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Army said to share interests with other ruling elite

By Khalid Hasan

WASHINGTON: The military in Pakistan has come to share interests with other members of the ruling elite and because it protects its vested interests, it has led to alienation of the masses, according to the Pakistani defence and security scholar Dr Ayesha Siddiqa.

Dr Siddiqa recently completed a scholarly attachment with the Woodrow Wilson Centre and is now completing her book on the commercial side of the Pakistan Army. In a long, question-answer interview to DesPrades.com, a popular US-based web publication edited by Irshad Salim.

Asked about her findings relating to the military, she replied, “First, the military has become predatory engaging in political and economic predation. Second, political predation is not complete without economic predation. Third, the military has mutated into a separate class that shares interests with other members of the ruling elite. Finally, because the military protects its vested interests, it leads to alienation of the masses.” She added that the process started in the 1950s with the Fauji Foundation. Asked how the setting up of the foundation was a “predatory” act, she argued that a politically strong entity that engages in political predation needs to feel economically or financially autonomous. This completes the picture of predation. The generals thought that they wanted to establish independent means of providing for their welfare and not depending on the civilians as in India. The financial autonomy gradually created the logic for greater interest in political control.

She held Ayub Khan responsible for setting the process in motion by acquiring land in Sindh and setting up his sons in business. Today, she added, a Maj General is worth about Rs 300 million. She said it was the army’s own estimate that it took up four percent of the GDP and it was her estimate that it owned seven to 10 percent of private sector assets. Asked for a figure, she said the business was worth about Rs 200 billion, but if real estate were added, the figure would rise to Rs 1 trillion plus, something that could be called the army’s “side economy.”

She explained that the figure “includes real estate, businesses done by subsidiaries, organisations and individuals.” She added, “You have to understand that this economy is predatory by nature because it does not accept any form of civilian control over it. It is independent in terms of planning, appropriation of funds, etc.”

When asked at what price the army bought land, she quoted the figure at Rs 30 to 60 per acre. In some cases it was more. There were two methods for getting land. She explained, “All the military land converted for personal use is given at the ridiculous price I quoted. Then there are other schemes where they pay a little more. For instance, the cantonement board distributed plots of 500 yards each by appropriating part of the parking lot of the Karachi Stadium. Each plot was for about Rs 600,000” against the fair market price of Rs 1.5 crore or Rs 15 million. She said the bulk of such land goes to the generals. She recalled that Gen Tauqir Zia as chairman of the Cricket Control Board had authorised himself to return this land that once belonged to the Cantt board for further distribution. She added that the entire Lahore Cantt was turned into housing schemes. In fact, except for Defence phase I & II (Lahore), the rest of the land does not even belong to the military.

She said in reply to a query that the Lahore Cantt covered and area of between 8,000 to 10,000 acres with a market value of Rs. 700 billion. The acquisition price for the army was Rs. 30 to 60 an acre, “the rate that officers pay.”

Dr Siddiqa said in answer to a question form interviewer Irshad Salim that these assets were acquired over time and their value should be added to the annual defence budget. If that were done, the current budget would jump from Rs 131 billion to over Rs. 400 billion. She said in reply to another question that in the army, “the higher you go the more pricey you become. A full general is worth Rs 500 million plus.” She said the forces own about 7 to 9 million acres in the Punjab alone, and less in Sindh.

She explained that 10 percent of land, according to the Colonisation of Land Act 1912, is allotted to the military. “Colonisation of land refers to each land reclaimed due to creation of water channels and other irrigation projects,” she elaborated. She added that India has scrapped the Act of 1912 because being a state moving towards capitalism, it would not create the means for “institutionalising feudalism.”

She agreed with the interviewer that the army’s interests converge with the feudal system. She said that it was only the feudals or the new rural capitalist class that bought land from the army so it would make no sense to destroy the class that bails it out financially. She added that after 1999, the generals had started to keep their lands as its value had gone up, especially after 9/11. She said the generals had turned into “absentee landlords.”

Asked if all this was based on the Act of 1912, Dr Siddiqa replied that there had been alternations too. “For instance, the act does not say that land meant for operational purpose be appropriated for personal use. It is against the law.” In answer to the question if land meant for operational purposes had been appropriated for personal use or given to housing societies, she answered, “Of course. All land in the cities is military land turned into housing colonies.” As to what the conclusion of her book was, she said, “The political leadership in Pakistan has to negotiate the military’s gradual withdrawal from the economy if they want democratic institutions to grow.”

Asked about the “carte blanche” given by the West to the military after 9/11, Dr Siddiqa replied, “The military always had carte blanche from the West. They need to see that the alienation of society is one of the consequences of the military’s predation. Where does the poor man go in Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia if not to God? There is no other means of transferring power except alternative ideologies, especially when the military has turned into a class and protects its interests along with other elite groups.” To a question about the World Bank objecting to the present trends in Pakistan, she answered, “It is making nice noises, not crying foul. It will raise objections but what have they done about it! The man who once was part of the World Bank is now Governor State Bank of Pakistan.

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