Daily Times

Although Pakistan came into being on the 14th of August 1947 officially the creation of this homeland was already decided on the 3rd of June 1947. It was a time when Pakistan was facing a dearth of resources while the problems were huge indeed. The biggest issue was to establish a strong army for a new country with plenty of ammunition in its arsenal. It was truly an uphill task because the politicians of the Indian National Congress were of the view that a new country would not survive for long in absence of a strong army. They thought that Pakistan will again become part of India soon as it will fail to protect its borders. The Congress leadership, especially Nehru, believed that a country established in the name of ideology cannot persist for long. Nehru once said that a country formed based on nationalism will not survive due to the lack of army, ammunition and resources. Even at one stage, Nehru was against the division of the army of the Sub-continent as he said that there should be a united army for both Pakistan and India. He wanted to have control of the army rest with India but it was strongly rejected by Jinnah. It remained the major demand of Quaid-e-Azam from day one to have a separate army for Pakistan. He remained steadfast in his demand in getting equal distribution of all the assets of the army.

The Congress leadership believed that a country established in the name of ideology cannot persist for long.

Quaid-e-Azam knew very well that the defence of Pakistan is not possible without having a strong army and therefore he emphasized getting the command and control system into his own hand. That was the very reason that Quaid-e-Azam established the Pakistan Military Academy Kakul and it started its first course on 26th January 1948. It is now known to be one of the best military academies in the world. It is a matter of fact that a strong military is essential for any country to sustain itself on the map of the world. When Pakistan came into being, it was a major issue to accommodate the migrants and protect those people who travelled all the way from India. So, Jinnah struggled from day one to have a strong army in order to address all these issues. Quaid-e-Azam gave our military the slogan of Unity, Faith and Discipline. It was the spirit of this very slogan that the Pakistan army defeated the Indian army which was ten times larger than us. Pakistan fought bravely in the mountains of Kashmir and got the land from the clutches of India and it is known as Azad Kashmir today. How can we forget the war of 1965 when Pakistan pushed back the Indian forces which were huge in numbers as compared to us? The enemy is still having sleepless nights in the snow-covered mountains of Siachen just due to the bravery of our soldiers and officers.

The enemies of Pakistan were aware of the fact that they cannot damage this country until the Pakistan Army is here and therefore they attempted to weaken us from inside. Thanks to the intelligence agencies of the military that they foiled all such nefarious designs of the enemy to weaken us from inside. Pakistan remained in the war on terror for over three decades but we saw the morale of our army always high. Both the soldiers and officers of the Pak Army sacrificed their lives in protecting this motherland and defeating the monster of terrorism on this soil. They also faced some problems while fighting this terrorism but they remained steadfast in showing bravery and valour. We are breathing in a free land today just because of the sacrifices rendered by our army soldiers and officers. It can rightly be argued that both Pakistan and its armies are part and parcel of each other. Therefore, we can see that the people of Pakistan have a deep-rooted love for their army.

From Gen Moosa to Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, every army chief used his energies to protect the geographical boundaries of this motherland. Every army chief had one thing in mind he was leading one of the best armies in the world and therefore he left behind a rich legacy to be followed by his successor. It is also a reality that our enemy knows very well that the people of Pakistan and its army are inseparable as they are knitted together in the bond of love and respect. The 75th Independence Day of Pakistan reminds us that a strong army is as much important as it was required in 1947. The strong army protected this country when it came to being 75 years ago. So, it is essential for this country even today to have a strong army. All the nefarious designs of the enemy will be foiled in presence of a strong army. The people of Pakistan will keep celebrating Independence Day with zeal and fervour till the presence of its army in the country.

The writer is an old Aitchisonian who believes in freedom of expression, a freelance columnist, entrepreneur and social activist.