Islam not just our faith but integral to our army’s training, says Pakistan general

The Pakistan army has never made any bones of its Islamic underpinnings, proudly bearing the motto ‘Iman, Taqwa, Jihad fiSabilillah’ (faith, piety, struggle in the name of God) as it goes about its business.

So, it was hardly a surprise when Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif said at a press briefing on Sunday that Islam was not just integral to the faith of individual soldiers but was part of the army’s training. He was responding to a question whether the name of Pakistan army’s operation, ‘Bunyanum Marsoos’, and early morning attacks on Indian civilians and military establishments were guided by the path shown by Allah.

His clear admission of Islamabad’s remorseless support for jihad literally eliminates any difference between the jihadis in uniform and those without, like Lashkare-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammed which have been waging a war against India for decades by infiltrating terrorists into Kashmir and elsewhere, targeting civilians and armed forces. “Islam is part of not only the belief of each one of us but part of our training. It is part of our faith, it is what drives us,” Lt Gen Sharif said.

Elaborating on the army’s motto, he said, “We have an army chief who has a strong belief in it. The leadership and his belief and commitment translates into different operations.” On Pakistan army naming its operation ‘Bunyanum Marsoos’, he said those who fight for Allah are like a “steel wall”.

Lt Gen Sharif was recently in the news for more than his professional duty. His jihadi associations were all over social media with his father Mahmood Sultan Bashiruddin, a former scientist with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, linked to extremist organisations and even being associated with Osama bin Laden.

In contrast, at a press briefing in New Delhi, director general of air operations Air Marshal A K Bharti reminded the adversary of a befitting reply for any transgression from the pause in hostilities agreed upon by the two countries.