For weeks, flocks of military helicopters and fast-flying fighter jets have crisscrossed Islamabad’s skies in preparation for the annual demonstration of the military might on 23 March, Pakistan Day. These are hard economic times, and so, curious about the cost of the ceremony, I consulted ChatGPT. Operating an attack helicopter, the AI chatbot told me, can range from $3,851 to $20,642 per hour. Fighter jets show greater variation, with lighter models costing $4,500 to $5,500 per hour and heavier ones reaching $20,000 to $60,000. An aerial display, of course, is merely the tip of an iceberg; parades on the ground cost much more.
Still, ignoring these expenses, many countries hold demonstrative displays. Some seek to project strength and warn adversaries by showcasing new weapons and technology during parades. Others hope to boost national morale, knowing such demonstrations can powerfully impact young minds. As tanks lumber by, the earth trembles under their power. When coloured contrails emerge from a tight formation of jets streaking overhead, a collective gasp erupts, followed by thunderous applause.
In Pakistan’s case, which particular end do these displays of force serve? Who is the target audience?
Razzle-dazzle to distract people
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) couldn’t care less. Emboldened by the Taliban government in Kabul, Afghanistan, its barbaric rampage continues, slaughtering our soldiers and police daily. Driven by a warped ideology, it fights to transform Pakistan into an Islamic state mirroring Afghanistan’s brutal theocracy. Intoxicated by their victory over the US, TTP’s fighters brush off Pakistan as a mere midget destined to crumble. Will a handful of Cobra gunships circling Islamabad deter them?
The Indians are also likely to shrug off troop parades and fly-pasts by Chinese-origin JF-17s and American F-16s. India’s 2023 defence budget of $72.6 billion is nine times higher than Pakistan’s, enabling it to buy and put on display more and advanced military hardware. Flushed with hubris after recent successful space missions, and with greater indigenous weapon production capability, New Delhi cares only about Pakistan’s carefully hidden nukes, which, for obvious reasons, cannot be paraded.
This leaves only the domestic public as the audience for the grand spectacle to be played out on Saturday. Could some razzle-dazzle distract the people from prolonged political instability, a disputed election, fears of further turbulence, and, above all, inflation that is biting deep into their pockets?
Social media may be one place to look for an answer but large numbers of trolls, both human and machine, inject uncertainty. I think a low-end barber shop, offering haircuts at a fifth of what one pays in a “decent” place, is more reliable for discovering the pulse of politics among poorer classes.
Sitting in line and awaiting my turn, I was entertained by a running political conversation among other clients and the barbers themselves. Some appeared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters, although one customer sounded like a Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) sympathiser. The din of low-flying army helicopters did not inspire awe or admiration. Instead, it was negatively received in pithy, unrepeatable Pothwari. One young man complained that he couldn’t afford fuel for his motorbike but the ones flying above were taking joyrides.
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Fighting terrorism
Parades won’t work. So, what can the Centre do to dispel today’s widespread pessimism and create a sense of hope for the future? Is it possible to bring about a sense of oneness that had briefly existed during certain points of Pakistan’s history?
A tried and tested way is to raise public enthusiasm over Kashmir. Pakistan would “wage a war for 1,000 years, a war of defence” against India, thundered then-foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. His epic speech, delivered at the United Nations just after the 1965 war, was ecstatically received at home. This, in fact, is what launched Bhutto’s political career. But in the summer of 1990, when his daughter, as the prime minister, repeated these words verbatim, they fell flat.
Thereafter, this line has not worked well. On 26 August 2019, weeks after India’s abrogation of Article 370, then-Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that henceforth, “Kashmir Hour” would be observed across the country every week. To show solidarity with the Kashmiri people, government employees, and ordinary people were told to come out of their houses and workplaces every Friday at noon for 30 minutes. All traffic lights would be turned red at 12:00 pm. The first week went well but the second week’s turnout was poor and by the third week, the crowd had disappeared.
Instead of Kashmir, will rousing Pakistanis to fight terrorism by TTP and other extremist religious groups create national unity? By official counts, there were 70,000 deaths from terrorism in 2002-2014 whereas the tally of Pakistanis killed in all four Pakistan-India wars is around 18,000.
This makes it clear which enemy is deadlier. Nevertheless, officialdom has never articulated clearly why the fight against TTP must be fought. The military’s India-centric cadet and defence colleges are echo chambers that do not intellectually equip officers for combating the enemy within. Hence, the army and police lack the public support that they need and rightly deserve. Instead, all kinds of confused strategies abound.
For example, last week, The Sunday Guardian carried an article by former TTP spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, claiming that Pakistan and Tajikistan have hit upon a common strategy for recruiting the fanatical Islamic State–Khorasan Province (ISKP) to combat the Taliban regime in Kabul. This is likely false but what if it’s true? Has there ever been a proper reflection on the consequences of having used extremists in the past?
National unity is needed for Pakistan to eventually defeat TTP and its backers in Kabul. To this end, our officers, soldiers, and police must be told clearly that Pakistan must never become a state like Afghanistan to be ruled by backward, fanatical, and misogynistic mullahs. It’s not just our army and police, but also the general public that must be given this reason to fight TTP.
The Pakistan Day parade—fuelled by borrowed money that must be repaid with interest—will undoubtedly inject a spike of adrenalin and showcase some patriotic displays. For a fleeting moment, the national spirit may soar. However, to truly unite Pakistanis, our leaders must demonstrate profound empathy with ordinary people during today’s dire economic circumstances. To fight the scourge of terrorism, the government must articulate an inclusive vision for Pakistan that respects all its regions and religious faiths and is declaredly modern and forward-looking.
The author is an Islamabad-based physicist and writer. Views are personal.