Kill the Shine and Break the Shape. Those of us who were commissioned in the 1960s or earlier would surely be able to recall the adage that “patrolling” was the acid test of an infantry unit’s training, and much depended on the excellence in “field craft” for its success. And field craft began with camouflage and concealment so that the enemy did not spot us. The thumbnail formula for camouflage and concealment, which each of us was expected to remember, was: “kill the shine and break the shape”, the two things that made one most easily visible to the enemy.
While dealing with Pakistan, one would therefore have expected Asim Munir and his generals not to be too visible while going about breaking its laws and subverting its constitution. One would have expected them to be subtle about it so that they would not be easily spotted doing so. But they have been utterly brazen about this, and seem to have reversed the formula. Instead of killing the shine and breaking the shape of their own persons to gain anonymity while taking down the state, they have made the country unrecognizable by killing any shine it might have had, and are now proceeding to break its shape. Earlier they did this in 1971.
But just as the last of our hopes were in the act of flight, a few judges decided to defeat their fears, get up, and make their stand in favour of a state which had been abandoned by all its institutions. Whether they were driven by principle, legality, patriotism, a reaction to plain bullying by the army, or all of these, it does not matter much. What really matters is that the spirit driving them has managed to survive the worst excesses by the army. It may therefore be conjectured that the same spirit must have survived among many in every other institution as well, including the army. Unlike the judges, the revolt of the others can only remain under the surface because they cannot issue judgements and be counted. But one may be certain that they too are contributing to this revolt by withdrawing willing cooperation from the efforts of the high command and the government to take down the state. When you combine this with the knowledge that almost the entire population of Pakistan is a part of this resistance, one may be certain that this requires just one trigger event to convert this revolt into a rebellion. This should be a good enough reason therefore, to keep hope alive.
That it is the generals and their pimps whom they’ve installed in government, who have brought Pakistan low, is beyond dispute. Yet there is a chance that our salvation too may come from the generals. Here are my reasons for daring to hope so.
The generals are compelled to hold on to power because this assures them immunity from the consequences of the crimes they have committed. These crimes are a] those issuing from violation of article 6, b] crimes of murder and attempted murder, c] those of human rights violation like house invasions, abduction, and torture etc, and d] crimes of guilt through association.
Among this list of crimes, by far the greatest number of generals were complicit by reason of guilt through association.
With the retirement of most of the arch criminals of the first rank, two things have happened. First, the number of those who are guilty by association has become much larger, and two, their guilt in terms of direct association has dimmed considerably….many having been promoted well after the time when the most egregious crimes were committed. The guilt of a greater number of them would be entirely peripheral by now.
Add to the above, developments which have taken place abroad.
On June 16, 2024, Rep. Ro Khanna of California declared that Gen Asim Munir’s was a good case to consider for the application of sanctions under the Magnitsky Act for transnational repression and for other human rights violations. Following on from there, on June 25, 2024, the US Congress passed a resolution [368 to 7], that called for investigations into blatant illegalities enacted during Pakistan’s general elections held on Feb 8, 2024. In case of Pakistan, the passage of this resolution and the numbers involved has no precedence and should be of concern to the generals and the government.
The generals need to understand why and how these two events came about and what they signify for the future. They must know that for the first time, the Pakistani diaspora in the US [and most of Europe] has become united enough to be considered as having electoral significance in certain swing districts, and also as a font for cash donations. Ninety per cent of these Pakistanis are affiliated with the PTI. Therefore, the generals must conclude that from now onwards the high-handedness of the army will provoke a serious reaction among those whom distance from Pindi provides immunity from abduction and torture, and a platform to be heard. From now on, questions will be asked and answers will have to be provided.
Generals who are in a great majority because of their distance from direct guilt and criminality should think about this change in Washington. If they can assess its significance, they should immediately fall into prayer and thank God that the two attempts on Imran Khan’s life missed their mark. It is very difficult to hang for a sin not committed.
And as they thank God for their good fortune, it would be worth their while to allow their remaining reserves of patriotism, which their parents instilled in them, to blossom again. Standing up for the country that has fed them may not be such a bad thing after all.
Their loyalties have no reason to remain focused on Asim Munir. From 1947 onwards, no general has been held in such universal contempt among the people of Pakistan, or within the ranks of the army. And no general can boast a roster of sins as long and as egregious as his. So, a vast majority of the present-day generals have every reason to realign their loyalties with Pakistan and to put as much distance between themselves and the criminal at their head. None of them has reason enough to hang with him.
It must be a certainty with the generals that refuge in Western capitals is a guarantee of ultimate immunity for them. Before they invest too much in this certainty, they would be better advised to consider how things are changing in their places of planned refuge. It would be a sad day indeed if they fled all the way from Pakistan to Washington, only to be hanged there upon arrival.
Even if only two Corps Commanders decided to challenge Asim Munir during their next conference, and held their ground in favour of Pakistan, the state will stand salvaged. This will take only a tenth of the courage our judges have been able to summon up. If our generals manage to find it, no matter what their previous guilt, all will be forgiven them, and they will be saluted as heroes.
Email: saeedakhtarmalik85@gmail.com