Adil Najam
As was expected - but much more so than expected becasue of its timing - Ayesha Siddiqa’s new book Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy is causing waves in Pakistan and abroad.
True to form, the establishment has bothed up things even more than usual by trying to mess with the book’s launch in Islamabad. That only made the launch an even bigger news than it would have been. Here, for example, is the top of the page, front page news item from Dawn (June 1, 2007):
A book putting a critical spotlight on the military’s business nooks was launched from a virtual sanctuary on Thursday and some high-profile political reviewers seized upon it to denounce the army’s role in Pakistani politics.
The launching of the book, Military Inc: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy, by Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, a military analyst, was due to have taken place at the capital’s elitist Islamabad Club. But the author told a surprised audience that not only the club cancelled the booking of its auditorium, “all hotels in Islamabad were also told� by unspecified authorities not to allow the use of their halls for this, forcing the organisers to find a sanctuary at a third floor room provided by a non-governmental organisation.
PPP’s legal star Aitzaz Ahsan said the time had come to stand up against the military dominance while PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal accused Pakistan army generals of not learning a lesson from other countries that said goodbye to military rule. But some other speakers had a dig also at politicians for doing little to keep the military in check while being in power and at times celebrating the ouster of their rivals. Mr Aitzaz Ahsan said the expose of Ayesha, who puts the net worth of the army’s commercial empire at Rs200 billion, had come at a “defining moment� in Pakistan’s history following President Pervez Musharraf’s controversial charge-sheeting and suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
He narrated what he called the military’s moves in the past to convert Pakistan into a national security state contrary to the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s vision of a welfare state and to forge an alliance with mullahs in search of an ideological justification for this, but said he thought now “a watershed has come�. Mr Ashan, who heads Justice Iftikhar’s legal team, saw “a turning point� in the March 9 presidential action against the chief justice that plunged the country into a judicial crisis and said: “We must grasp it.� Cheers went up in the congested premises of the NGO Leadership for Environment and Development as Mr Ahsan referred to what he called an unexpected “no� by the chief justice to the president’s demand for his resignation and, in a reference to the nationwide protest movement by lawyers, opposition political activists and the civil society, said: “The spillway of the Tarbela Dam has opened now.� He said although the chief justice would not speak about the presidential reference pending before the five-judge Supreme Judicial Council or his challenge to the reference before a 13judge bench of the Supreme Court, it was out of compulsion that an affidavit was filed on his behalf on Tuesday about what happened to him during his March 9 meeting with the president and for some days afterwards. “We were compelled to file that affidavit,� Mr Ahsan said, citing comments made by President Musharraf about the case as the reason.
Mr Iqbal rejected as a myth usual accusations holding politicians responsible for four military coups in Pakistan’s history and put the blame on what he called ambitions of army chiefs who toppled civilian governments from General Mohammad Ayub Khan, who later became field marshal, to General Musharraf. Comparing the ills of military interventions in politics to what cancer does to human body, he said Ayub Khan struck in October 1958 to pre-empt scheduled elections next year, while General Yahya Khan snatched power from him in 1969 at “virtual gunpoint� to prevent a handover to a National Assembly Speaker from then East Pakistan in the midst of a national democratic movement.
General Mohammad Zia-ulHaq, he recalled, seized power on June 5, 1977 a day after then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the opposition Pakistan National Alliance had agreed to hold fresh elections. He said Pakistan faced no bankruptcy despite international sanctions for its 1998 nuclear tests and “everything was normal� when General Musharraf, after being sacked, toppled then prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Oct 12, 1999. Mr Zafar Abbas, resident editor of Dawn, Islamabad, and Dr Farrukh Saleem, also complimented the 292-page book published by the Oxford University Press.
It speaks about the role of the military power in transforming the Pakistani society, armed forces becoming an independent class entrenched in the corporate sector and their five giant welfare foundations, or conglomerates, running thousands of businesses ranging from petrol pumps to industrial plants.
I have not yet read the book myself, however, I have talked about it with Ayesha many times - most recently in Boston some weeks ago - and am generally familiar with the thesis of the book. But, then, so is most of Pakistan. It is that the Military’s economic footprint has become too large for teh military’s own good. From cereal to banks to airlines, what she calls ‘Military Inc.’ is now everywhere in Pakistan’s economic life. Her argument is that this is nietehr good for Pakistan nor the military.
I am looking forward to reading and reviewing the book, which Ayesha has promised to send me soon. Meanwhile, we will keep an eye out for substantive reviews of this undoubtedly important work.
Pakistan has begun to look like Suharto’s Indonesia.
If you visit the Amazon URL Adil has provided, Amazon says: Better Together with “In the Line of Fire” :)
I thought it was an accidental irony but the irony nevertheless.
One of the lesser popular myth Pakistan Army has created in defending the existence and economic strength of its organizations is that these institutes (Fauji Foundation, Army Welfare Trust etc.) exist to support the “families” and spouses of retired Armed Forces personnel. Well, unfortunately, I have only come across only more of the distasteful families who don’t speak much higher about the foundation and its support to ordinary soldiers to officers of lower command. But I guess many people don’t also know that there’s a difference of power, influence and growth of a Major in Army who’s been an ADC of a General or led successfully a battalion at the border or such than the majority who doesn’t go past the rank of Major mostly. And then there are issues and intricacies of inter-corps and inter-division professional rivalries and so on which are known to even lesser people. For example, for the whole Signals corps, see how many 4 star generals are there as compared with those of Artillery and Armed Corps. And I haven’t even added Infantry who actually bags most of the top positions (did I mention almost all COAS have been affiliated with infantry one way or another) Sure the sheer size and professional competency of Infantry men put them at the fore-front but I am not sure if that still satisfies many officers in the other corpses. Imagine a mr. no body (who hasn’t had anyone in Army or politics before him) waiting for his time to be promoted as Col. and all the officers deciding for him aren’t even from his corpse :)
The point is, many of us don’t know of how Army works internally. We, as Pakistani nation, for good or bad I am not sure, have made our officers and soldiers LARGER THAN LIFE (recap to pre-1965 or hell, even during Kargill and Nuclear tests) which has led us NOT TO QUESTION anything out of mundane, anything that’s other than what is being throwing down our throats. We, as a nation, too have led ourselves in creating a “mythical figure” who cares for the country and Islam only. I, in no way, am questioning the professional commitment and dedication, it’s the intent and other reasons as to why soldiers go to war and conflicts that I want others to think about.
Many soldiers and officers of lower ranks and others, more so in recent times, have grown equal distaste and discomfort against civilian Pakistanis (mostly against media which I think is natural) and there’s little chance of it getting any better with hightening opposition and never-before-seen hatred of this status against Armed forces. How on earth do you think they are gonna go to any conflict and war thinking about Pakistan? If you ever had a chance of being with one, you’d know the answer is simpler and probably shocking. And yet every day the gulf becomes wider and wider for the pursuit of power and happiness of one man. How sad.
(I am not only Punjabi but have studied in a cadet college solely funded by GHQ with my father having served in Army AVN and didn’t any other Govt. job afterwards. Thought just to clear my standings)
I heard Ayesha talking about her book on Voice of America talk show. They had also invited a fauji boot, a retired major, who is in politics now. His IQ semmed to be around 60 or something. Ayesha also mentioned that her phones are being tapped and she and her family is being harressed by intelligence agencies. Gen Aslam Baig was also invited on the talk show and he didn’t have any problem with the book. The only positive thing I see in this senerio is that people of Pakistan are getting some insight.
so true Bilal,
infact they even penetrate smaller places like Pakistani schools spread around the world especially in Middle East. After 1999, many principals and administrators replaced by Rtd. Col……
Army walaye Ghar ko aag laga rahae hain ghar k chiragh saye…
Military top brass showing its muscles by banning book, banning channels, banning politicians ….this is getting ugly now. Very Sad!!!
I look forward to reading it. As KO points out the book is banned in Pakistan (not surprising).
For those wanting to procure it online, the book is available Amazon
Sadly, the book has been banned in Pakistan. See http://ko.offroadpakistan.com/pakistan/2007_06/mil itary_inc_inside_pakistans_military_economy.html or click above.
I’m sure the publishers are thankful to Mushy for the extra publicity. another braindead move by the intellectual giants that are Durrani, Sheeda Tulli, etc. now, I’ll be buying it for sure.
I’ve never seen such concerted, public opposition to the army before. there’s always been some resentment but now it’s being expressed openly. if only the political leadership wasn’t so hellbent on watching out for its own interest. BB will not be forgotten for her treachery at this critical juncture.
either way, change is in the air. the army would do well to sense that and move on. regardless of what happens whoever takes over after Mushy should strip the army of all its power, authority, glory, etc. file cases against these traitors. try Mushy for treason, hang him, strip him of his rank, awards, medals, etc. strike his record out off the army. make the army impotent (which it already is when it comes to the battlefield). enough of the jarnails and the karnails. go back to the barracks and stay there.