Defence achievements, timeless pride for nation

[Naveed Yaseen]

Sixty-two years down the road, Pakistan swaggers among the few nations in the world, enjoying the nuclear status and invincible defence.

This success story has a very humble beginning, surpassing challenging tasks imbued with unparalleled sense of attachment and commitment for the country.

The journey was started in a very dreary milieu. Surrounded by foes, hell-bent to scuttle its independence, Pakistan was direct under the Indian browbeating when the archrival conducted nuclear tests in 1974.

As India’s nuclear programme was deemed to be the main threat to Pakistan’s security, strategic experts in Pakistan joined heads to cope with this situation.

The most popular leader of the time, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, rose to the occasion and emboldened the nation by raising a slogan ‘we shall eat grass for hundred years but we shall go nuclear.’ Bhutto’s undeterred will and commitment to the nation, laid down a foundation stone for becoming nuclear power though the history was written years after he was hanged by military dictator Ziaul Haq.

It was Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who struck a historic agreement with Indra Gandhi in 1971 to get released all of war prisoners and vacated every inch of land from Indian occupation.

But, the experience of three wars fought with India left Pakistan with no other option but to strengthen its defence. India’s nuclear tests in 1974 further ‘added fuel to the fire.’ “The outbreaks of full-scale wars (in 1947, 1965, and 1971) gave ample motivation to the leadership to develop potent weapons and gain advantage over or restore balance with India,” said Lieutenant General ® Hamid Nawaz, a strategist.

“Pakistan needed well trained armed forces and defence industries to counter threats from India,” said Hamid Nawaz, also a former interior minister.

At the time of independence, Pakistan got a bare share of combined Indian armed forces and finances. After the partition, India developed close relationship with the Soviet Union while Pakistan joined the United States’ sponsored defence treaty ‘South- East Asia Treaty Organization’ in 1954 and ‘Central Treaty Organization’ in 1955.

The voyage continued and local expertise and external assistance elevated Pakistan to be among the top ten militaries of the world.

Despite discriminatory attitude by some of the partners, the army expanded to nine corps, a full-fledged armoured division, a mechanized division and 19 infantry divisions and an important number of independent brigades.

The nation always stood shoulder to shoulder with the army and sacrificed for country’s defence against a rival that always denied the very being of Pakistan. It suffered hard times and sanctions, but continued forging ahead.

“To avoid disabilities due to embargoes, Pakistan endeavoured to be self-sufficient in military equipment,” said Defense Analysis Lieutenant General ® Talat Masood.

“Pakistan practically had no defence industry at the time of independence and everything had to be started from scratch. But, the will and hard work put in by our engineers and scientists took Pakistan to respectable pinnacle,” he added.

China did help Pakistan to build up defence industry. Three vast compounds were built (Heavy Industries Taxila), one at Wah (Pakistan Ordnance Factories) for producing armaments and ammunition, mainly for the army and a third one at Kamra (Pakistan Aeronautical Complex), to overhaul and maintain and even manufacture military aircraft and aeronautical equipment such as radars.

Heavy Mechanical Complex Taxila set up with the collaboration of China is not only modernising the existing equipment but also manufacturing modern and efficient Al-Khalid and Al-Zarar Tanks. To strengthen Armour Division, 320 T 80-UD tanks were also bought from Ukraine.

Today, Pakistan is able to manufacture state-of-the-art fighter-jet JF-17 (Thunder), Naval Dockyard in Karachi repairs and maintains navy ships and locally manufactured Agosta 90-B submarine is another feather in the cap. Its missile technology was much better than the adversary as it used solid fuel.

The country has the capability of manufacturing and maintaining small and medium ships while it has recently been assigned task to manufacture combat platform like F-22P (Frigate).

Its ordinance factories have not only fulfilled the demand of army but also were earning sizeable revenue by exporting small arms to over fifty countries.

This story did not end here, the journey continued and more achievements were made with every passing day - hats off to our engineers and scientists.

Talat Masood gives credit of nuclear programme to all past governments as they never compromised on continuation of nuclear programme despite various pressures. But, one cannot forget Z A Bhutto and great scientists like Dr Qadeer Khan and Dr Samar Mubarakmand who made Pakistan shine at the horizons.

The credit also goes to PPP leader Benazir Bhutto for taking keen interest in safeguarding country’s interests and Mian Nawaz Sharif for standing firm against pressure from Western nations, not to conduct nuclear tests.

Thus in prevailing global situation, looming threats of terrorism and extremism and evil designs of arch foe India, it is high time to reaffirm our commitment to make our defence invincible.

Let us forge unity in our ranks to foil conspiracies of enemies and lead the nation to destination of progress and prosperity.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=192074