29th March 2006
Beards and Officers
by Syed Shoaib Hasan -- Source: The Herald March 2006 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 Sadat.
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.
" And never will the Jews and the Christians be pleased with you
until you follow their religion " [Al-Quran 2:120]
