About the Author(s)
Shanzay Waseem
Author is pursuing her Bachelor of Strategic Studies from the National Defence University. She has a keen interest in homeland security objectives, geopolitics, and current affairs.
There is no doubt that the Pakistani Army is one of the most well-trained and capable armies in the world. The Army has consistently defended its motherland on the border or during internal turmoil. Pakistan has been in an auto mode of instability in recent times, and the Pakistan army can be the silver lining to the dark clouds in the country.
Allah Almighty has blessed Pakistan with a fertile land filled with blessings. However, circumstances are making the fertile land barren, leading to issues threatening state security and food deficiency. In the South of Punjab in Pakistan, vast barren land is available for growing crops. However, Mafias still exist in these areas where only the few selected by the British Raj get out all the profit, resulting in problems for the state, and the poor laborer is left with few acres of land filled with crops that they grew with his blood, sweat, and tears. These mafia start hoarding the necessary crops by creating an artificial shortage of grain in the market, leaving the country in a frenzy of food insecurity, and the government becomes obliged to agree with their unlawful and unfair demands.
After analyzing such a situation with repeated intervals of experience since 1947 and projecting future dangers, the Pakistan Army, with nations’ think tanks, came up with an idea for the solution of unemployment and utilization of uncultivated land in low per capita income districts of all provinces in the country. As per the initial plan, the Military will acquire barren lands in distant areas like Thar in Sindh, Rajan Pur in Punjab, and Flooded Areas in Balochistan on a lease of 20 years. These acres of land will be handed over to a team of Retired officers and Jawans belonging to those areas to control food insecurity, unemployment, hoarding, corruption, and unlawful possession of lands. For instance, a retired Balochi officer should be given land under Army control in Balochistan to supervise and not to any other officer of other cultural affinity.
Though we are Pakistani first and then anything else, and it is wrong to mix provincial or regional identity with national identity in the Armed Forces, in some circumstances, after retirement as a civilian, there is an exception with a reason no one would like to refuse. The psychological nature of humans makes them feel comfortable when they know someone of the same background as them in such projects and areas. This technique will eliminate the problem of ethnicity cropped up by our enemies’ agencies in Balochistan and Fata especially. Apart from this reason, the people of that area would teach love for the Pakistan Army when they would see the ArmArmying something for them, which even the government could not do due to her limitation of resources under the supervision of Officers and Jawans belonging to their own clan and districts.
First, FWO will help develop and level barren lands to avoid water scarcity problems, and then the roads leading to the barren lands will be moved from main roads to barren lands. NLC will be in accordance to play its role with the better transportation services so that the process of transporting the resources from the main roads to the distant warehouses won’t delayed due to irregularity in transport services; this will directly cause the social uplift of the localities near the lands. This will result in a reduction in income disparities that will improve the region’s economic condition. Citizens will be able to pay their taxes and directly profit the country’s economy.
Furthermore, on these agricultural lands when farming would be done, it would require fertilizers for the crops nutrition and growth; it would also be provided by the Fauji fertilizers presently under the control of the Army. The tax on fertilizers would profit the institution and farmers would easily get the fertilizer at governmental rates unlike the private institutions which charge unfairly to fill their pockets out on the fertilizers. Net result from this joint partnership of local land and Army we can attain an Economy of scale due to big machines and big chunks of land—transportation of final products via NLC to CSD and utility stores for supply chain concept. Vertical integration for cultivation to marketing by one institution ArmArmyhen crops were grown, sorted from their residue, and packaged. They would be put onto the shelves of CSD and utility stores by NLC to increase the food value, and everyone from the farmers to the shopkeepers, citizens, and even the national income department FBR of the country would be in profit.
Students studying or graduating from subjects related to agriculture and farming would gain experience working on these lands. They would help the farmers select appropriate fertilizers for their lands and also teach farmers new methods of cultivation.
Pak Army will provide job opportunities for individuals from various sectors, whether the laboring, architecture, or farming sectors. Food insecurity and shortage will be completely reduced. Students studying or graduating from subjects related to agriculture and farming would gain experience working on these lands. They would help the farmers select appropriate fertilizers for their lands and teach them new cultivation methods.
Other than that civil societies have reservations for such Army project. So it is to be ensured by the Army that on that specific land allotted for corporate farming no housing development projects would take place because that would make the citizens lose their faith from the development done by the army for them.
As these housing development societies and projects provide a windfall profit to few and negative effects on the ecosystem leading to disasters such as deforestation seen in northern Areas. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that these disasters become the mother disease to give rise to the death of the National Harmony and trust. As deforestation would lead to the chances of less rainfall, more probability of floods and even less percentage of clean air in the atmosphere. It would be like a chain reaction of endless disasters for the country and its helpless people.
