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The UK is the former colonial master of what is now Pakistan, and thus from this position has had considerable influence within the Pakistani military.
Indeed for the first four years after independence Pakistan had British officers heading and running it, General Sir Frank Messervy and General Sir Douglas Gracey into 1951.
The British created the ALL important "ISI (which) was the brainchild of Australian-born British Army officer, Major General R. Cawthome, then Deputy Chief of Staff in the Pakistan Army"..wikipedia. He commanded it in the important formative years between 1948--1956, and probably into 1959, with considerable British guidance there after to the present day.
A simple glance at the Pakistani military, with their organization, codes, uniforms, culture tells us that the Pakistani military still follows the colonial model for substantial sections of its establishment. In that sense it is NOT a pure Islamic military in the Turkish or Iranian tradition.
All senior officers certainly in the past under went extensive military training in the UK.
Personal friendship, military to military and little of the light flattery is another means by which the British have "infiltrated" and influenced the Pakistani top brass....for example General Sir Walter Colyear Walker with Zia ul Haq, and Sir Charles Guthrie with MOSSAD Busharaf........British Defense Minister Perfumo who spoke fluent Urdu with Ayub Khan. Given the above efforts by the UK State, although overall the UK State has been hostile to Pakistan .......the UK State has never the less expended considerable efforts at fostering close ties with the Pakistani military top brass.
All senior officers are Anglo-phone, that is when they speak with the domestic media, or the international media or address international forums they speak English automatically. You would think given the purported ultra-nationalism of Pakistani generals they would at least speak Urdu to the Pakistani masses most of whom don't understand English. A patriotic Pakistani general would be proud to speak Urdu to the International community........language being the basic statement of self identity AND self worth.
The operations of the Pakistani military since 1947 has been mainly COLONIAL in NATURE, that is where the British Raj military ceased to exist, the Pakistani military has partially attempted to fill the shoes of the former Raj military with PRIMARILY, military operations against civilians within Pakistan AND extensive operations in the GCC, as a proxy colonial force supporting pro-Western UK backed monarchies in the GCC. In most Arab countries monarchies have been replaced by civilian dictators.
Many generals from the Pakistan military have retired to the UK, but not the USA, or France or Germany.
Pakistan continues to be a member of the British Commonwealth, under the guidance of the Pakistan military leadership.
Pakistan has through the ISI extensive security links with UK intelligence, and so called "al-Qaeda" suspects captured by the ISI in Pakistan have been tortured with the presence and guidance of British Intelligence in Pakistan.
British military trainers have a presence in Pakistan training the Pakistan armed forces, regularly.
Although a significant percentage of the Afghan heroin which enters the UK is through the British military flying the narcotics into the country via military bases and C-130's, what must not be ignored is that an additional amount is brought into the UK through the assistance and cooperation of Pakistan's security, Pakistani nationals living in the UK, working with British security and intelligence. (Partners in crime)
In the above holistic sense it is a bit silly insinuating that British Intelligence has attempted to "Infiltrate" the Pakistani military, since as can be seen through any casual research of 5 minutes, the relationship between the top echelon of the Pakistan military with British security/intelligence is already very very very deep.
It has been so for 64 years, and is the main source of the PROBLEM of Failed State Pakistan.
Is British Intelligence infiltrating the Pakistan military via HIZB UT TAHRIR? If this is the case then it must mainly be through junior officers, and colonels down.....younger warm bloodied officers.
The UK State has never been a friend of Pakistan, unlike the USA which has at least pretended to be a friend since 1954, on and off, since the USA off loaded huge quantities of arms and some civilian aid to the governments of mainly military background.
From the UK State by contrast since 1947, NOTHING.........except "Paki bashing"...."Paki this..Paki that".......with red eyes, and a grimace. The false flag ops carried out by MI-5 in London and else where were ALL blamed on "Pakis."
So from the above perspective it is very important that patriotic Pakistanis need to be highly sensitive and alert to any possible games and schemes of the UK State within Pakistan. Its naturally pro forma that the UK state has been the main sponsor of DEVIANT ISLAM as a filth column destabilization force within various Muslim countries.
Having said this one must also recognize that the fundamentalism of the Pakistani military with or without British input has been ongoing significantly since the 1970's. The Pakistani military is the only military in the world where large sections of the military from jawans to NCO's to officers sport beards...........WHILST they carry out unIslamic ops within Pakistan in collaboration with Western forces.
Sociologists surmise that since a greater section of the military's 20,000 officers come from the dreaded lower middle class, then it is natural that they harbor narrow right wing "can't see further than my toes" world views. Since the 1970's 500,000 Islamic Fundies have been trained by the Pakistani military as a proxy force for ops within Pakistan against Shia's, Sufis, Christians and Ahmedis, against of course India, against Afghanistan, against Iran, against China, and finally against Bangladesh.
Clearly the Pakistani military for the sake of pure professionalism needs to detach itself from Islamic Fundamentalism. Religion should not have a central role in a professional military.
Clearly the Pakistani military for the sake of pure professionalism needs to detach itself from Western military/security complex for the long term cohesion and survival of Pakistan. You can gain a few tanks for free, but you can also lose the whole country in the bargain.
The article below is written by one Ahmed Quraishi who is a front journalist for the ISI, as much as some journalists for the Times of India and Hindustan Times work for RAW.....and the Washington Post work for American intelligence.
His contradictory views allows us a glimpse of the ISI perspectives of this delicate issue of why a senior officer, a one star general was arrested just after the ABBOTTABAD RAID, given the level of fundamentalism already in the Pakistan military AND the association of the Pakistan military with Islamists terror groups which means that on a daily basis Pakistani officers have to liaise with terrorist groups. (Colonel Tarar being one example...amongst many others even after retirement)
The rumor mill is that he upset the tightly knit top brass military apple cart by expressing his views too openly (feelings that already exist in the rank and file of the Pakistan military), and he had asked some very embarrassing questions about the fake Abbottabad raid by the SSG for the USA, in a cadet lecture hall. If any hint from within the military establishment got out that the SSG carried out the Abbottabad raid this would embarrass the Pakistani leadership even further (especially Kiyani and Shuja Pasha) and of course embarrass the Americans.
Perhaps its more accurate to say that it is the USA which has thoroughly infiltrated and recruited most of the top brass of the Pakistani military, in addition to the UK's historical colonial influence. This more effectively explains to us why the top brass take SECURITY and FOREIGN POLICY decisions which are fundamentally anti-Pakistani.
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BRITISH INTELLIGENCE INFILTRATING PAKISTAN ARMY?
US media jumps to link Pakistan Military to militancy when Brig. Ali Khan’s case is not linked to any militant group. He contacted Hizb Al Tahrir which is a non-Pakistani group based in UK and suspected of links to British intelligence. He is known to be upright and loyal to Pakistan but violated Pakistan military discipline; expressing political opinion while in service is also a violation of the discipline.
Brig. Khan is a loyal and upright officer, but contacting a foreign, non-Pakistani group linked to British intelligence is a breach and a question of counterintelligence. US media is twisting the story to feed its campaign to incite mutiny within Pakistani Armed Forces. Militant links inside our military is an American conspiracy theory that seeks to demonize and discredit our soldiers. The government and military should do damage-control by challenging the intense propaganda being peddled by our American allies that seeks to break Pakistani military discipline.
WWW.PAKNATIONALISTS.COM
Brigadier Ali Khan of Pakistan Army was arrested – six weeks ago – because he contacted persons associated with a foreign, UK-based non-Pakistani religious group known for its links to British intelligence. The case is as much about counterintelligence as it is about violation of military discipline. The Pakistani officer is not linked to any militant activity and has no connection to the OBL case or the brazen attack on a naval base on May 22.
This background information is significant because it proves false the conspiracy theories about ‘militant infiltration’ into Pakistani armed forces.
Western media and the American news outlets in particular are wrongly and deliberately linking Brig. Khan’s arrest to his alleged opposition to the country’s feeble position on US pressure and sovereignty violations. This interpretation is spreading in Pakistan, in the absence of any Pakistani damage-control exercise.
There are unconfirmed reports that suggest Brig. Khan disagreed with the way the military has so far handled repeated violations of Pakistani laws and borders by US military and intelligence.
What needs to be emphasized is that, in either case, Brig. Khan violated military discipline and is being questioned. This does not nullify the fact that he is a well respected officer known for his deep loyalty to Pakistan and its Armed Forces. But violation of discipline is a serious offense. Action of this nature is necessary to maintain military discipline within Pakistan Armed Forces, which are one of the top professional militaries in the world.
What Pakistanis need to remember is that there is a concerted effort by anti-Pakistan elements in Washington and some of their proxies in Pakistani politics and media to incite a mutiny inside Pakistani Armed Forces. Having failed to directly engage the country through armed conflict, small insurgencies and a wave of terror was unleashed to break the country from within. As American desperation increases in Afghanistan, some reckless elements within US government, military and intelligence are suspected of mounting a final push to weaken Pakistani military from within by inciting junior officers against the seniors by accusing them of complicity with US interference inside Pakistan.
Unfortunately, in confirming the arrest, the Pakistani government and military should have immediately moved into damage-control. As soon as the story was out yesterday, mostly American news outlets were quick to twist it to suit the ongoing campaign in the mainstream US media that aims at inciting rebellion inside Pakistani military, exploiting popular discontent over deliberate and repeated American humiliation of Pakistan in the past decade. Gleeful US media reports celebrated how this story confirmed the American conspiracy theory that says Pakistani military is infiltrated by religious extremists. The theory allows strong anti-Pakistan elements in the Washington establishment to demonize Pakistan and gradually build a case against Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. Almost every American news report contained a line that suggested that US officials suspected links between Pakistani military and ‘extremist groups’. This is a longstanding US position designed for political point scoring. Unfortunately, Pakistani military has for too long ignored this type of irresponsible behavior from an ally that is now showing its true colors.
DAMAGE-CONTROL: How?
Pakistani government and military should have gone beyond a simple confirmation of the arrest to underline two important points:
The first point is that Brig. Khan was not found in contact with a ‘militant’ group. The correct definition of the said group, Hizb al Tahrir, is that it is a foreign, non-Pakistani, UK-based group that purports to promote Islam. Also, the group is not involved in militant activity in its hometown, Britain, or anywhere else. So if Brig. Khan contacted an activist from this banned non-Pakistani group, it does not mean ‘militants’ have infiltrated Pakistan military. In this case, anyone insisting otherwise is indulging in the demonization of Pakistan Armed Forces as part of the overall American strategy in Afghanistan.
The second point is that expressing political views or political dissent is a violation of military discipline and cannot be allowed, as DG ISPR has already underlined in his statement to BBC. This point needs to be driven home a number of times to counter the propaganda that seeks – rightly or wrongly – to portray this case as one where an officer is being punished for disapproving the country’s foreign policy. If Brig. Khan did express dissent to the existing method of dealing with US meddling, and regardless of how popular this view is among Pakistanis, incitement of dissent within a disciplined military is dangerous.
The best way to counter this impression is to insist that breaking military discipline is not the way to correct the policy. That would weaken the military institution that is a national asset and a den of Pakistani nationalism. The right way of correcting a flawed foreign policy is through politics and public awareness and pressure.
BRITISH INTELLIGENCE
Hizb al Tahrir was formed by a Palestinian in the early part of the twentieth century. The party never took off but the ideas of its founder survived in books and speeches.
It is stunning to note that this group was revived somewhere in the 1980s and ‘90s in the United Kingdom, of all places. Some of the group’s followers from the Middle East were given political asylum by the UK. Today, Hizb al Tahrir is heavily infiltrated by British intelligence agency, MI6. British spooks help the group recruit cadres from mostly British Muslim communities.
A number of spy agencies from Arab and western countries have been using this technique to create or place agents inside Muslim groups. India also began using this method to infiltrate Kashmiri freedom groups using Israeli techniques with Palestinian groups. But the United Kingdom has gone a step ahead of everyone else when it became the world’s biggest safe haven for violent extremists from the Middle East. These extremists, rejected by their own countries, received British passports and welfare money to plot extremism in Middle East and Central Asia. [See Is Hizb al Tahrir Another Project of British MI6?]
British-Pakistani members of Hizb al Tahrir have been directed to attempt recruiting officers inside Pakistani military. This raises the specter of British intelligence penetration into Pakistani military to incite rebellion in the guise of Islamic activism.
