General speak: A message echoing beyond Pakistan’s borders

Last week when Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir addressed a large group of students in Rawalpindi, the event was not unusual. Only the timing and the publicized message were significant. His previous engagement with students was not preceded by a flurry of open letters written to him from Pakistan’s most popular opposition leader Imran Khan. 

Khan, who previously benefitted from the army’s extra-constitutional role, urged the army chief to function within constitutional parameters. As the army battles militancy, Khan claimed victory was not possible unless the army enjoyed the peoples’ support. And it did not, he claimed. These matters of power and politics are not resolved, won or lost through letters or engagements. However in battling militancy, the counter-terrorism strategy in addition to peoples’ support, the messaging, the framing of the fight and the threat of force, are all critical factors.

Pakistan’s army chief accordingly opted to emphasize on these factors in addressing the students. In fact, his address focusing on these factors, using both English and Urdu, was broadcast repeatedly on all national channels.

Clearly, Pakistan army’s protracted battle with terrorism is a key challenge. The last year has been particularly challenging. 579 Pakistanis lost their lives in militant attacks that have often been traced to sanctuaries across the border in Afghanistan to sleeper cells within Pakistan. The challenge remains to ensure that in confronting this seemingly increasing terror threat, the morale of the entire nation remains high.

Given its decades’ long experience in unconventional warfare, the Pakistan army remains a key security partner for several Muslim countries engaged in counter-terrorism.

- Nasim Zehra

The army chief’s widely publicized message framed terrorists as those banished from the religion of Islam for the harm they brought to the faith through violence, conspiracies and discord. Specifically, the distortion of religion, a denial of women’s rights guaranteed by Islamic teachings, and defiance of state authority. 

A key objective, especially in the politically polarized context in areas where terrorism is at its height, General Munir’s message sought to establish the religo-political legitimacy of the Pakistani state’s ongoing confrontation with terrorists who justify violence in the name of Islam. 

This message acquires special significance against the backdrop of the enhanced threat of terror that Pakistan and the region faces. Military sources publicly claim that in Pakistan, around 130 military operations across the country are conducted to combat terrorism. In 2024, more than 38,000 intelligence-based operations took place. Pakistan faces the threat from across the Afghan border. In a rare move, recently Pakistani jets struck TTP sanctuaries on Afghan soil claiming the elimination of several militant leaders.

Beyond the domestic messaging of words spoken by Pakistan’s army chief, they also held relevance for the security establishments of the region and beyond. Given its decades’ long experience in unconventional warfare including low-intensity warfare and counter-terrorism, the Pakistan army remains a key security partner for several Muslim countries engaged in counter-terrorism. The threat is often common, given the several transnational groups including Al-Qaeda, Daesh, Al-Shabab, TTP and their affiliates. Pakistan remains active in the coordinated responses by many countries to these common sources of violence.

Beyond counter-terrorism, Pakistan army’s relevance to overall regional security covering the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast and South Asia has been constant in the last five decades at least. Its active professional engagement with foreign armies began in the 60’s with China, the 70’s with the Middle East then subsequently with Central Asia and more recently with Russia. The range of activities includes training, conducting joint Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs), intelligence-sharing and conducting regular joint military and patrol drills exercises.

It’s an army which in the counterterrorism realm has a continental footprint. Hence when a Pakistani army chief frames the state’s war against terrorism and in defense of upholding state authority, his words must resonate with his regional security partners facing common threats and shaping shared responses.

The internal dynamics of power and politics notwithstanding, Pakistan’s successive army chiefs have been acknowledged as important partners in security by their counterparts abroad. Their words and actions therefore carry significance. But the degree to which this significant partnership can be leveraged for Pakistan depends on the country’s overall political stability- an abiding challenge for Pakistan.

- Nasim Zehra is an author, analyst and national security expert. Twitter: @NasimZehra