The Ugly and the Honourable Face of Ex-Serviceman

The Ugly and The Honourable Faces of Ex-Servicemen Brig (Retd) M.M. MAHMUD

In most civilized countries, the name of Ex-Servicemen hold a certain degree of honor and dignity. Ironically, in Pakistan it is a bane of irrevered reputation may be contemptuous demeanor or perhaps even an abuse. It is rightly so! It is always a small coterie of Generals of this Army, who has brought the entire community of Ex-Servicemen to this passé and disrepute. They have imposed their illegitimate rule in this country, over a larger span of our history, than all other forms of Governments put together. All the distortions of inequity, moral debasement and all ills that plague this country, is directly linked or flow out of this perverse phenomena inflicted on this country, by a chain of selfish, self serving and unscrupulous Generals.

The question that arises is that are the Ex-Servicemen, exclusively responsible for this? The answer is an emphatic No. It is only a handful of the troika that is to be blamed for it. The overwhelming, vast majority of Ex-Servicemen, present a different face. It is that of total commitment to the profession of arms, dedicated zeal and selfless service to duty. Above all, by deeds, they have demonstrated the spirit of being prepared to lay down their lives for the cause of this country. It is a pity, that these nobler examples have been overshadowed and tarnished, by the ugly faces of successive gangs, who exploited this noble profession for their own greed, personal ambitions and to satisfy their baser instincts.

In this game of villainy, who supported them? I am afraid, an overwhelming cross- section of civil society across the board, has supported them. There are no exceptions. May be only some odd faces. The vast majority of Ex-Servicemen, were either conscious objectors or remained silent spectators and by standers. Yet, they are the target of all scathing criticism. The ugly faces of Ex-Servicemen, who connived and cajoled in these nefarious games of military dictators, could only be a miniscule minority. General, and self imposed Field Marshal M. Ayub Khan, is the one who set in all trends of rot in this regard. What was his background? He was removed from his command at the Burma Front in WWII, for his despicable performance, and he was sent on a cul-de-sac (KHUDDA LINE) assignment to Razmak. He was side lined from the main professional career, which is the pride that all officers aspire for.

He was appointed at the Boundary Commission at the time of partition. On the first visit that Quaid-e-Azam made to Lahore, after the creation of Pakistan, he went to the Railway Yard. He was deeply anguished at the site of a train that had just docked in from the Indian Punjab. The sight of all the passengers, having being been brutally slaughtered en route and coaches full of the blood of innocent Muslims, moved the Quaid. It is recorded, that it was the first time ever, that people saw Quaid in tears in public. Shattered, he angrily asked as to who was responsible for the security of the train. The answer was, that it was the task of the boundary commission and Col M. Ayub Khan was heading the Pakistani side of it. He further asked as to where was he when the massacre was taking place. When he was told that he was sitting drunk in the Lahore Gymkhana that evening, he ordered his Court Martial. This file was suppressed by Major (Later General) Musa, who was a Staff Officer in the concerned Headquarter at Lahore. The Quaid-e-Azam died, Col Ayub Khan escaped the Court Martial and later became the first Pakistani C-In-C of this Army. He later made way for Major Musa to become the next C-In-C. He was rewarded for a job well done! Ayub’s coterie was only a handful of Generals. The most notable, being Lieutenant General W.A. Burki who distorted the Land Revenue System to his best advantage.

General Yahya, remained too drunk to apply his mind and faculties to the affairs of the country. A coterie kept ruling. The remains, in the face of Maj Gen Ghulam Umar, still has the audacity to come on the TV regularly as an expert. The TV channels are equally guilty who invite him and many others of his type and kind as their honored and respected defense experts. The despicable period of Zia, had its own actors. Some of his close associates, in all honesty, still believe, they committed no wrong and feel no guilt. They cannot be the juror and the judge themselves. Let them face the Nation and prove their innocence. The bizarre appointments of promotion to Four Star Generals rank, of those officers who never commanded a Division or Corps, could only happen in his time. For what services we may ask?

The most gory and condemnable performance comes in the face and form of General (Retired) Parvaiz Musharraff. He has done the greatest disservice to this country and the army; is now pleading for immunity. He kept the largest band of Generals, both serving and retired, to conquer Pakistan and to keep it enslaved for the rest of his life. Luckily, the Nation has learnt to stand upto him and demands his riddance. He is the most despicable and ugliest of all the faces of Ex-Servicemen.

All these adventurer’s put together, in the entire history of Pakistan, represent only a miniscule side of Ex-Servicemen, which is the ugly face. The unparalleled proportion of the vast majority has a very honorable face. They joined the Army with total commitment to this most honorable profession. They with their blood served this Army and the country. They are the unsung heroes. They have been overshadowed, and side lined, eclipsed and made to wither and fade away.

In illustration to this point, I would like to confine it only our course, the Ist PMA (Long Course). Before I do that, I would be failing in my duties if I do not mention the names of Air Marshal M. Asghar Khan and Air Marshal M. Nur Khan . They are the beacon of light. The pride of Ex-Servicemen. On 8 Sept 1965, the Air Force they built, gained us the most vital one hour at CHAWINDA, which changed the history of 1965 war. I must also name Lt Gen (Retd) Shaukat Hassan, an eminent International Surgeon and more than that he is remembered for his towering personality of the noblest, greatest and the most honorable ex-serviceman. All future generations of ex-servicemen will always take pride in him. In my presence as a serving Lieutenant General, he had the courage and the conviction of telling a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, “I refuse to shake hands with murders like you.”

Coming to our course I only want to highlight a few examples. I am sure all subsequent courses, they too also had many shining examples. They must highlight those. We the sixty two colleagues, marched up the steps of the drill square together, at the time of our graduation from PMA on 4 Feb 1950. Leaving the earlier career, I start with 1965 War. One of our course mate, we feel most proud of, Major Aziz Bhatti got Nishan-e-Haider. Two officers, Lt Col (Later Maj Gen) N.K. Babar and Major (Later Brigadier) Mohd Ahmed , got Sitara-e-Juraat. I had the singular honour of Commanding the Army Aviation effort in CHAMB and SIALKOT Sectors. Four of this gallant band of officers, received Sitara-e-Juraat. My name was sent for SJ. I received TQA instead, because Lieutenant General Bakhtiar Rana did not like my face. I was too bluntly critical of his command on his face during the 1965 war. The awards did not matter then, and they don’t cause any concern even today. We gave our best in the face of the enemy in the battlefield. It was recognized by all and sundry. This was our best reward.

On 23rd Sept 1965, the day of the cease fire, most of us openly criticized and abused the decision. One of our colleague, Lt Col M. Zafar Khan was thrown out of the Army for this. I and some others would have met the same fate. It did not happen because General M. Yahya Khan interceded. He called General Musa and told him, “If you want to retire such officers, who will fight the War for you?”

Late, Major Gen Abdullah Khan Malik, as Chief of the General Staff of the Army, defied the COAS and all the other Seven Corps Commanders, when they wanted to impose Martial Law. He paid the price for it Major Gen (Retd) N.K. Babar, broke all his close relationship with General Zia, and joined PPP. He was jailed for it. He remained steadfast. Late Brig (Retd) Muzaffar Khan Malik, who was Chief Secretary Punjab, was also a very close friend of General Zia and his prodigy General K.M. Arif. They put all the pressure on him to come out with details of rigging that Bhutto had ordered in the election. His cool answer was, “Mr. Bhutto gave no orders to me for rigging and I issued no such instructions.”

These are some of the most shining examples of our colleagues. Dead or alive they are the pride of the course.

In so doing, I will request all subsequent PMA courses to show the faces of all their honorable and noble Ex-Servicemen of their course. In the end, I may suggest, that we call for a day and a rendezvous, for a collective demonstration to show our respect and regard for the noblest of these officers. If it is not possible, then let us do course wise in our own way and in our own time. The crying need is that bad and the ugly faces must be exposed from all walks of life. Those who are the shining faces, must be made to stand tall and recognized.

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