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| 'Pakistan Army is a Muslim Army' | | For a Pak soldier India is the enemy: Akhtar | | EARLY TIMES DELHI BUREAU
NEW DELHI, JULY 28: "The Pakistan Army is a Muslim Army fighting for jihad", Lt. Gen. Muhammad Nasir Akhtar (retd) has proudly proclaimed. He served in the Pakistan Army for 36 years and took part in two wars against India.
In 1965, Lt. Gen. Akhtar was in the Rann of Kutch. Later he moved to the Chhamb area across Akhnoor in Jammu sector. In the 1971 war against India, he was posted in Sialkot, across Jammu's Suchetgarh sector. In a media interview during his visit to India, Lt. Gen. Akhtar said: "For a serving Pakistani soldier India is the enemy. And he is trained for it. But once we retire from service we have our own perceptions about things and events. We have to see the realities of life. It is not an immediate turnaround for us. Reality demands that peace must return to the subcontinent. We must eliminate poverty".
Stating that the war is not between India and Pakistan but against poverty, he put himself on record asserting: "Betwen India and Pakistan the war is about Kashmir. It is a core issue which must be resolved. In our case everything that moves from head to foot is Kashmir. For you Kashmir is not important because you are a large country but to us it is very, very important. It is the only issue".
Asked how is his delegation (to India) different from other peace delegations, his answer: "It is very important because the senior Army officers who are visiting India have served in high posts. They interact almost on a daily basis with the corridors of power. When you have seen things physically you are in a position to comprehend better at the higher level. Once we go back we can talk about India with authority. We know war cannot bring results, only dialogue will".
What did he expect from India? Lt. Gen. Akhtar said: "There should be flexibility when we talk. General Musharraf wants to change the mindset on both sides. He has proposed a seven point plan. Let us debate it". When told that India had said that there would not be any redrawing of maps, he said: "The LoC (Line of Control) is not acceptable to us. You can't fix a line that redrawing is not possible. Discuss it and then come to a conclusion. Give us a space to discuss. Development is moving both of us towards peace".
He reiterated: "Once the Kashmir solution is found Pakistan will be much better equipped to fight poverty. If this problem continues we will not have enough funds to spare for development projects. General Musharraf is courageously moving forward even after four attacks on his life. He is pushing on with the peace process. Terrorism and extremism can be contained only if you resolve the Kashmir issue".
When told that many Pakistanis have found on their first visit to Kashmir that the Kashmiris are not keen to join Pakistan either, pat came the reply from Lt. Gen. Akhtar: "Then, the answer is a plebiscite".
Commenting on Pakistan Army being highly Islamised, Lt. Gen. Akhtar said: "When you talk of the Islamisation of the Pakistan Army you must realise that we are Muslims. Right? We have lived with Indians before. A large section migrated to Pakistan from India. Now all of us are religious Muslims, but we are not fundamentalists".
In his reply to another question, he said: "We are practicing Muslims. Our Army is the most modern army. But we are Muslims and our religion says to fight for jihad. All over the world the armies fight with religion in their minds. Christians do. Yes, we are a Muslim Army. There is no denying that fact. It has always been Islamised. All armies have religion on their minds. When an Indian Muslim soldier fights against us he too has his motherland and his religion on his mind as an Iraqi would have when fighting against a Kuwaiti. When Pakistanis fight they fight for Pakistan and also for Islam".
What are the differences between the Indian and Pakistani armies? His reply: "The Indian Army is very professional and hardworking. Basically, the Indian Army is predominantly a Hindu Army and the Pakistan Army is a Muslim Army. The fundamental difference is in the religious approach".
Responding to the observation that during the wars with Pakistan, the Indian Army was fighting for the nation, not for a religion, Lt. Gen. Akhtar stated: "Pakistanis also fight for the motherland. It is not a religious war between us. It is a war for Kashmir. But when you are fighting, religion does play a predominant role. You have to motivate the troops. And the troops can only be motivated through religion".
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