Three Generals and 60 officers of the Pakistani Army were suspended, in July, for participating in a secret WhatsApp group. Based on the information provided by various online sources, the suspension of the Pakistani officers followed due to fear of a coup against the Pakistani military hierarchy.
According to the tweets by Sindhudesh supporters, Lt Gen Abdullah Dogar, Lt Gen Ijaz Chaudhary and Lt Gen Bilal Akbar were among the officers who were suspended from various locations. The dismissal, perhaps, followed due the breach of the Pakistani military ban on using smart phones in the military instalments. However, the fear of a possible coup within the Pakistani military seemed to be a probable reason.
It may be pointed out that Lt Gen Bilal Akbar was infamous for the genocide of Mohajirs and Sindhis in Sindh province, earning the title “Butcher of Sindhis.” He was pushed out as the head of the Pakistani Ordinance Factory allegedly due to his incompetence.
Lt Gen Bilal Akbar and Lt Gen Abdullah Dogar were known contenders for the position of the Pakistani chief of the army staff (COAS), had the Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa not received a three-year extension (29 Nov 2019-30 Nov 2022). This resulted in strong discontentment amongst these Generals whose chances of promotion were smashed.
The other probable cause for insubordination was the notion that Gen Bajwa and the Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, were planning to reduce the Punjabi dominance within the Pakistani military. Both the Army chief and the prime minister not being Punjabis, were viewed as a threat to the Punjabi domination within the military. Hence, the frivolous charge of using a secret WhatsApp group was used and stringent action taken by the army chief.
The sacking came at a time when Pakistan was expected to lend support to China in the developing conflict between India and China. With the possibility of insubordination and a coup within its military, Pakistan was found to be busy in clean its own closet before aiding anyone. Regardless, Pakistan continued to prepare for a possible conflict against India.
Unrest in Sindh
A group of Sindhi soldiers refused to fight against India due to the alienation of the Sindhis by the Pakistani government. It was revealed that 15 high-ranking officers and three brigade commanders of Sindhi origin operating on the border with India in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) had gone on leave and had not come back. The situation developed after Altaf Hussian, leader of the Muttahida Quami Movement Sindh, warned Pakistan of trading Sindhi assets for repaying of Pakistan’s loans.
Earlier in June, an open source intelligence (OSINT) twitter id @frontalassault1 posted an undated letter supposedly written by a Pakistani soldier to his superior officers in regard to his commanding officer. The letter addressed issues such as the set-up of radical Islamist training camps, auctioning of military ranks for promotion and discriminatory treatment of non-Punjabi soldiers in wake of Covid crisis.
The disaffection among the Sindhis is no different from that felt by the Baloch, Pashtuns, Mojahirs or Ahmadiyas. The concept of extra judicial killings, abductions and plundering of the ethnic lands of these groups is part of familiar Pakistani treatment when it comes to Pakistan’s discriminatory treatment of non-Punjabis.
Like in the case of Baloch, Sindhis seek self-determination and their own free state of Sindhudesh. Due to the increase in the atrocities on the Sindhis by the Pakistani military, the struggle for freedom has seen the rise of many activists and insurgents in the province. In recent months, multiple attacks have been carried out in Karachi, Ghotki and Larkana on Pakistani Rangers personnel. There seems to be an alliance recently forged between the Baloch, Sindhi ethnic separatist groups and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
Sindhi Insurgent Activities
Between 10 and 19 June, a newly proscribed separatist outfit called the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA) claimed five attacks on the Rangers in various cities. SRA is a splinter group of the Sindhudesh Liberation Army (SLA), run by Shafi Burfat.
The nature of the attacks carried out by SRA and SLA have always been low intensity in nature in comparison to the Baloch insurgent-led attacks. The new alliance between the Baloch and the Sindhis has certainly brought new trends and patterns with the frequency of attacks increasing. With the Baloch insurgents working under an umbrella network of Baloch Raaji Aajoi-A-Sangar (BRAS) and the addition of the Sindhi groups to the mix, increased efficiency of the human intelligence network, coverage of more land in terms of movement and bolder attacks has been evident. However, Pakistan has blamed India for the attacks.
According to Abdul Basit, a research fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore, the attacks were inspired by “geopolitical underpinnings” between the border disputes of India and China and also the intra-Afghan peace reconciliation process.
The law enforcement officials of Pakistan have continued to underestimate the insurgent groups labelling them as small or “weak”, unable to pose great threats to security, as they believe most of these Sindhi outfits lack organizational structure or a support base. This claim may be questioned, if the newly forged alliance with Balochi insurgents, backed by the MQM, UK is considered with the increase in the frequency of attacks in high security areas such as in Karachi.
MQM is now split in two – one based in UK and the other based in Pakistan. The one based in UK is being considered for a ban by the Pakistan government along with Jeay Sindh Tehreek. The Jeay Sindh Tehreek, another Sindhi group came into the spotlight soon after its head, Dr Safdar Sarki, appeared in a video with the MQM founder a few months ago. The Pakistani government believes that MQM, UK has been supporting the activities of the Sindhi separatists.
A new insurgent group called the Mohajir Freedom Fighters (MFF) claimed responsibility for a recent attack on the relatives of an MQM-Pakistan member of the provincial assembly (MPA) in Karachi’s Orangi Town area.
If Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) resorts to joining the Sindhi-Baloch alliance, it could surely reinforce the movement as a single front against the state of Punjab called Pakistan.
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Like the Baloch, Ahmadiyas and Pashtuns, the Sindhis demand a separate independent state. The Pakistani government, aside from failing in mediation with the groups, continues its forced abductions, extra judicial killings and using the people of these groups for organ harvesting.
While the Baloch demand a share of the profits Pakistan and China make from the Baloch land through CPEC and the investments in their province, the Sindhis are troubled by the construction of dams in Gilgit-Baltistan, which would deprive their areas of any water for irrigation. The Sindhis believe the construction of dams such as Diamer-Basha dam and Kalabagh dam would deprive them of their share with the Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS) also. The contract for the Diamer Basha dam has been awarded to a Chinese company.
There is a growing subnationalism between both the Sindh and Punjab region also due to the blockading of the water supplied by the Indus river.
Given the backdrop of the atrocities inflicted by Pakistan, the Baloch and Sindh insurgent groups have forged a united front. It is no surprise that the Punjab-centric Pakistan is falling apart by marginalizing other provinces, which in turn will only diminish the identity of Pakistan.
