Daily Times

Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif paid his maiden visit since taking office to GHQ in Rawalpindi on Tuesday to commemorate the sacrifices made by the armed forces in the struggle against militancy. The PM, who was received by the outgoing army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, laid a floral wreath at the Martyrs Monument. During his meeting with the officers and jawans (soldiers), the PM praised them for setting an ‘historic example’ by sacrificing their lives for the defence of the motherland. He said, “Those who have fought for Pakistan, be they Ghazi (living) or Shaheed (martyred) have sacrificed their today for ensuring a better tomorrow for our future generations and all of them are our benefactors.” The visit was aimed at putting balm on the smarting wounds of the armed forces in the backdrop of the martyrdom controversy emanating from the statement of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief, Munawar Hasan, who considers the lives laid down by the soldiers of Pakistan wasted in the war against terrorism and that they are not Shaheed since they were helping the US. To Munawar Hasan, Hakeemullah Mehsud is a martyr, and Pakistani soldiers just war dead. The timing of Munawar Hasan’s statement, when the war against terrorists has claimed the lives of 5,000 soldiers, and when the terrorists have vowed to bring more misery to the nation, speaks volumes of the JI’s distorted vision. After the death of Hakeemullah Mehsud, the prospects of peace with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have evaporated. The new chief of the TTP, Mullah Fazlullah, has issued a warning of taking stern revenge. The country has been put on high alert in anticipation of vicious attempts by the TTP during Muharram. Still the JI considers the TTP chief a martyr and those who have been killed at the TTP’s hands stooges of the US. Not only has the Pakistan army reacted strongly at the statement of the JI, it has hurt the emotions of the entire nation. Suddenly the sacrifices made by the country and its innocent people were rubbished and the atrocities of the TTP glorified. In other words Munawar Hasan has endorsed the terrorist activities of the TTP since according to him they had been fighting against an ally of the US, which justifies the killing of Pakistani citizens and soldiers. What a horrific justification to undermine the sacrifices of the nation. The sheer stupidity of the statement has suddenly made the JI a pariah. The army has sought an apology from Munawar Hasan over what they consider a humiliating attempt to belittle the armed forces, but the latter and his party are adamant that the statement was correct according to sharia and have refused to apologise.

Nawaz Sharif’s visit to GHQ at this critical time is appreciable. In spite of being the victim of an army coup against his government, which forced him to live in exile for years, he preferred to eschew the past and its accompanying agony for sake of the national interest. He elevated the status of the armed forces through a timely visit. That is the spirit required at this crucial time. No matter how much one may disagree with the past policies of the military establishment to nurture armed proxies, now is not the time to scratch those wounds. In fact, this is the time to support the armed forces, since they too are the worst victims of those policies. The blowback that they have been on the receiving end of is horrendous and worrying. We have to rally behind our soldiers. The enemy within that we are facing is much more dangerous than any external threat. We have not lost as many soldiers in all the wars against India as we have lost against the TTP. Martyrdom is not simply a title. It is an honour that spurs a fallen soldier’s comrades to offer the ultimate sacrifice in the national interest. It should be appropriately honoured by all. *