Pakistan Army in control of Grand National Narrative of the country

New Delhi, Oct 2: Army in Pakistan not only controls domestic politics and foreign policy but it is in every decision making of the country. Army has gradually captured minds of the people through the Grand National Narrative and even the government is not allowed to fiddle with it. They have also changed the media to think in particular direction. This stops the country to move towards peace with India.

Actually Pakistani Army has developed some core areas to make their grip very strong over the system of the country.

Strategic expert Ashish Shukla told Oneindia, "Pakistan has developed a Grand National Narrative that Army controls by several means. Mass media is one such medium however it must not be understood as English media which is not at all a mass media in Pakistan."

Moreover, it is wrong to say that just by reading English newspapers one can understand what is happening in Pakistan. English media actually tries to keep a balanced perspective.

"Actually Pakistan's mass media is controlled by military instead of the government and that is Urdu, so much so that people from Army write columns by pseudonyms to generate public opinion.

The Army is also involved in ghost writing to influence people and retired Army officers are pushed into debate on TV channels by the Army."

Former President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf devised a new strategy to capture national narrative. He started a modern way to deal the subject by starting National Security Workshop in which budding people from different institutions of the country like politics, bureaucracy and journalism were asked join it who in next 10-15 years would be leading the respective field. They are given training in workshops to influence the next generation.

"In this one month's training they train people about national security. They chose and bring in people to train them what national security is?" said the security expert.

There is a need to understand that in any democratic country, a civilian tells military what national security is but in Pakistan, it is Military that tells the civilian.

Everyone in Pakistan wants to go through this training whether journalist, research students and even medical practitioners. Military trains top minds of Pakistan.

"If you train such top minds the next generation will automatically get influenced and even institutions as well.

"After this the military started National Media Workshop that means they wanted to penetrate minds of journalists to tell them what national security is? Journalists will first be taught what national security is than they will tell the country what it is? So a trained person will have a perspective already in his mind before starting off as a journalist. He will see the world with jaundiced eyes. So military has captured the entire narrative and if anyone tried to fiddle with it then military will not tolerate such people," said Shukla.

Training happens once in a year with Army capturing this national narrative and anyone interfering into it not tolerated.