IT was Baghdad, and the year was 1258. The last caliph of Abbasid dynasty, Al-Musta’sim Billah, was seemingly and gradually creeping towards a lust for gold and wealth. He was well supported by his cunning vizier Ibn al-Alkami and accepted his suggestion to cut down on huge expenditures on his large army as it was apparently of no use and remained a burden on the treasury.

Even Halaku Khan and the Mongols hadn’t yet tried to breach the Abbasi fortress and thought twice before doing that. Al-Alkami succeeded in convincing the caliph to reduce the spending on the army and instead hoard the gold, which after all, was the most invaluable thing.

The treasure grew with each passing day, while the army was reduced to a handful number of soldiers. With this move, Halaku Khan had a wry smile on his face, and could now sense victory and annihilation, as that was what ensued wherever he marched to with his disciplined yet barbaric Mangol army.

He marched ahead leading his hungry troops and wreaked havoc in the streets of Baghdad sparing no man, woman and child they saw. Baghdad was plundered and there was a bloodbath in daylight. The city was sacked and the caliph captured.

Al-Alkami joined the Mangol army and laughed on the face of Al-Musta’sim Billah. They kept the caliph hungry and mocked him. When he asked for something to eat, Halaku Khan gave him gold to eat, saying that was what he had piled up instead of building the mighty army that he could. The gold couldn’t save him, but the army could have. The lesson was well clear, but it was too late now.

Those who don’t learn from the mistakes of others are destined to repeat them. A section of our society always criticises defence spending not knowing that it is the army which fights the enemy overtly and covertly, day in and day out, while they sleep or are busy being keyboard warriors.

Our country needs a strong defence to survive, especially when surrounded by enemies who dislike its existence. Who would have saved you if it was not for Pakistan Army that has almost neutralised the threat of terrorism from across the border and within? Those who have been funded to keep bashing our army on social media will flee the country once our territory is attacked by the enemy.

Who would be there to sacrifice his life just because others can remain safe? Pakistan Army’s budget is five times less than that of India. Yet, some naive people do not understand this. They compare Pakistan with Switzerland and other Scandinavian countries which spend less on defence and more on education and healthcare simply because they are politically neutral and have pacifist neighbours unlike ours.

I too don’t like generals who were involved in property dealings. However, I am with the brave soldiers who defend us on the borders. Therefore, we should not live in a fool’s paradise. We should not listen to our Al-Alkamis as they will betray us when the time comes.

Rajab Ali
Mirpur Mathelo

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2020