(Part 9)
Dr. Humam Khan
The Role and Influence of the United States in the Formation and Development of the Pakistani Military
During the same period, under the shadow of the military generation that had been directly shaped and influenced by the British, another generation of military officers was also emerging and receiving training. Two major factors played a profound role in shaping this new generation. On the one hand, the first generation of military officers transferred to them all the skills, expertise, and experiences they had inherited from British officers. On the other hand, Pakistan’s military and political leadership was actively engaged in strengthening its relations with the United States.
Emerging from the very womb of British colonialism, the United States did not take long to incorporate Pakistan into its circle of allies. In 1954, Pakistan signed the “Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement” with the United States, after which American aid to Pakistan formally began. Subsequently, in 1955, Pakistan became a member of both SEATO and CENTO, openly presenting itself as one of America’s closest regional partners. In return, the United States devoted considerable attention to the training and development of the Pakistani military.
The Pakistani military, drawing upon the organizational structure of the U.S. armed forces, reorganized and reshaped its military framework from the ground up. Numerous units and divisions were established within the army that were fully equipped with American weaponry and trained according to American military standards. A large number of Pakistan’s senior military officers were also sent to the United States for education and professional training. Between 1955 and 1958 alone—a period of merely three years, approximately 200 officers from the artillery branch were dispatched to the United States for advanced military instruction.
In addition to this, American military officers frequently visited Pakistan, where they taught at military academies and introduced significant changes to their curricula. At the same time, Pakistani officers continued to be sent to Britain and other Commonwealth countries for professional military training. As a result of this process, a military generation emerged whose intellectual and historical foundations were essentially British in character, yet one that also bore clear and profound marks of American influence.
Stephen P. Cohen also points to this reality in the following words:
“American military experts would periodically visit the Staff College in Quetta, the oldest military institution in Pakistan, which had retained its distinctly British character up to that time. In this way, the Americans played an important role in the college’s educational and training system. According to the officially compiled history of the college itself, the visit of a team of American nuclear warfare specialists in 1957 proved highly beneficial, resulting in the revision and restructuring of the previous curriculum.”
(Pakistan Army: History and Organization, Stephen P. Cohen, pp. 65–72)
Likewise, the formal establishment of the SSG (Special Services Group) in 1956 was carried out with the assistance of American Special Operations Forces, and the unit was subsequently developed and trained according to the structure, methods, and standards of U.S. special forces.
After 1971, America’s strategic focus shifted toward Vietnam, and Pakistan temporarily drifted out of the circle of its close allies. However, with the beginning of the 1980s, the United States once again found itself in need of Pakistan to counter the Soviet threat. Pakistan, in turn, welcomed the reopening of military and civilian aid channels and readily accepted the role of becoming America’s “frontline ally.” As a result, the Pakistani military once again came under significant American patronage and influence.
Following the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan, this relationship weakened temporarily once again. However, after the events of September 11, 2001, Pakistan once again assumed the role of America’s “frontline ally,” a status that, in many respects, continues to this day. During this entire period, the second generation of officers that emerged was loyal not only to Britain but also to its new patron, the United States, indeed, in many ways, even more closely aligned with it.
Pervez Musharraf belonged to the same generation. After studying at the American-influenced Staff College in Quetta, he also received education at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. In 1998, he was appointed Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan and went on to spend nearly nine years serving American interests.
