by Nilesh Kunwar

Full Content Held on December 27, the year-end press conference conducted by Pakistan army’s media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) has once again exposed Rawalpindi’s characteristic penchant for resorting to ‘deflection’. For the unversed, this term is used in psychology to define the human defence mechanism tactic used to avoid criticism or blame by shifting the focus or responsibility of mistakes and failures onto something or someone else. And like always, it was the political class that became the army’s preferred whipping-boy that it declared guilty for all ills plaguing Pakistan.

Speaking on the issue of burgeoning terrorism and rampant lawlessness in Pakistan, Director General (DG) ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary confidently declared that “When you examine the illegal spectrum in the country closely, behind it you will see political backing everywhere.” While this allegation does have substance, isn’t Rawalpindi, which is actively involved in domestic politics also a contributor to this crisis? Didn’t former Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa himself admit that “The main reason for (criticism of the military in Pakistan) … is the involvement of the army in politics for the last 70 years”?

Lt Gen Chaudhary went on to say that “Terrorism will end when justice is established in those areas when there is education, health, administration, good governance, and uniformity in the education system and madrasas (institutions of Islamic learning).” What he has said makes perfect sense and there’s no doubt that it’s the political class that has to ensure that the causative factors enumerated by him are suitably addressed to wean away locals from terrorism.

However, as far as ensuring justice in terrorism affected areas is concerned, Rawalpindi can’t resort to ‘deflection’ or making melodramatic declarations, such as the army “filling these gaps in governance with the sacrifices of our martyrs on a daily basis,” to absolve itself of the mess that it has created in the country. Pakistan army is the major committer of excesses as well as prime violator of human rights and this isn’t just an unsubstantiated allegation but an established fact documented by international human rights organisations and has even drawn flak from Pakistan’s judiciary.

A few examples:

In 2011, the then Asia Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW) Brad Adams had observed that “Pakistan’s security forces are engaging in an abusive free-for-all in Balochistan as Baloch nationalists and suspected militants ‘disappear,’ and in many cases are executed.” He also lamented that “The national government has done little to end the carnage in Balochistan, calling into question its willingness or ability to control the military and intelligence agencies,” and almost all military analysts opine that it’s the latter.

In the same year, HRW too noted that “Pakistan forces continued to be implicated in the enforced disappearance of suspected ethnic Baloch militants.” A year later, Amnesty International (AI) observed that “Pakistan’s armed forces, including their intelligence services and paramilitary forces officially under the authority of the executive, are the primary organ of the state accused of committing enforced disappearances.”

Unfortunately, this abhorrent trend continues unabated even today. In July, HRW noted that “Pakistan’s security forces have also carried out enforced disappearances (in Balochistan) to silence peaceful critics of the government.” AI in its 2024 report on Pakistan has also mentioned that “As in previous years, enforced disappearances of journalists, human rights defenders and critics of the government and military establishment were carried out by authorities with impunity.”

In May, while hearing the case of Kashmiri poet and journalist Ahmed Farad Shah who had been forcibly disappeared from his home, Islamabad High Court Judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani made the shocking revelation that “Shamefully the whole nation knows who is doing what, the whole of Pakistan knows, including me, but we have closed our eyes.” That the judge was specifically referring to Pakistan army’s spy agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) became evident when he went on to summon Islamabad’s ISI sector commander along with the defence secretary for facilitating recovery of this missing person.

Most importantly, the despicable trend of Pakistan army orchestrating enforced disappearances has been even accepted by the military itself. Lt Gen Chaudhary would definitely recall that while replying to a scribe’s question on enforced disappearances in Balochistan during a press conference in 2019, the then DGISPR Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had replied, “You have a deep attachment with missing persons (but) so have we. We don’t wish that anyone should be missing; but when it's war, you have to do a lot of things- as they say, all is fair in love and war; war is very ruthless.”

That ISPR didn’t withdraw this abhorrent statement or issue any clarification or apology on the same and the fact that Maj Gen Ghafoor was subsequently promoted to a three-star General clearly indicates the unbelievable level of Rawalpindi’s brazen impunity on the issue of human rights.

The most surprising part of the conference was DGISPR’s criticism of the Imran Khan led government’s decision of 2021 to enter into dialogue with proscribed terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and claiming that “our soldiers are now paying the price of that wrong decision with their blood.” While there’s no doubt that the Pakistan army is suffering inordinately high casualties in its fight with TTP, there could be no bigger lie than projecting Rawalpindi as the hapless victim of a monumental blunder made by the government.


Since the then DGISI Lt Gen Faiz Hameed was leading the team of Pakistani negotiators and the army was managing the entire show, how can Rawalpindi blame the government for having taken the decision to enter into dialogue with TTP? Secondly, since Rawalpindi was well aware of TTP’s dismal record when it comes to honouring agreements, why did it accept the ceasefire offer made by this terrorist group and allow it to reorganise itself? Lastly, why did Rawalpindi agree to release more than 100 convicted TTP fighters who were in its custody and responsible for killing members of the Pakistani armed forces as well as civilians?

What could be more outrageous than an army first unconditionally releasing terrorists who have the blood of its soldiers on their hands, and then crying foul? That Rawalpindi was reluctant to act against TTP became amply evident in August 2022 when Pakistan’s then Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admitted in National Assembly that several public demonstrations had broken out in KP to protest against TTP presence in the area. He also voiced genuine apprehensions regarding the success of the army led negotiations with TTP.

Surprisingly, just two days later, ISPR issued a statement mentioning that “During the past few days, a misperception about the alleged presence of (a) large number of proscribed organisation TTP’s armed members in Swat Valley has been created on social media.” It asserted that this report was found to be “grossly exaggerated and misleading.”

ISPR nevertheless accepted that “Presence of (a) small number of armed men on few mountain tops between Swat and Dir has been observed, located far away from population,” implying that locals faced no danger from TTP fighters. It thus clearly emerges that while the government expressed serious concerns regarding growing TTP presence in Swat Valley, it was Rawalpindi that played down this threat and gave terrorists a free run, and this is why DG ISPR blaming the Imran Khan government for indulging TTP is downright shameful!

If Rawalpindi thinks that it can get away by blaming others, it’s sadly mistaken. Dawn has exposed Rawalpindi's doublespeak in its news report on the ISPR conference. It mentions that “No one at the press briefing reminded the General (DG ISPR) that even after PTI’s departure in 2022, the military kept advocating talks with TTP. In an in camera parliamentary briefing on July 5, 2022, which was attended by the then army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa, the then ISI chief Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, and the then Peshawar corps commander Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, parliamentarians were told that the reconciliation process with TTP was underway for ensuring the safety of the borders.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also attended that meeting. The only voices that opposed the talks on that occasion were Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Senator Mushahid Hussain, and Mohsin Dawar.”

Like all other human defence mechanisms, ‘deflection’ too has its limits, and so it would do Rawalpindi a lot good if it listened to the voices of reason instead of living in ivory towers and assuming that the people of Pakistan truly believe that the army can do no wrong.

This will prevent a May 9 repeat!

Nilesh Kunwar is a retired Indian Army Officer who has served in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. He is a keen ‘Kashmir-Watcher,’ and after retirement is pursuing his favourite hobby of writing for newspapers, journals and think-tanks. Views expressed above are the author's own