The history of Pakistan’s military generals is filled with such dark deeds that the light of the people’s expectations has always been lost in the shadows of their strategic blunders. This is the center of power that has kept the veins of the state tightly in its grip for the past half-century; neither respecting the law, nor valuing the authority of the people, nor honoring human life. These generals have moved through the political arena as if the entire country were their personal property, and with this oppressive mindset they have sacrificed every government, every party, and every public movement for the sake of preserving their own power.
The most bitter aspect of their rule was the treatment they inflicted on the common people in the name of security. The tribal areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan became laboratories for military operations for many long years; instead of proof, suspicion was treated as guilt, and dialogue was replaced with force. Homes were emptied and destroyed, families were left without guardians, people were displaced, and entire regions were turned into landscapes of permanent pain. This is the chapter that history will never forgive under any justification, because a whole generation of one region was kept in fear and mistrust.
The most tragic dimension is the issue of missing persons; the unfinished stories that form part of the daily cries of thousands of families. People disappeared without trial and court, without evidence, and without explanation, such that neither the state hears their voice nor the courts deliver justice. This silent pain sits in the heart of Pakistan’s history like a wounded soul that has no hope of relief. Mothers sit waiting for their sons, calling out to their Lord the Almighty; children wait for their fathers; but the door of law and justice that should have been open to them remains firmly shut.
The politics of these generals has not only brought sorrow to people’s homes, but it has also cast a long shadow of interference over religious affairs. They have labeled religiously committed individuals as enemies of the state and considered every action against them justified and permissible.
A recent example is the treatment of the movement called Tehreek-e-Labbaik. If we look at their case, it becomes clear how hostile these generals are toward religion. They crushed this movement simply because they raised the slogan of Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah, demanded an Islamic system, sought punishments for those insulting Islamic symbols, and organized gatherings and rallies to express solidarity with oppressed Muslims in Palestine. Dozens of their members were brutally killed, hundreds were imprisoned, and their leaders are still missing.
Their interventions in regional politics have also been the source of prolonged conflicts, proxy wars, and continuous instability. Interference in the affairs of neighboring countries was a mistake that, in addition to harming others, brought heavy losses to Pakistan itself. The economy, education, security, and public welfare all became victims of policies that had neither long-term benefit nor the ability to ensure national stability.
Among all these narratives, the most painful truth is that behind everything laid/lay the personal desires, economic interests, political dominance, and hunger for power of a few individuals. A regime that constantly searched for excuses to shed blood and pursued its interests through the killing of innocent people. From the suppression of Tehreek-e-Labbaik to the issue of missing persons, tribal operations, political coups, and regional interventions, these are the markings of a path that kept the country far from progress.
The judgment of history is always clear. Systems and governments that do not care about the suffering of the people do not last long and eventually collapse under the weight of their own foundations. The long chapter of the injustices of Pakistani generals may resemble the story of a nation’s wounds, but in the pages of history it remains a chapter that cannot be hidden behind any curtain.
