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| India-Pakistan | ||||||
| 8 kidnapped Pak Army officers to face court martial on release | ||||||
| 2007-10-14 | ||||||
ISLAMABAD: Eight military officers including one lieutenant colonel, who were kidnapped by the tribal Taliban along with 240 other military men in August this year, will be facing immediate proceedings of court martial in a military court when freed. Scandalous inside details of their capture have finally started unfolding as these military men did not fire a single shot while being kidnapped by the militants in the South Waziristan Agency.
The sources said only two officers of the regiment, which was taken hostage by the Taliban, would be spared as they were on leave. Otherwise, the rest of the officers who have been nicknamed as “chicken-hearted” will be facing serious penalties on their freedom. A lieutenant colonel, who was actually commanding the 240 jawans and reportedly ordered them to lay down their arms before the Taliban to save his own life after a gun was placed on his head, would face the maximum penalty.
“This is a clear message to these officers and Jawans that they are no more required to serve in the Pakistan Army as they did not prove themselves soldiers”. Sources said even President General Pervez Musharraf could not stop himself from expressing his serious disappointment and anger in his interview with BBC the other day. Musharraf is said to have told the foreign media that the kidnapped army men “acted unprofessionally” which showed the level of frustration and anger among the top military brass against these officers and their Jawans. Sources said these officers were also facing serious charges for setting a bad precedent in the history of Pakistan Army when they ‘surrendered’ before the civilian fighters within the borders of their own country and made the institution of army a laughing stock in the eyes of the world.
When asked what kind of punishment would be given to these army men for allegedly surrendering to the Taliban elements in the tribal areas, General Arshad replied; “First, please correct yourself. This was not surrender before Taliban elements”. When asked whether these officers would face proceedings under a court martial, General Arshad said a full-fledged inquiry would be conducted into the whole issue and this was only possible once they returned. When asked whether these officers had been dismissed from service and now they would be formally proceeded against in the military court, General Arshad replied that he could not say anything at this stage.
According to initial investigations into the incident, when the military convoy under the command of a lieutenant colonel reached a mountainous area where the road was blocked, these officers were approached by three people who offered them to clear the road. These people even arranged some chairs for the military officers and they all sat there waiting for clearance of the road. Sources said at one stage these three agents of the Taliban told these army officers that it might not be possible to clear the road unless they bring some people from the adjacent village to help them remove the obstacles. Upon this, these officers agreed and asked them to bring some manual support from the adjacent village. These three men returned with dozens of villagers who were wearing shawls to hide their weapons.
The officer leading the whole military convoy, when pushed with the gun, simply asked his 240 military men to drop their guns. These Taliban did not waste time in collecting the dropped weapons of the army men and took all of them into their custody after what the report called “a humiliating surrender”. Sources said the news of capture of such a large number of army men by civilian fighters had a very negative impact on the mindset and approach of the rest of the officers and military officers serving in the tribal areas. That is why now strict punishment would be awarded to these army officers and Jawans for bringing the military into disrepute as an institution. Their act also boosted the morale of the Taliban fighting the Pakistan Army in the tribal areas. | ||||||
| Posted by:john frum |
| #7 Thank you for the clarification, john frum. I respectfully withdraw my snark. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-10-14 12:56 |
| #6 'cept that most of the people they killed were not Islamists or terrorists... they shelter that sort... |
| Posted by: john frum 2007-10-14 12:48 |
| #5 The Pakistani army has killed more of its own citizens than any other fighting force in the past half century. Finally, some sort of remote justification for all those arms sent to Pakistan. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-10-14 12:25 |
| #4 the Pakistani Army is more of a danger to its own people than anyone else. The Pakistani army has killed more of its own citizens than any other fighting force in the past half century. It commands a lion's share of the Pak budget, depriving the general citizenry of education, health care, employment etc. |
| Posted by: john frum 2007-10-14 11:51 |
| #3 these military men did not fire a single shot while being kidnapped by the militants Chalk it up to "professional courtesy". Sources said these officers were also facing serious charges for setting a bad precedent in the history of Pakistan Army when they ‘surrendered’ before the civilian fighters within the borders of their own country and made the institution of army even more of a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. There, fixed that. These people even arranged some chairs for the military officers and they all sat there waiting for clearance of the road. Didn't notice all the leather straps attached to those chairs, did they? Sources said at one stage these three agents of the Taliban told these army officers that it might not be possible to clear the road unless they bring some people from the adjacent village to help them remove the obstacles. Curious how nobody in the command chain or general ranks managed to perceive that a road block might indicate the presence of hostiles. Then again, the soldiers most likely do not regard terrorists as hostiles. For all practical purposes the Pakistani Army is more of a danger to its own people than anyone else. You say that like it's a bad thing, Mike. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-10-14 11:08 |
| #2 ...Keep in mind that the Pakistani Army is what Jim Dunnigan calls a 'police army' - for a very good example, see the sad force that 'liberated' the Falklands from the UK in 1982 and then got it's a*s handed to it by a truly professional army. For all practical purposes the Pakistani Army is more of a danger to its own people than anyone else. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2007-10-14 10:20 |
| #1 These military officers sitting quite comfortably on the chairs, with their guns allegedly lying on the grounds, had no idea what was about to unfold At partition, Pakistan got their portion of the British Indian Army, a tough, all volunteer, battle hardened, professional fighting force. Where has that tradition gone? The Pak army is engaged in private enterprise, crony capitalism, misrule of their country, the training of terrorists. No wonder they can't fight a damn. |
| Posted by: john frum 2007-10-14 07:43 |