I don't claim to know what the current lot is thinking but if we go by history, the short answer is: no.

Long answer: it is simply not possible for a serving general to introspect about the military's role in politics and take a step back. They live in their own bubble separate

https://twitter.com/colossus84/status/1756680185368227883

not just from the rest of the country but from their own rank and file. Inside that bubble: Pakistan is not perfect, the civilians have screwed it up, and Allah has given them the power, ability, and most importantly, the opportunity, to fix the country or affect change in its

Hello my friends, this might trouble you but I'm back. I just cannot remain silent when the people's mandate is being stolen so brazenly. I thought I was done with twitter and was expecting a PMLN led govt. I was waiting for PTI to finally realize that it has been cut to size. While I spent yesterday praying to Allah for the best possible outcome, I could never have thought that a party at the receiving end of the state's oppression could have created this huge a shock in Pakistani politics. That too without

I created Game of Thrones characters as Pakistanis. Enjoy!

Our boy Jon 'Waseem' Snow.... Cersei on her mehndi...

Sooner after Kargil episode, my father was posted as DG Logistics in GHQ. There he was a part of the Logistics Reforms Committee that was set up after Kargil to assess the Army's failed logistics during the conflict. The study resulted in major changes and overhauled PA's entire logistics doctrine. One consequence was setting up unified logistics commands headed by major generals as opposed to whatever was happening before. What was shocking for me at the time was how these 'strategic geniuses' Musharraf and his

@vardanisar look, I understand your anger, I am sure it's justified. However like you said everything is pretty complex and cannot be reduced to a single event or case. We can't paint everything with a single stroke of good or bad but we need to be objective in our assessments. I am hardly the defender of the Army's excesses but I don't believe in binaries either. Akbar Bugti was a part of the state till it suited him, and then turned on it when his rent-seeking was threatened. Any state worth its salt will violently put down an armed rebellion against

For too long the people of #Pakistan believed that the Army was a force for good in the country. They believed the propaganda of the #ISPR that everything was the politicians' fault, which it partly is, but they conveniently misled people about the harm the Army has caused 1/n to the country. For too long we believed that the Army can deliver, that it is the savior of last resort when politicians screw us over. The military elite sold us Askari-koolaid which the vast majority of us consumed without question. Finally, we know 2/n

There are two types of officers in the Army right now. Those who joined before the tech revolution, and those who joined after. The former - boomer class - got inducted straight out of 12th grade and was pretty much cocooned behind cantonment walls.

https://twitter.com/hussainydada/status/1619300023212339200

Groomed by officers who experienced the '71 debacle, this boomer class inherited their paranoia, disdain of civilians, and a lack of understanding of the world outside cantonment walls. They don't trust anyone not in uniform, and believe everything is a conspiracy to

1. Ever wondered what happened in #Bangladesh ‘after’ #1971? I used to think about it a lot growing up. At the time it never occurred to me that it was our collective way of forgetting that 🇧🇩was ever part of our history. If you are a history buff like me, you'll enjoy this. 2. On #16Dec 1971, Sheikh Mujib was in custody in West Pakistan. He was released in Jan 1972 and arrived in Dhaka via London and New Delhi on 10 Jan 1972. Naturally, he received a hero’s welcome. The Bengalis called him Bangabandhu, Friend of Bengal.

Why is it that we #Pakistanis become so beholden to mere mortals? Every hero we have had, has disappointed us, yet we keep repeating the same pattern over and over again, expecting different results. #Bhutto was once a messiah for West Pakistanis. They loved him so much 1/n that in the 1970 elections Awami League didn't win a single seat in West #Pakistan. How did that love affair turn out? A broken country and despotic civilian dictator who runied all economic progress of the 60s, the affects of which we still suffer from. 2/n

To help explain the two worlds that exist in #Pakistan (n hopefully explain the civil-mil divide), I want you to read the following two pages from Brig FB Ali's book: Prison Journey. Brig Ali wrote this letter to a friend after being deputed on martial law duties in the 1/n late 1960s. The two Pakistans described in this letter are as real today as they were 50+ years ago. The #Pakistan that exists within cantoment walls guarantees peace, security, fairness, and dignified living. Inside these walls everyone ceases to be who they were before they 2/n

In the country I live in I can tag the Prime Minister, Chief of Defense Staff, or the intel service on twitter and say whatever I want without fear that I will become subject to monitoring or be detained illegally. Of course I cannot engage in hate speech or start 1/n making threats of violence because that's illegal but other than that, I am pretty much free to say whatever I want. My indv opinion doesn't get under anyone's skin here. Who cares about some dude sitting in Waterloo tweeting about the govt anyway? 2/n

Since a few days have passed and thing have "relatively" calmed down, I want to comment on the optics of bringing out APCs in #Lahore Cantt. You all have seen the images go viral on this platform, and some were rightly outraged. 1/n However, this isn't the first time #PakistanArmy brought out APCs against protesting public. Many years ago, there was a dispute between farmers and the Army over some land in #Okara. That's when this image was shot. For me, personally, it became of the most defining images 2/n

We often think the military is one big brain that thinks collectively. The fact is that there are always different groups within the Army that voice dissent but the nature of the institution means that once the Chief takes a decision, everyone falls behind it. However, when 1/n the appointment of a new chief is around the corner, things become as political as you would expect in a Pakistani setting. Lobbying the political govt through connections is often at play in these times. #Musharraf was known to have lobbied for himself through Gen Iftikhar, 2/n

The DGISPR is an interesting position. It requires qualities that are completely contradictory to those expected from an officer, specially the last 5 who have held the position. Starting as far back as Gen Rashid Qureshi who's tenure coincided with the liberalization of 1/n media (and made DGISPRs the 'face of Army') all Generals have come from fighting arms. 3x from Armoured Corps, 2x from Infantry, and 1x from Artillery. None of them served in ISPR prior to getting posted as DGs except Rashid Qureshi. (He became a General without going 2/n

I know we are all shocked at this exceptional press conference. Many will claim credit for it. However, let me tell you when General Officers conduct "darbaars" in the Army. A "Darbaar" is when a senior officer addresses soldiers or officers in a cantonment setting. Darbaars are standard army practice to socialize with troops but they also play a special role when matters of national importance need to be addressed and the confidence of the troops needs to be won over. One instance of country wide Darbaars was when IK's govt was

What prompted Faial Vawda to abdandon ship?

Not that you need to be told but this is ISI's playbook: he was called in for a meeting. At most a Brig level officer attended and shared a file with him.

What could the file have? Vawda's deepest, darkest secrets which he could never imagine someone would know. Extra marital affairs, homosexual encounters, secret recording of his deeds, you bet. Whatever it was, it was so bad that Vawda had no choice to turn on his own friends and party.

This is what the internal wing of the ISI does. It...

I am much more controlled on twitter than on my Facebook because criticizing powers that be can result in unintended consequences even for sons of generals like myself. But holy hell! Which strategic genius came up with this Faisal Vawda joke? Like seriously? Sounded like an idea a super-seeded third rate Major would give to his boss to appease him but then you would imagine that boss being boss would shoot it down. What shakes my faith even more in the military is how was this approved? How disconnected from reality..

Back in '93 @ishaheen10's and my father served with the UN in Somalia. As the senior most officers of the Pakistani mission, they kept the peace while fighters of Somali warlord General Farah Aidid attacked UN troops every day. On 5th June 1993, Farah Aidid 1/n ordered an attack on a Pakistani inspection team killing 24 men troops. Farah Aidid became the UN's no. 1 enemy that day. His troops would openly threaten Pakistani officers over the radio networks in Mogadishu 2/n