THIS is with reference to Dr Mervyn Husain’s excellent letter on the subject of the army oath (Nov 11). If the arguments put forward by Aslam Beg that he took the oath of allegiance according to the Indian Army Act 1911 are to be accepted, then we are also to assume that in accordance with his interpretation, even after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, he perhaps still owes his loyalty to the British crown, though he had been paid salaries and perks by taxpayers of this country.

What Aslam Beg forgets is that he took the oath on the 1973 Constitution when he assumed command of our army after Zia’s death.

This offensive defence argument exposes the sickening mindset of men like Aslam Beg who have forgotten that unlike the British Indian Army, which was raised to help the colonial Raj in a colony, the Pakistan army belongs to a sovereign state and is there to serve the people of this nation, who are sole masters of their destiny, and all citizens, including paid civil and uniformed servants, have sworn allegiance to uphold the constitution and pledged to work within the confines of law. I say let ‘Heavens fall, but justice be done’ by the Supreme Court, which is the sole competent authority to interpret our constitution and give judgments that are binding on all.

MALIK TARIQ ALI United States