In%20his%20speech%20in%20Dhaka%20on%20the%20occasion%20of%20the%20National%20Day%20Celebrations%20of%20Bangladesh%2C%20Prime%20Minister%20Narendra%20Modi%20recalled%20the%20atrocities%20meted%20out%20to%20Bangladeshi%20citizens%20by%20the%20Pakistan%20army.%26nbsp%3B%22The%20pictures%20of%20atrocities%20that%20the%20Pakistan%20army%20inflicted%20on%20the%20people%20here%20used%20to%20distract%20us.%20For%20many%20days%20those%20pictures%20didn%27t%20let%20us%20sleep%2C%22%20PM%20Modi%20said.%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3B

However%2C%20the%20track%20record%20of%20the%20Pakistani%20army%20shows%20that%20when%20it%20comes%20to%20ruthlessly%20committing%20atrocities%2C%20it%20does%20not%20spare%20even%20its%20own%20people%21

I%20was%20posted%20in%20Karachi%20in%20the%20early%201980%27s%2C%20and%20I%26nbsp%3Bwitnessed%20how%26nbsp%3Bentire%20sections%20of%20the%20population%20were%20systematically%20subjected%20to%20atrocities.%20The%20rights%20of%20the%20common%20citizen%20were%20completely%20crushed%20under%20Martial%20Law%2C%20which%26nbsp%3Bhad%20been%20in%20force%20in%20Pakistan%20since%20July%201977%20when%20General%20Muhammad%20Zia%20ul%20Haq%20staged%20a%20coup%2C%20deposed%20the%20elected%20Prime%20Minister%20Zulfiqar%20Ali%20Bhutto%2C%20became%20Chief%20Martial%20Law%20Administrator.

%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/pakistan-fails-to-keep-india-out-of-afghan-peace-process%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20Read%7C%20Pakistan%20fails%20to%20keep%20India%20out%20of%20Afghan%20peace%20process%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E

Zia%20ruled%20as%20only%20a%20dictator%20would.%20Civilian%20authority%20was%20completely%20subjugated%20by%20him%2C%20and%20Martial%20Law%20Administrators%20were%20put%20in%20charge%20at%20every%20level.%20Zia%20himself%20was%20the%20Chief%20Martial%20Law%20Administrator%20till%20he%20took%20over%20the%20office%20of%20the%20President%20of%20the%20country%20on%2016%20September%2C%201978.

Zia%20could%20subvert%20the%20constitution%20and%20crush%20the%20citizens%20as%20he%20was%20fully%20backed%20by%20the%20army.%26nbsp%3BA%20lot%20has%20already%20been%20spoken%20and%20written%20about%20the%20pivotal%20role%20the%20army%20plays%20in%20Pakistan.%20It%20is%20the%20final%20arbiter%20in%20politics%20and%20perhaps%2C%20everything%20else.%20However%2C%20there%20is%20some%20check%20on%20the%20army%u2019s%20privileges%20when%20there%20is%20a%20civilian%20government%20in%20Pakistan.%20Under%20Zia%u2019s%20Martial%20Law%20Regime%2C%20there%20was%20hardly%20any%20check%20and%20the%20army%u2019s%20power%20was%20absolute.

%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/pakistans-unending-wish-to-do-a-bangladesh-to-india%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20Read%7C%20When%20a%20Pakistan%20military%20officer%20confessed%20his%20hopes%20for%20avenging%20Bangladesh%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E

Zia%20created%20a%20system%20wherein%20his%20fellow%20officers%20stood%20to%20gain%20a%20lot%20if%20he%20continued%20in%20power.%20Officers%20of%20the%20armed%20forces%20enjoyed%20power%20and%20pelf%20which%20they%20were%20loath%20to%20let%20go%20and%20therefore%2C%20supported%20him%20to%20the%20hilt%20unconditionally.

Zia%20made%20sure%20that%20in%20virtually%20every%20sphere%20it%20was%20the%20army%20that%20ruled%20the%20roost.%20Generals%20close%20to%20him%20were%20appointed%20Provincial%20Governors%2C%20administering%20martial%20law%20in%20their%20respective%20jurisdictions.%20There%20were%20also%20martial%20law%20administrators%20at%20every%20level%20who%20often%20rode%20roughshod%20over%20the%20civilian%20officials.

%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20read%3A%20%3C/strong%3E%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/the-us-defence-secretarys-recent-visit-signposts-and-markers%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EThe%20US%20Defence%20Secretary%27s%20Recent%20Visit%3A%20Signposts%20and%20Markers%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E

Being%20from%20a%20country%20such%20as%20India%20where%20the%20army%20never%20oversteps%20its%20role%2C%20I%20found%20the%20situation%20in%20Pakistan%20not%20just%20strange%2C%20but%20also%20tragic.%20I%20was%20witness%20to%20how%20civilian%20authority%20was%20being%20systematically%20humiliated%2C%20crushed%20and%20demoralised.

As%20a%20result%20of%20such%20subjugation%2C%20separatism%20was%20rife%20in%20Sindh%20and%20Baluchistan.%20The%20Jeay%20Sindh%20movement%20had%20been%20started%20in%201972%20in%20Sindh%20by%20the%20veteran%20leader%20GM%20Syed%20with%20the%20intention%20to%20secede%20from%20Pakistan%20and%20form%20Sindhudesh.%20Syed%20was%20inspired%20by%20the%20creation%20of%20Bangladesh.

The%20Jeay%20Sindh%20movement%20espoused%20the%20view%20that%20Sindhis%20were%20being%20disenfranchised%20and%20not%20being%20given%20the%20rights%20and%20privileges%20that%20had%20been%20originally%20promised%20to%20them%20when%20a%20federal%20structure%20was%20established%20in%20Pakistan.

%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20read%3A%20%3C/strong%3E%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/us-china-roast-each-other-in-alaska%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EUS%2C%20China%20roast%20each%20other%20in%20Alaska%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E

Earlier%20in%20his%20political%20career%2C%20GM%20Syed%20had%20worked%20hard%20for%20the%20creation%20of%20Pakistan%2C%20and%20had%20in%20fact%2C%20lobbied%20to%20have%20the%20bill%20for%20the%20creation%20of%20Pakistan%20passed%20in%20the%20Sindh%20Assembly.%20However%2C%20as%20time%20went%20by%20he%20became%20disenchanted%20and%20disowned%20the%20idea%20of%20Pakistan%20as%20he%20felt%20that%20the%20principles%20of%20federalism%20were%20being%20betrayed%2C%20as%20also%20because%20of%20the%20growing%20domination%20of%20Punjabis%20at%20the%20expense%20of%20other%20ethnic%20groups.

Once%20Bangladesh%20was%20formed%2C%20it%20only%20served%20to%20strengthen%20his%20belief%20that%20the%20idea%20of%20Pakistani%20nationhood%20was%20unsustainable.%20He%20completely%20disavowed%20the%20idea%20of%20Pakistan%20which%20he%20had%20at%20one%20time%20himself%20espoused.

GM%20Syed%20was%20arrested%20time%20and%20again%2C%20but%20the%20movement%20he%20had%20started%20kept%20gaining%20momentum.%20However%2C%20the%20Pakistan%20army%20brutally%20cracked%20down%20on%20Sindhi%20separatists%2C%20killing%20hundreds%20of%20them%20and%20arresting%20thousands%20of%20others.%26nbsp%3B

%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20read%3A%20%3C/strong%3E%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/indo-us-strategic-partnership-sticking-it-to-china%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EStrategic%20partnership%20with%20India%3A%20Is%20the%20US%20sticking%20it%20to%20China%3F%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E

While%20the%20Pakistan%20Government%20blamed%20India%20for%20the%20rise%20of%20Sindhi%20separatism%2C%20Syed%20himself%20lamented%20the%20fact%20that%20India%20had%20done%20nothing%20at%20all%20to%20help%20them.%20He%20reportedly%20told%20his%20confidantes%20that%20if%20India%20were%20to%20help%20the%20separatist%20movement%20in%20Sindh%2C%20they%20would%20be%20able%20to%20break%20away%20from%20Pakistan%20as%20Bangladesh%20had%20done.

Even%20more%20worrisome%20for%20Pakistan%20is%20Baloch%20separatism%20which%20has%20assumed%20dangerously%20militant%20dimensions%20from%20time%20to%20time%2C%20and%20which%20the%20Pakistan%20army%20has%20tried%20to%20put%20down%20ruthlessly.%20Although%20Balochistan%20is%20the%20largest%20of%20the%20provinces%20of%20Pakistan%20and%20covers%2044%25%20of%20the%20area%2C%20it%20is%20the%20least%20populated%20with%20only%205%25%20of%20the%20population.%20It%20is%20also%20the%20least%20economically%20developed%20with%20the%20vast%20majority%20of%20the%20population%20lacking%20even%20basic%20amenities.%26nbsp%3B

Also%20Read%7C%20%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/finally-pakistanis-to-get-vaccinated-by-india%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinally%2C%20Pakistanis%20to%20get%20vaccinated%20by%20India%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E

Baloch%20separatism%20has%20continued%20to%20rear%20its%20menacing%20head%20from%20time%20to%20time.%20Major%20conflicts%20between%20Baloch%20separatists%20and%20the%20Pakistan%20army%20took%20place%20in%201948%2C%201958-59%2C%201963-69%20and%201973-77.%20A%20large%20number%20of%20Balochi%20guerrilla%20fighters%20and%20civilians%20have%20been%20killed%20in%20the%20operations%20conducted%20by%20the%20Pakistan%20army.%20It%20is%20estimated%20that%20between%202003%20and%202012%2C%20over%208000%20Balochis%20disappeared%20after%20they%20were%20abducted%20by%20Pakistani%20security%20forces.%26nbsp%3B

When%20I%20was%20posted%20in%20Pakistan%2C%20the%20Pakistani%20media%20was%20subjected%20to%20strict%20censorship%20due%20to%20Martial%20Law%2C%20and%20reports%20about%20the%20ongoing%20atrocities%20and%20human%20rights%20violations%20in%20Sindh%20and%20Balochistan%20were%20not%20allowed%20to%20appear%20in%20the%20media.%20However%2C%20we%20would%20come%20to%20know%20what%20was%20going%20on%20through%20our%20local%20Pakistani%20friends.%20Sometimes%20there%20would%20be%20demonstrations%20in%20Karachi%20to%20protest%20over%20some%20particular%20incident%2C%20and%20word%20would%20be%20out%20about%20whatever%20had%20happened.%20Despite%20the%20unrelenting%20efforts%20of%20the%20military%20junta%20to%20muzzle%20the%20press%2C%20the%20people%20in%20Pakistan%20as%20well%20as%20elsewhere%20were%20fully%20aware%20of%20the%20seriousness%20of%20the%20situation%20in%20these%20two%20provinces.%26nbsp%3B

In%20conclusion%2C%20one%20cannot%20do%20better%20than%20recall%20how%20the%20Pakistani%20writer%20Iftikhar%20Tariq%20Khanzada%20summed%20up%20his%20country%u2019s%20plight%20in%20an%20article%20entitled%20%u2018Pakistan%3A%20A%20failed%20State%u2019%20which%20appeared%20in%20%u2018Liberty%20Voice%u2019%20on%20January%2022%2C%202014%3A%26nbsp%3B

%3Ci%3EThe%20feudal-military-mullah%20nexus%20has%20ruled%20the%20country%20for%20the%20majority%20of%20its%20history.%20This%20is%20the%20main%20reason%20that%20democracy%2C%20which%20is%20flourishing%20across%20the%20border%2C%20has%20not%20been%20able%20to%20establish%20its%20credentials%20here.%20Over%2060%20percent%20of%20Pakistan%u2019s%20GDP%20goes%20towards%20meeting%20its%20defence%20needs%2C%20consequently%20the%20overall%20economy%20suffers.%20Education%20in%20Pakistan%20has%20never%20been%20a%20priority%20with%20any%20government%2C%20so%20has%20been%20the%20case%20with%20social%20security%20and%20well-being%20of%20its%20citizens.%20Rampant%20inflation%2C%20unemployment%2C%20the%20daily%20deepening%20energy%20crises%2C%20unchecked%20corruption%20and%20the%20alarmingly%20deteriorating%20law%20and%20order%20situation%20have%20made%20Pakistan%20a%20favourite%20recruiting%20ground%20plus%20a%20safe%20haven%20for%20terrorists%20from%20all%20over%20the%20world.%20It%20did%20not%20come%20as%20a%20surprise%20that%20Osama%20Bin%20Laden%20was%20found%20living%20in%20Abbottabad%20Cantonment%20in%20the%20failed%20state%20of%20Pakistan.%3C/i%3E

Pakistanis%20will%20continue%20to%20suffer%20until%20the%20stranglehold%20of%20the%20military-mullah%20nexus%20weakens.%20However%2C%20it%20is%20they%20themselves%20who%20have%20to%20fight%20the%20system%20and%20rectify%20the%20unfortunate%20situation%20that%20exists%20in%20their%20country%20where%20the%20army%20rules%20supreme%2C%20though%20it%20will%20be%20a%20long%20haul%20for%20them.

%3Ci%3E%28Disclaimer%3A%20The%20views%20expressed%20in%20this%20article%20are%20personal.%20They%20do%20not%20reflect%20the%20opinions%20or%20views%20of%20Opoyi.%29%3C/i%3E

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