By Shahid Shah 

Skilled human resources, well-maintained military equipment, and competent professionalism make Pakistan Army one of the strongest armies in the world. The Army of the only nuclear-capable Islamic Republic of the world is being targeted through a well-orchestrated disinformation & propaganda campaign launched by hostile forces. The purpose is crystal clear to create confusion and mistrust among the people with the aim to exacerbate unrest and turmoil in the country. History is replete with many examples where Pakistan Armed Forces have proven their metal and have made its enemies bite the dust.

The prime reason why the Armed Forces are being targeted through a well-planned defamation and propaganda campaign is the crystal to the ones who are willing to understand the strategic motives behind it. The foremost strategic aim of the enemy is to increase mistrust and hatred against Armed Forces which have defeated enemy evil designs in the past and continue to safeguard the territorial boundaries and national interests of the country against inimical forces. On the lines of chaos created in countries like; Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen, Pakistan is being viciously targeted to create internal instability and turmoil. Another important objective is to undermine the status of Pakistan as the only nuclear-armed Islamic country by initiating an internal rift, instability and discord.

In this vicious propaganda campaign, Armed Forces are criticized for its use of a large chunk of budget share. However, the reality is the other way around. In budget 2021-22, only Rs 1,370 billion out of a total budgetary resources of Rs 8,487 billion have been allocated to the defense services, which is mere 16% of the total budgetary resource. In the past fifty years, the defense budget as a percentage of GDP has gone down from 6.50% of the GDP in the 1970s to 2.8% in the year 2021-22. According to a report of SIPRI’s military expenditure database sheet, 14 top countries in the world spend heavily on their defense services. Pakistan is not included in the list and India is on the third spot above UK, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Japan, and South Korea. Pakistan Army is criticized for taking the major chunk of the entire defense budget but in reality, the army gets only Rs 594 billion out of the Rs 1,370 billion allocated for the defense.

Pakistan is ranked as the 9th most powerful military in the world according to the Global Firepower index 2022. Moreover, Pakistan has the lowest spending defense budget on a per capita basis. Pakistan’s spending is $40 per capita as compared to $2,200 spent by Israel. Not only that, the expenses per soldier of the Pakistan Army are one of the lowest in the world but also despite the limited available resources, Pakistan Army has successfully maintained a higher level of fighting proficiency and professionalism.

Another facet related to Armed Forces which is often misconstrued and propagated to mislead the general public is vicious propaganda against self sustaining Defence Housing Authorities (DHAs). Many myths and disinformation narrative are spread against the DHAs as part of malicious propaganda to defame the Armed Forces. False propaganda and disinformation is mostly built around the narrative that DHAs are being run & funded by the Armed Forces and the beneficiary of this massive project is only Armed Forces personnel and their wards. Its a fabricated lie and disinformation. In reality, it is an efficient contributor to the country’s development, socio-economic uplift and adds substantially to the revenue sector. In the Fiscal year, 2019-20 DHAs paid Rs 4 Billion in the domain of taxes. It has also developed the city’s suburbs by providing basic amenities, a safe environment, and well-administered land. Furthermore, no officer can get plot/land beyond his authorization. There is a comprehensive mechanism behind the provision of plots according to which the plots allotted to the military personnel are paid off by them through a system of deduction of fixed installments. Moreover, the recipients of these plots are not just senior officers, rather 70% of the recipients are NCOs / JCOs / Martyrs families, NCBs, completely incapacitated individuals, and contractors.

The reason to build this residential setup is to help JCOs / NCOs / families of Martyrs and army officers to maintain a respectable standard of life. In addition to that, the DHAs are self-generating units with no stress on Defense Budget and no contribution from the Army. Initiatives like DHA enable Pakistan Army to spend the lowest percentage of GDP as compared to the other countries while maintaining a high professional standard as well. Most importantly, DHA is not the only organizational residential society, many other organizations such as police, civil aviation, judiciary, etc have their residential colonies. The only objective is to give the dedicated officials a deserving lifestyle. The term ‘land-grabbers’ used for DHA that has become an asset for the country’s revenue sector is deplorable and condemnable to say the least. Unlike private entities that can forcefully grab land for housing schemes, DHA is regulated by the government of Pakistan. The land provided to DHA gets legal approval after a proper plan.

The criticism against the Armed Forces is part of foreign propaganda to undermine the image and reputation of the Armed Forces. One cannot forget how much the forces have contributed towards eradicating the menace of terrorism in the country. It is need of the hour that in an extremely toxic propaganda & disinformation oriented environment especially orchestrated against Armed Forces, general public is provided accurate facts and figures to dispel fake news and defeat the nefarious designs of the enemy, who are hell-bent on creating mistrust and unrest among the people and its Armed Forces to foment instability in Pakistan.