… a hero. Not the one we deserved, but the one we needed. Nothing less than a knight, shining…. He’s a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight. Yes, you guessed right. These are the closing dialogues of Batman: The Dark Knight. And no, this is not a post about how that is the best action movie ever. This is a blog about our Chief of Army Staff, Mr. Raheel Sharif. I start it with the dialogue because whenever I hear this dialogue it reminds me of Mr. Raheel Sharif. He is the watchful protector, the Dark Knight that we don’t deserve but desperately needed. Since he came to power he has quite literally changed the face of the Nation. Our Politics has changed, our wars have become more aggressive and terrorism has decreased immensely.

Raheel the Saviour

“But I can say with certainty that today we are stronger than before and the nation is more hopeful than ever” – Raheel Sharif Today the whole nation looks up to Mr. Raheel as a savior. We have all seen how this soldier has transformed a nation on the brink of breakdown into one that has regained its confidence, self-respect and is hoping for a better future. He has turned Karachi around, brought calm to Balochistan, all but eliminated terrorists in FATA and Waziristan and replied tit-for-tat to Indian threats. But the question is how? What has he done that the others failed to do? And how did he do it without a coup? The answer is quite simple… In my opinion, Raheel Sharif has managed to pull off the most elaborate coup ever in Pakistani history without actually removing the government. There are three incidents that come to mind that saw this opportunity open up: The first was the uncertainty revolving around the 2013 election and the ‘dharnas’ taking place in Islamabad. Meanwhile, the second was the government’s fiasco in mishandling the Hamid Mir shooting episode. And the Peshawar Army Public School Attack was the last straw. This prompted takeover of actual power from the government which was in tatters. The situation in the country required a leader and here he was. But instead of a coup, he sidelined the civilian government and become a part of major policy decisions of the country. This is where his master stroke lay.

The clean up

All the above circumstances led to Mr. Raheel Sharif being given an almost free hand with Operation Zarb-e-Azb. And that’s all he needed. He cleaned up the northwestern region of terrorists, he took his power to the streets of Karachi and loosened the strangle hold of the MQM on it, he cornered the separatists in Balochistan and exposed the Indian nexus in the terrorism in Pakistan. “Today, armed forces and all security agencies are in control of the situation and the writ of the state has been fully established.” – Raheel Sharif All this adds up not only to a better security situation but also to a better economic outlook. Today, a strike called by the MQM goes mostly without heed, The China Economic corridor is on track, Baloch rebels are laying down arms and their leaders are willing to talk. The good thing is that the operation is not only limited to terrorism anymore. It is now moving towards crushing corruption as well; leading to political leaders and their accomplices are being “charge sheeted”. Raheel Sharif is now taking on the political scum and rattling their cage like never before. You can clearly see how corrupt politicians one after the other try to stand up to him and then whimper away. “Therefore its (CPEC) completion is a national duty and Pakistan Army will play its full role to that end.” – Raheel Sharif

Whats Left?

All that is now left to do is to put an end to all of it by actually handing out convictions to all the perpetrators, politicians, bureaucrats, terrorists alike. Something that is unprecedented in Pakistani History. Raheel Sharif has shown the will to do it, and we all are waiting and praying that he goes all the way and frees Pakistan from all kinds of scum. His speech on the 6th of September certainly shows that he will not stop. Our prayers are with you Mr. Raheel. You are…..a hero. Not the one we deserved, but the one we needed. Nothing less than a knight, shining…. a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight.