By Sabooh Mubbashar
For once, the Pakistani Army did what it was always meant to do — and did it well. In the face of external threat, they performed with discipline, resolve, and professionalism. The entire nation stood behind them. And in doing so, they earned genuine respect — not coerced reverence, not institutional fear, but real, earned respect.
The people gave them their full, unconditional support. In those tense days, citizens slept easier knowing that if the enemy came, it would have to go through our soldiers first. That is no small thing. We salute them for a job they weren’t drafted to do — but chose to do, with honor.
Having said that, this is the role the military was built for: to defend the country from external enemies, not to suppress internal dissent. Not to police its own citizens. Not to dictate the political process.
The recent episode made it clear: in the eyes of both the world and the Pakistani public, it wasn’t Shahbaz vs. Modi — it was Asim vs. Modi. And that should tell you everything you need to know about the true state of our democracy.
Will that reality lead to introspection or reform? Probably not. For over 70 years, the status quo has served one institution far too well. And systems that benefit from dysfunction rarely volunteer to fix themselves.
As Upton Sinclair once said, “It is very hard to get a man to understand something when his livelihood depends on not understanding it.”
Still, I write this with a glimmer of hope — that this moment, counterintuitively, could become a golden opportunity. Not only for Pakistan and India to finally hash out their key points of contention through dialogue, but also for Pakistan’s armed forces to realize a deeper truth: the respect they seek lies not in overreach, but in excellence. And when they do that one job well, a grateful nation will give them what no amount of power ever could — love, legitimacy, and lasting honor.
Sabooh S. Mubbashar, M.D., is a Pakistani-American physician who loves his country of origin every bit as deeply — if not more — than he did when he lived there.
May this be heard and delivered to be and the citizens of both countries live in peace !
May this be heard and delivered to be and the citizens of both countries live in peace !
As said in the article « love, legitimacy and lasting honor «
A very well written article by Sabooh Sultan Mubbashar defining the true role and character of the Pakistan army and the general expectations of the Pakistani people. Indeed every patriotic Pakistani would like to convey to Pak army what Sabooh has done. The senior leadership of the army needs to work out a self correcting mechanism for the long term prosperous future of the Pakistani nation and the army itself.