Parasitical Generals Sucking People’s Blood In Pakistan

Developing Just Leadership

Zia Sarhadi

Dhu al-Qa'dah 03, 1446 2025-05-01

News & Analysis

by Zia Sarhadi (News & Analysis, Crescent International Vol. 55, No. 3, Dhu al-Qa'dah, 1446)

To be called a state, an entity must fulfill certain basic requirements. Among these are providing safety and security of life for people, and the provision of food, education and healthcare. None of these are provided for Pakistan’s hapless masses.

Thus, Pakistan does not qualify as a state. It can at best be described as a geographic territory in which some 240 million people are imprisoned, trapped under the heavy boot of the military.

The institutions that are supposed to provide safety and security—the military, police, bureaucracy and the judiciary, for instance—are the ones most responsible for creating insecurity, and unleashing a reign of terror.

The army continues to attack people in two provinces on the spurious pretext that they are “terrorists”: Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). Thousands of people have been killed and as many kidnapped whose whereabouts are unknown. They are euphemistically called “missing persons”.

If relatives seek information about their loved ones, they are immediately accused of supporting “terrorists”! Even the thoroughly corrupt and compromised judiciary has not convicted any of the missing persons in a court of law.

So, how have they become terrorists? The army says so, and it demands that everyone must accept this accusation. The army is headed by a ruthless mafia that has usurped all power and authority for the sole purpose of plundering the country’s resources. Any voices raised against such grand larceny is not only ruthlessly suppressed but people are accused of treason. Loyalty to the army has become the official religion.

The current army chief, Asim Munir, occupies his post illegally. He should have retired three days before his appointment as army chief. But in a deal with the Sharif family mafia, he was appointed to the top post in return for quashing all corruption charges against the Sharifs.

In a move that can only be described as scandalous, courts were hurriedly constituted and pliant judges appointed to dismiss all charges against the Sharifs: Nawaz, Shahbaz and their children. They were all given a clean bill of health when their theft and corruption are well known and have been fully documented.

What this indicates is that Pakistan is a lawless entity. There is no accountability for the elite but a poor man must go through an endless cycle of police and court appearances if he is accused of stealing even an egg.

It is the thugs in uniform that decide what is best for the country. If they had the competence to manage such affairs in a proper manner, the people may have accepted even this state of affairs. Throughout Pakistan’s tortuous history, the military has been involved in all its affairs. Several bouts of martial law and even when civilians are put in front, the military high brass is breathing down their necks, they have messed up everything.

Since Pakistan’s creation in August 1947— incidentally not through a liberation struggle—the army has interferred in politics and prevented the emergence of civilian institutions to run the affairs of state. For the record, the army had played no role in the creation of Pakistan. Instead, it stood aloof even as millions of people were butchered in pogroms and millions more uprooted from their homes. Yet the army insists on playing an oversized role interferring in every aspect of life.

While Pakistan has never seen any extended periods of political or economic stability, the last three years have been especially grim. A popularly elected prime minister, Imran Khan was ousted from power by the army at the behest of the US. The April 9, 2022 coup was given a civilian make-up by going through the motions in parliament. Members of parliament were either bought or threatened to comply with the wishes of the army high command in votinh against Imran Khan.

Since their treacherous plot was enacted—it was against the constitution and the generals involved in it, then army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI chief Nadeem Anjum, should have been charged with treason and hanged—Pakistan has not had any stability.

The economy has tanked and despite issuing optimistic statements about turning the corner, life for the average person has become unbearably difficult. Prices have skyrocketed. Basic food items are out of reach of the vast majority. There is widespread poverty and amid this misery, electricity and fuel prices have hit the roof.

Do the thuggish generals and puppet politicians they have installed in power to present a façade of civilian rule, care? Perish the thought. They continue their rapacious lifestyle while pilfering whatever money they can lay their grubby hands on. Most generals and their puppet politicians have become billionaires with bank balances in Dubai, England, France, Belgium, Switzerland and North America.

Two families that have over the last 30 years alternated in power—the Sharifs and the Zardaris—had numerous corruption charges against them. These were levelled by the army and its various investigative agencies.

Far from facing the charges in court to clear their name, they fled the country. Then in typical Pakistani style, they made deals with the generals and were allowed to return to the country. For accepting the army’s overlordship, all charges against them were dropped.

The army has corrupted every institution in the country: judiciary, politics, the national assembly and bureaucracy. The average citizen cannot turn anywhere to seek justice. This grim situation is compounded by the army turning its big guns against the people.

Having failed to defend the country’s borders from external enemies against whom it promptly surrenders, the army has taken to killing its own people. It lost half the country in December 1971 but not one general was ever charged with treason or incompetence. At the very least, a dozen generals should have been hanged publicly as a lesson to others.

Instead, the generals not only tightened their grip on power, they opened other fronts against the people, especially in Balochistan and KPK. Successive bouts of martial law have followed, all with disastrous consequences.

Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and Fatima Jinnah were assassinated. The army had a hand in both. The father of Pakistan’s nuclear program, Dr Abdul Qadir Khan was publicly humiliated by General Pervez Musharraf. The top scientist died a broken man. Imran Khan who set up four world class cancer hospitals and a university in Pakistan before becoming prime minister was unceremoniously dismissed and now languishes in a stinking jail cell. It is clear the army does not tolerate people that want to honestly serve the country.

The mistrust between the people and the army has deepened. In fact, most people hate the army for what it is doing: killing innocent people and indulging in all kinds of corruption and intrigue. The army carried out the false flag operation on May 9, 2023 and blamed it on Imran Khan and his supporters.

On November 26, 2024, the army carried out a bloodbath of completely innocent people. The exact death toll is unknown since the army took the bodies away. Similarly, hundreds, perhaps thousands of people were kidnapped. Their whereabouts are unknown.

One policy the army has not changed is its service to foreign masters, especially the US. The Pakistan army is a mercenary force available for hire to serve the criminal objectives of oppressive powers.

If Pakistan’s traditional enemy, India were to invade the country, the army would promptly surrender. India realises that it is not necessary. The generals are busying destroying the country. The Indians are watching this spectacle with glee.

The question the people of Pakistan must ask is whether they need such an army? If it cannot defend the country and is busy killing its own people while sucking their blood, what use is having such an army?