News
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Siachen — an inconsequential battleBy Durdana Najam
It could not have been worse than what happened on April 7. As many as 138 Pakistan Army soldiers ‘died’ under the heap of snow guarding one of the most hostile borders of the world. Interestingly, the hostility has less to do with the real enemy sitting across the summit. It is the nature that we have turned against ourselves by tampering with reality; the reality that trust and brotherly neighbourhood carry the seed to development and prosperity.
When human beings stop loving and caring the needed, the element in nature getting wrong signals, make for the worst move, thus tumbling the system upside down. When the Indian Army moved to the Himalayan Range in 1984 and with Pakistan joining the freak, nature revolted in its usual way through frequent sliding, unpredictable avalanche, abrasive chill and the worst by killing the people slitting the solitude of the mountains. Pakistan is ‘mourning the death’ of its soldiers. The army chief has vowed to keep the hunt for the soldiers buried 250 feet deep in the snow. The international community has once again asked India and Pakistan to come of age and understand putting precious lives at risk on such hazardous positions. On home ground, former premier Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani have called the shot by terming the use of material and human resource on Siachen a waste of money, talent and time. They talked about the high opportunity cost of Siachen adventure that Pakistan is paying in the shape of poverty, stymied economic growth and a bulging defence budget.
Amazingly, India is paying a much larger cost but the pinch is sharper and severe for Pakistan, because the latter is on the lower step of the economic ladder.
The avalanche that gobbled the soldiers is conspicuous because of its size and magnitude. The truth is that nearly three to four soldiers die in Siachen every alternate day. The truth is that Pakistan is sacrificing its soldiers quietly without a mourn to gain solidarity. And the truth is that Pakistan has more to lose in any war than India. Maybe, it is this reality that has finally persuaded the army to turn its back on its animosity agenda against India. We have lived through those times when India’s enmity helped fill the coffers of Pakistan’s governing institutions. Now is the time to find our own ways to get things going. Unless we oil the wheel of Pakistan’s economy with the homemade oil the jam is going to put everything on rest for the worst. These were the views expressed by the guests of Deen-o-Dunya, a socio-religious programme conducted by Tahir Ashrafi, the chairman of All Pakistan Ulema Council, on Business Plus TV on April 21. Former Siachen deputy commander Humair and environmental lawyer Rafay Alam gave stunning and appalling details of the havoc human beings are suffering and inflicting on nature. They agreed that Pakistan should not compromise on its border safety, but they urged both Pakistan and India to settle this inconsequential battle through negotiations.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk