Hameed Gul : The Army's Role in the Pakistan Judicial Crisis

[Interview] Defense analyst and retired General Hameed Gul speaks to OhmyNews


"Military as an institution is not collectively responsible for wrong doings of General Musharraf, they are hostage of strict discipline only," General Gul argued while defending the army of Pakistan.

A defense-strategist turned right-wing intellectual and defense analyst, General Hameed Gul is the torchbearer and vocal supporter of the Pan-Islamist revival movement. He advocates for the unity of Muslim countries and the establishment of an economic bloc like the European Union.

When the present judicial crisis started, General Gul automatically activated to protect the judiciary. Once he said: "After retirement I only changed my uniform but I never took off my military boots."

A fierce opponent and critic of the policies of General Musharraf, General Gul Hameed was the man who led the great secret war against communism and the Soviet red army in Afghanistan as the head of Inter services intelligence (ISI). He organized the resistance movement in the battlefields of Afghanistan and pushed back and ultimately defeated communism.

So the soldier is again in the battlefield in a different way, to defend the judiciary against the excesses of a serving general.

I interviewed him and asked the question about the role of army in the ongoing judicial crisis.

"We have come to show solidarity, not so much with the chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as with the independence of judiciary in Pakistan. At this particular time when Pakistan is being subjected to all kind of external pressure from America, Afghanistan...and Iranian situation is evolving, to render Pakistan so unstable by hitting at the roots of our judiciary and the fundamental rights of the people of Pakistan."

"The nation has been shattered to its roots and country has been rendered unstable eternally and that is what is totally wrong. As a defense analyst I believe at this critical juncture of history we need stability rather than instability."

Role of Army as an Institution in the Present Judicial Crisis

"Pakistan Army as an institution is not responsible. They are the victims of the discipline because they are bound by the shackles of discipline. Now if this situation is going to continue then I am afraid that the stress will stretched too far and too much."

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HAMID GULS FAMOUS ANTI-JEW STATEMENT
"From Ben Gurion to Netanyahu, every Israeli leader has said that Pakistan is their number one enemy.

... Pakistan was established in accordance with the ideology of Al-Madina. This is a widely accepted ideology and theory, because all other ideologies are false. These Israelis know this. When Al-Madina was established, it was established next to [the Jewish city of] Khaybar. Of course, as long as Khaybar was not destroyed, Islam did not spread.

When Mel Gibson, in one of his movies, played a role that was anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish, the Jews claimed that he was an anti-Semite. That American actor, Mel Gibson, said that the Jews caused all the wars. Now he is being sued. Therefore, all the wars, World War I and II, and others... Even at the advent of Islam, the Jews would incite the polytheists against the Islamic state in Al-Madina.

The Jews have always caused the wars. Mecca was only conquered after the destruction of Khaybar. Mecca was not captured in battle. This indicates that the war was not against the polytheists. Even today, our war is not against America or Europe. Our basic war is against Israel, or the so-called State of Israel."