF, and I can only fall back on saying that the Air Marshal is not only a hero to me personally but remains a symbol of integrity and honesty in every part of Pakistan. There can be no mitigating the anguish caused to him and his family but he must rest assured that the mistake is very much regretted.

There is an overdue need to rein in members of our intelligence agencies against launching personal vendettas. The unfortunate misuse of the powers of the states organs by unscrupulous elements goes on and on, demeaning and discounting the excellent work done by these agencies in many areas. We thought we had seen the last of the likes of Javed Ashraf Qazi when he retired as Federal Secretary Science and Technology but it seems we under-estimated his residual nuisance value particularly through the old-school tie network over the organisation he so meticulously destroyed. For the sake of the fair name of the uniform and the country it is better not to expose the dirt under the carpet otherwise it would be a privilege to unmask people such unscrupulous who pride themselves only in using their positions of influence to smear and tarnish others of whom they are jealous. There has to accountability from those who are creating facts’ to suit their own ulterior analysis. Out of friendship and deep respect for the head of the organisation, one is under some restraint against sorting out Qazi’s school-tie connection. However, one cannot wait forever on a fail-safe line’, there is a limit to one’s patience. While others keep on taking swings at you for no factual reason whatever except jealousy and a fair bit of ethnic hatred, should one remain silent?

The country needs unity now more than ever. What we saw at Attock Bridge and Ubaro was a consensus building against a united federation. Let us go back to 1971 and evaluate the reasons why this country fell apart. Instead of enumerating a whole list, let us highlight only the major ones e.g. mutual suspicion, refusal to give fundamental rights, acute disparity, contemptuous attitude, dubious role of vested interests, etc etc. the biggest mistake was the failure of our intelligence agencies to correctly gauge the mood of the people, mainly because analysis and decision-making officials were engaged in trivial personal pursuits and/or personal vendettas. To cover up their own failures and inadequacies they conjured up enemies and fantasy doomsday scenarios. This is the favourite tactics of the inefficient to divert their superiors’ attention. While Kalabagh Dam is vital to Pakistan’s future but the PM, Mian Nawaz Sharif made a mistake by announcing the construction of the Kalabagh Dam as a fait accompli. Public reaction made him correct his mistake and call for a consensus, something he should have done in the first place. he made what is now called a blunder only because he was not properly briefed about the consequences thereof. Our agencies should have predicted the public reaction and advised caution to the PM. The onus of this failure is on them rather than on the PM. Now instead of giving correct advice, they are busy building up imaginary enemies alongwith real ones. One may well ask, while they give him reports about others what is the report they make to others about him? While Ms Banezir as PM was receiving reports about all and sundry, the same people were also keeping tabs on her, well documented. The absence of credible think tanks makes the advice of ISI and IB of vital importance to the ruling party, however their own various individual interests waylay that advice. Unless we improve our information gathering and analysis disseminating potential by re-invigorating these agencies with fresh, non-controversial professionals who have a penchant for honest, objective reporting of facts as they are,we shall remain in trouble because what we will get otherwise will be the sum of the ability and the vendettas of non-professional, inefficient and character-less functionaries. While cowards may be beneath contempt, they cause immeasurable damage to the fabric of the nation if they are left in place.

Who will rid us of such people?