THE NEED FOR A NATIONAL ARMY

In order to solve the problems of Pakistan there is need for a comprehensive thinking and proper planning. Those Pakistanis who love Pakistan and have means to undertake measures for improving Pakistan?s conditions should have a road map before them and acting upon it a number of reforms should be carried out. I feel that to solve Pakistan?s problems we need a revolutionary thinking and even if we have to take steps other than the present prevailing system of government we should not hesitate to do that. This is an independent and autonomous country and in order to under take these measures we should first take stock of our present problems;
1. Pakistan?s foreign debt. To repay its principal amount and interest one third of Pakistan?s budget is consumed.
2. Annual borrowing for repayment of debt which increases the quantum of debt rather than reducing it
3. Under pressure from the loan-giving countries we have to buy unnecessary things costing millions of dollars which puts our economy under constraint. For example cars and other articles of extravagance without which we could easily live but we are forced to import cars , cosmetics and many food items.
4. We are ourselves an agricultural country. Textile is our most important industry but we are forced by foreign countries to send them raw material and import textile products resulting in closure of our textile industry.
5. We have a steel mill but we run it only at one fourth of its capacity and buy finished products from other countries.
6. The foreign powers have deliberately created differences among the regions of the country in order to increase the use of thermal power instead of hydro-electric power. Now we are dependent on thermal power and other foreign agencies.
7. America and other foreign countries have forced us to neglect our own industry and import those things from outside which are already produced within the country. IMF and World bank want us to levy such heavy taxes on our own products that these become more expensive than the imported ones.

Those of us who travel to America and other foreign countries will bear me out that every person entering those countries is thoroughly searched. One can not carry anything to America which is produced in America itself. If you carry any vegetable or fruit or flowers to America the custom people stop you and tend to destroy it saying that you could buy the same in America at a cheaper price or they do not want to introduce a virus in their existing system. If you enter America you are asked to show the amount of money you are carrying with you and if you have cash then they ask you questions like where did you get this money from or what were your means of income and those who leave America are also not allowed to take with them more than the fixed amount of money but the international institutions dominated by America force us to indiscriminately allow every thing to enter Pakistan. Any one who enters Pakistan with as much amount of money is not obliged to tell the government about his amount and plans of spending it. For this purpose America has constituted certain agencies under the United Nations . Within America they enforce their own laws but all these laws become irrelevant in Pakistan and other developing countries under the supremacy of these so-called international agencies.

There is need today that the government of Pakistan should strengthen its laws with in the country and for at least ten years we should enforce our own laws instead of following the dictation of so-called international agencies. It is necessary that:
1.Pakistan should seek 5-year holiday from international institutions and they should be given understanding that we shall pay off our debts after five years and they should not bother Pakistan during these five years.
2.There should be a ban on import of every thing in the country except life-saving materials
3.There should be ban on driving more than 800 CC vehicle and only certain institutions of special importance should be aloud to use cars of 1200 or 1600CC.
4.All government officials up to the rank of secretaries should travel by buses from their offices and back.
5.All those industries that are closed down should be given one month?s notice to restart them and in case they have shortage of running capital they should be provided the same against proper collateral.
6.The industries of those who can not run them should be handed to the workers and they should be asked to operate them on co-operative system. The government should help them in this connection. After assessment of the value their shares should be sold in the stock market. The workers of the enterprise should also be allowed to purchase these shares. The technical experts of the industrial concern should be provided full opportunity to run that industry. The industrial sector should be fully energised.

In Pakistan many highly educated people consisting mostly of engineers and commerce graduates, MBBS doctors and MA, MSc s are unemployed and are searching for jobs. Why? Isn?t it the responsibility of the government to provide them jobs and security of life. The administrative system of Pakistan has been so planned that for instance in Punjab there are 62 thousand employees of police department and 42 thousand out of them are assigned the job of looking after the security of ministers political personalities and government buildings and the remaining 20 thousand are sitting in police stations to take care of the life and property of 8 to 9 hundred million people. These statistics are a few years old but no conspicuous change has occurred in these figures. The number of unemployed in Pakistan is stated to be between 80 hundred thousand to one million and there is perpetual increase in this number because of downsizing in various sectors. After all why in this way manpower is being wasted in Pakistan. Why doesn?t the government prepare a comprehensive programme to get work out of them. Before this in Soviet Union and People Republic of China they have so used their huge manpower that China is now emerging as the second biggest super power in the world. In the countries of former Soviet Union there is a definite plan of utilising the enormous manpower available and the problem of wastage of manpower and unemployment is almost non-existent there.

In Pakistan the government shall have to make some laws and implement some reforms to utilise this surplus manpower. The government should legislate for setting up an organisation under the name of ?Pakistan National Army? for the unemployed between the ages of 18 and 50 years. All these people should be recruited in their respective districts. The retired army officers should be appointed as their commanders in every district and these people should be distributed up to the tehsil ( sub-division) level. Those who meet the requirements of army should be absorbed in the armed forces and those who are found fit to work in the police department should be employed in police. Those who have expertise in engineering or have professional qualifications should be assigned to the related fields. This Pakistan National Army will turn the barren lands into fertile ones and sink tube wells every where.

The members of the PNA should go to Balochistan and work for turning barren lands into fertile lands. New canals should be dug there and tube wells should be sunk. Along the shore of Balochistan at least on a 20mile strip coconut ,papaya, cannola and other productive plants should be cultivated. The sea water should be purified and made suitable for use in irrigation. Foreign technology may be obtained for this purpose. At present there is at least 8 million acres of land that can be made cultivable . I f all of us would gather courage to do it the God Almighty will also bless us. I can say with full conviction that this National Army comprising 10 million people will be self supporting with in three months and would be producing thousand of tons of fresh vegetables and cereals and pulses which can be used within the country and the surplus could be exported. With fast growing crops the expenses of the National Army could be easily met. This PNA would work on emergency basis in NWFP, Sind and Balochistan. The unemployed youth of this area should be given preference for jobs . The people from other provinces should only be brought if there was dire need in these areas and the local manpower was not available. In other cases the National Army should be consolidated in respective provinces.

PNA is not an alternate army. It will be just a part of the regular army. In most of the countries of the world including America and Britain military service is essential. In Islam also every citizen requires military training. We, Muslims, have forgotten this Islamic principle for many centuries. This principle should be reintroduced. The biggest benefit of this army would be that we shall be able to re-use the mountains, plains and deserts for the progress and uplift of Pakistan. The manpower of Pakistan is the biggest blessing of God Almighty. On this occasion I want to remind you of the saying of biggest revolutionary of the world late Chairman Mao Tse Tung . When America and United Nations were calling for population control the Chairman said,? Whosoever is born in China he is blessed with a mouth to eat and two hands to work. Therefore we should not stop the growth of our population in an unnatural manner?

This is right that we should try to stop the unnecessary increase in our population but it is not justifiable that all those who have come into this world should be left to face the misery of unemployment, poverty and disease. This can never happen. If we set up Pakistan National Army it would usher in a new period of progress and prosperity in the country. The National Army should be given military training first and then should be involved in various projects of national re-construction. At present Pakistan is faced with the most explosive problem of unemployment and poverty. With this national army work can be immediately undertaken on Skardu Dam, Manda Dam, Dasu Dam, Bhasha Dam, Bhasha Dam and Kala Bagh Dam. Other development projects can also be initiated in the country which include making such dams as mentioned above, digging new canals and cleaning the old canals ( bhal safai). Interestingly this last work is already being carried out by the present Pakistan Army. This national force will also carry out development work in agriculture, will make the waste lands cultivable and will strengthen the sides of irrigation canals and streams. At present we have two crops in a year but along with these some more crops can also be grown which include vegetables, pulses and other consumable commodities and they will also work for producing fodder for animals and low cost crops.(End of Chapter)

THE BIGGER PROJECTS

The PNA will make big dams. There will be no contractor system for it. Some units of the national army will blast the stones of the mountains and other members of this army will make bricks . The engineers will make dams and install the machinery. The biggest advantage of this system will be that bribery and kick- back system will is system will come to an end. The national army shall itself work on all development and nation building projects. In every nook and corner of the country in every province this army will break stones, make bricks and construct buildings and run factories . Those factories which are closed down shall be reopened and run by them and the ten million unemployed of Pakistan among whom there are highly educated people will play their role in national construction .

There are numerous advantages of making national army and to recount them we need much ink and paper but important advantages that can be foreseen are given below:
1.With the recruitment of unemployed people in PNA the unnecessary crowd of people in the streets and on the roads will be reduced. These people who are now source of lawlessness will be engaged in nation building activity.
2.The unemployed and poor people who are responsible for committing thefts and dacoities and other acts of lawlessness due to their economic condition will earn their honest living. Thus the proportion of crime will go down..
3.Those who will join PNA will learn to respect discipline and respect for law and in five to ten years the majority of people will be those who have disciplined manners. Just as the members of armed forces lead a disciplined life similarly the members of national army will also be following a strict regime of discipline.
4.The people who indulge in narcotics business are usually the unemployed people who earn money by illegal means . When they will have a regular employment then the tendency towards narcotics business will receive great set back.
5.Those who will join national army would be posted on the Pak-India, Pak_Iran or Pak-Afghanistan borders. This will help in stopping smuggling which will boost up the locally produced commodities.
6.Due to engagement of those who make their income by illegal means and are also extravagant in spending it would no more waste their time in the market places and would only purchase the essential commodities. So the prices will also come down. When those who earn their living by gambling, smuggling or narcotic dealers will be no more there then there will be no spendthrift people left.
1. 7.In order to participate in the national development every individual shall have to contribute his work which would result in increase in per capita income and the growth of population will also be curtailed in a natural way and we shall not have to employ unnatural means to arrest the growth of population.