The Pakistani military—or the ‘fauj’ as it is better-known in Urdu—has a very distinctive place in the 60 year old tragedy- scarred history of that nation and alas, this institution has contributed in no small measure to this trajectory. There are many wry quips about the Pak military as exemplified by the largest service—the Army—and while one has it that most countries have an army at their command, the Pak Army has commandeered the whole country in a very effective ‘tail wag dog’ syndrome! The other is that three As have shaped the destiny of Pakistan—namely Allah, (Pak) Army and America—and this is as valid today when Islamabad, with General Musharraf at the helm is trying to grapple with many complex contestations wherein the Army is trying its best to maximize its leverages with Islam and Uncle Sam to retain the primacy it has acquired in the domestic politico-power calculus.
October 2007, volume 31, No 10