neelu
21-03-2006, 05:48 PM
Someone emailed this article to me and I thought I should share it with you.
One pilot forcibly retired, four grounded in crackdown on beards
Karachi-In a continuing crackdown on any form of Islamic _expression in the ranks of the armed forces, the Pakistan Air Force forcibly retired one officer and lined up four others for similar treatment. According to information gathered by the Herald, the officers have been meted out this punishment as a consequence of their refusal to shave off their beards. The action, say sources, has been launched on the specific instructions of Air Chief Kaleem Sadaat.
The drive against beards was initiated recently in line with directives from the high command to rein in fundamentalist elements within the armed forces. In the case of beards, the original stipulation dating back to the colonial period states that no serving personnel can keep facial hair without prior written permission from the high command. This directive was waived during the rule of General Ziaul Haq and remained in effect till its recent revocation. Given the legacy of the Zia years, the move has understandably led to several cases of noncompliance and resultant action by the high command.
In the current case, the five officers in question are all pilots. Squadron Leader Mohsin Hayat Ranjha, the officer forced into retirement, had just returned from the US after completing an advanced fighter course. On his return, Ranjha was first asked to dispense with his beard and on his refusal, was retired prematurely’ on October 12, 2005. Since then, four other officers-Squadron Leader Naveed Riaz, Flight Lieutenant Saqib, Flight Lieutenant Ajmal and Flight Lieutenant Fazl-e-Rabi have been lined up for similar punishment due to their refusal to shave off their beards. All four officers are currently grounded and proceedings have started for their premature retirement. Even more disturbingly, another officer Flight Lieutenant Atif, albeit of the engineering corps, has also been retired forcibly for distributing Quranic verses and sayings of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) among fellow officers.
While the current exercise has been implemented with zeal, it has created widespread resentment among the officers ranks since the action is deemed by most as unnecessary interference in a personal matter. In addition there is an impression that the officers targeted so far were among the most competent, particularly Squadron Leader Ranjha. Ex-air force officers also point out that the officers being hounded out are not just a loss in terms of manpower and expertise but also in terms of the taxpayers money as they have been trained at a cost of millions of rupees. “The officers are at the apex of their careers and have just started to pay back in terms of services what was spent on them,” says Squadron Leader (retd) Khalid Khawaja, who has brought this issue to the public’s attention.
The air force officers imbroglio is the latest in a series of cases involving disobedience and revolt among the ranks of the armed forces. In addition to the well-publicised involvement of air force and army personnel in the assassination attempts on General Musharraf, there is the court martial of six army aviation officers for their refusal to fly sorties in the Waziristan insurgency. Then there is the case of Major Adil Qudoos’ court martial on charges of harbouring 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad. While all these instances are far more serious in nature than the recent controversy over beards, the punishments meted out to the officers in question have been accepted only grudgingly by the officer corps.
Syed Shoaib Hasan - The Herald, March 2006 - Page 47
One pilot forcibly retired, four grounded in crackdown on beards
Karachi-In a continuing crackdown on any form of Islamic _expression in the ranks of the armed forces, the Pakistan Air Force forcibly retired one officer and lined up four others for similar treatment. According to information gathered by the Herald, the officers have been meted out this punishment as a consequence of their refusal to shave off their beards. The action, say sources, has been launched on the specific instructions of Air Chief Kaleem Sadaat.
The drive against beards was initiated recently in line with directives from the high command to rein in fundamentalist elements within the armed forces. In the case of beards, the original stipulation dating back to the colonial period states that no serving personnel can keep facial hair without prior written permission from the high command. This directive was waived during the rule of General Ziaul Haq and remained in effect till its recent revocation. Given the legacy of the Zia years, the move has understandably led to several cases of noncompliance and resultant action by the high command.
In the current case, the five officers in question are all pilots. Squadron Leader Mohsin Hayat Ranjha, the officer forced into retirement, had just returned from the US after completing an advanced fighter course. On his return, Ranjha was first asked to dispense with his beard and on his refusal, was retired prematurely’ on October 12, 2005. Since then, four other officers-Squadron Leader Naveed Riaz, Flight Lieutenant Saqib, Flight Lieutenant Ajmal and Flight Lieutenant Fazl-e-Rabi have been lined up for similar punishment due to their refusal to shave off their beards. All four officers are currently grounded and proceedings have started for their premature retirement. Even more disturbingly, another officer Flight Lieutenant Atif, albeit of the engineering corps, has also been retired forcibly for distributing Quranic verses and sayings of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) among fellow officers.
While the current exercise has been implemented with zeal, it has created widespread resentment among the officers ranks since the action is deemed by most as unnecessary interference in a personal matter. In addition there is an impression that the officers targeted so far were among the most competent, particularly Squadron Leader Ranjha. Ex-air force officers also point out that the officers being hounded out are not just a loss in terms of manpower and expertise but also in terms of the taxpayers money as they have been trained at a cost of millions of rupees. “The officers are at the apex of their careers and have just started to pay back in terms of services what was spent on them,” says Squadron Leader (retd) Khalid Khawaja, who has brought this issue to the public’s attention.
The air force officers imbroglio is the latest in a series of cases involving disobedience and revolt among the ranks of the armed forces. In addition to the well-publicised involvement of air force and army personnel in the assassination attempts on General Musharraf, there is the court martial of six army aviation officers for their refusal to fly sorties in the Waziristan insurgency. Then there is the case of Major Adil Qudoos’ court martial on charges of harbouring 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad. While all these instances are far more serious in nature than the recent controversy over beards, the punishments meted out to the officers in question have been accepted only grudgingly by the officer corps.
Syed Shoaib Hasan - The Herald, March 2006 - Page 47