All the military coups in the history of the country were condemned in strongest possible terms by the Upper House of Parliament on the eve of defence day. Senators came hard on the military establishment, terming it a 'white elephant', when a report of Senate Committee on Defence and Defence Production was presented in the house by its chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed.
Mushahid said the defence of a country was no longer dependent on the military might alone. The defence of a country, he added, is now, in fact, greatly relied upon key civilian institutions such as parliament. Speaking on a point of order, Senator Abdul Nabi Bangash of Awami National Party (ANP) said the military generals, who staged coups, must be made accountable for their adventurism. He accused the then Chief of Army Staff, General Pervez Musharraf, and his Corps Commanders of waging Kargil War without taking the civilian leadership into confidence.
"I've been told several times not to be so harsh but let me speak the truth that this military is a white elephant," he maintained. Senator Kazim Khan of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) reinforced his fellow Senator Bangash's speech and said the "generals must mend their ways."
He also said Kargil War was the idea of only four generals, while rest of the military was kept in dark. The generals involved in this adventure, he added, must be brought to book. Senator Kalsoom Parveen said the accountability should be done across the board as black sheep are not only present in the military but also in other institutions like judiciary, media, parliament, lawyers etc.
Colonel Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi (Retd) of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) said the services of the military could not be ignored as they are the protectors of the country's territorial borders. "We must acknowledge their sacrifices and the whole institution should not be blamed just for the sake of a few corrupt elements", he added. Senator Raja Zafarul Haq of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said the military adventurism was all pre-planned as they had realised the mistake that they made in Kargil. They staged a coup in October 1999 to save their skin, he added.
LG POLLS Senator Shahi Syed of ANP expressed serious concern over the ongoing meetings between PPP and MQM over holding of local government elections in Sindh before general election. He said the government was busy in meeting with only one partner, while the others had been ignored on this count. He vowed stiff resistance if Sindh was divided through local bodies' elections. Tahir Mashhadi of MQM said that LG polls were part of the constitution and the democratic setup, which would strengthen the teething democracy in the country. There will be no democracy in the absence of LG system, according to him.