The sub-continent was always open for conquerors, whether it was Alexander, Mahmud Ghaznivi or Great Britain; all of them clinched victories over defenders and made the sub-continent a hostage. Our chequered history has forced Pakistan and India to build strong armies because of economic, social and cultural travails, suffered at the hands of the conquerors. If Pakistan did not have a strong army we would have been treated like Palestinians by our neighbors. Indians could have wreaked havoc, as Israel is doing in Palestine, but for our strong army and nuclear armaments. Pakistan could have been knocking on the doors of the UN, and this paralyzed organization would have shown the same negligence that they are displaying for Palestinians.
Recently Memood Khan Achakzai said that Afghanistan was planning to attack Pakistan, which shows how malicious our neighbors could have been if we had a weak defensive structure. Pakistani is already facing many internal problems such as the Shiah-Sunni conflict, the Baloch insurgency, Taliban and many more, and we do not need hostile neighbours added to the mix. Pakistan could have been facing civil war if we had a weak army. A salute goes to the Pak Army who is serving as a bulwark for this nation and is currently knocking the terrorists out.
AHSAN SYED,
Lahore, August 5.