‘War, Coups and Terror’: Brian Cloughley’s book on Pakistan Army launched

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Author says Pakistan Army is one of the best armies of the world
* Lt Gen ® Ourakzai lauds Cloughley for portraying ‘true image of Pakistan Army’

By Sajjad Malik

ISLAMABAD: Brian Cloughley’s second book about the Pakistan Army, which is titled ‘War, Coups and Terror’, was launched in a ceremony at the Islamabad Club on Tuesday.

Published by Pen & Sword Books in the United Kingdom, ‘War, Coups and Terror’ is marked improvement on Cloughley’s first book ‘A History of the Pakistan Army’ that was published by Oxford University Press, Karachi. The writer has included four amended chapters of his first book in the second one.

Best army: Speaking on the occasion, Cloughley said that the Pakistan Army was one of the best armies of the world and that most of the recent criticism against the institution was unjust. Answering a question, the author said that the periodic venture of the army into politics brought it a bad name. He expressed the hope that the army had learned its lesson and would confine to its professional duties in the future.

True image: Speaking on the occasion, Lieutenant General ® Ali Aurakzai, who was the chief guest at the launch ceremony, praised Cloughley for portraying what he called the true image of the Pakistan Army. Lt Gen ® Aurakzai said that the book dealt with the history of the Pakistan army from 1972 to present and was a great addition to books written about the Pakistan Army.

The author says that Pakistan is a complicated country inhabited by the people belonging to diverse cultural backgrounds. Cloughley asserts that acute cultural divisions of the Pakistani people eventually led to separation of former East Pakistan in 1971 and defeat of 80,000 troops.

“Our story begins in December 1971 when the army of Pakistan was shocked to the point of despair by a defeat in battle,” he says, adding that the army gradually recovered from its humiliation.

Cloughley says that the coups staged by the Pakistan Army have always been bloodless, successful and popular. However, their popularity was always short-lived. “The trouble is that the military people are usually quite good at running large organisations, even civilian ones, but generally fail to understand politics and government and the give-and-take so necessary in that esoteric world,” the author writes.

Cloughley claims that none of the Pakistani ‘soldier politicians’ has been a success, as they did not pave the way for democracy. He adds that they will be remembered for their failures rather than achievements. The writer praises the army for its efforts since 2003 to defeat terrorism. He deplores that the Pakistan Army was facing problems in recruiting high quality officers, as pay and pensions of service personnel were meager in comparison with what can be obtained by well-educated intelligent people in civilian careers.

Finally he says that while the Pakistan Army is not perfect, it is far from being a den of corruption, as honourable men lead it and its members are dedicated professionals. They are the guardians of the nation, but must never be its master, he adds.

Cloughley joined the British Army in 1959 and transferred to the Australian Army in 1970. He saw active service in Borneo with 42 Commando RM, 1st Battalion Sarawak Rangers and 4th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment. He also served as an intelligence officer in Cyprus and was attached to the Jordan Desert Police Force. He commanded the Australian Psychological Operations Unit in Vietnam.

Later postings included deputy head of the UN mission in Kashmir, Australian Army HQ, and Director of Protocol for the Australian Defence Force, and Australian Defence Attaché in Islamabad from 1988-1994. He has been involved in analysis of sub-continent affairs since the late 1970s and has written extensively about the region.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...008_pg11_8