Four reasons why there should be no army cantt in Swat
Raheel Shareef has laid foundation stone of army cantonment
in Swat. It is as bad a policy-step as bad it can get. Here I present the
reasons why there should be no army cant in Swat.
1. 1. Army beats the drums of successful army
operation in Swat. If the operation is successful and if the area is free of
any miscreants, why there is a need of permanent army presence in Swat? It nullifies
the basic idea behind army operations. If army has to be needed for permanent
stability then it means that there is no peace and all claims of peace and
stability are just a whitewash. It has to be remembered that Swat is not a
frontier region i.e. it shares no boundary with any other country, it is in the
middle of mainstream Pakistan. So the argument that we have to stop Taliban
from recapturing Swat defies any logic as there are no militias or organized militancy
in the area. What the militancy was a brief chaos which was encouraged by the incompetence
of both the provincial governments and intelligence agencies. If Swat has to be
made secure, it will need strong civil institutions and trust of the locals
instead of imposing a permanent martial law in the area.
2. 2. If army is needed as an emergency response force
then Chakdara fort and Malakand where there are army installations are just a
30 minutes drive from the main city of Mingora. The army should withdraw to
those installations and act as an emergency force if there is any need (but
there is no need till now for army to intervene as there are no militants now).
Intelligence based operation can successfully intervene to stop any militant activity
in future but then the state knows that intelligence agencies are there for
creating chaos only. So the police should be strengthened and the law and order
responsibility should be handed over to them.
3. 3. Swat has very scarce plain land. Most of the
terrain is hilly. The people there treasure whatever piece of land they have.
With coming of cant, DHA, Bahria and all other elite land-grabbing schemes will
be the next to follow. This land grabbing will put an indescribable strain on the
already stressed demographics of the area. The army should make it clear that
whether it wants the cant for stability in the area or just another summer
vacation camp where it elite can spend leisure hours and enjoy the scenic
beauty after retirement. This cant is no more than a fear couched pretense for
land grabbing empire of the army.
4. 4. The locals see the army presence as invading
their own space. The chechposts and overbearing attitude of army is making the
people aliens in their own land. We are being asked in front of our door “Shanakhti
card dekhao”. Imagine a man speaking Urdu in Pastun accent asking a man at frnt
gate of his home at Sahiwal, “Shanakhti card dekhao.” We are treated as
suspects in our homes, we are stopped from everyday activities just because
army high-ups are visiting the area. Till now the people are suffering while
knowing that the army will leave one day, the cant is going to make them aliens
in their homes with no land.
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