Pakistan Armed Forces’
3Cs-Motto
Our enemy knows of the moral ascendency of our armed forces
Iman, Taqwa, Jihad-fi-SabiLillah are the three cardinals of the adopted motto of
Pakistan Army. With the exception of an insignificant number of patriotic
Christians and other minorities, every member of Pakistan Armed Forces is a firm
believer in oneness of Allah and finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH)
persistently endeavouring to achieve the highest standards both in this world
and the life hereafter. 24/7 They are struggling in the way of Allah by
performing sacred duty of defending the motherland from external and internal
threat at all costs; even at the cost of their lives. Our enemies are quite
aware of the strength of our motto and are afraid of the moral ascendency
enjoyed by all ranks of the Pakistan Armed Forces.
Pakistan Army is proud of its leadership who are groomed to lead from the front.
May it be War of Liberation of Kashmir, 1965 War, 1971 War, Siachen War, Kargil
Conflict or War on Terror, Officers have left behind unbelievable tales of
valour and sacrifice. From Captain Sarwar to Major Raja Aziz Bhatti to Major
Shabbir Sharif to Captain Karnal Sher Khan all took the gun fire on their
chests. Following the footsteps of their elders Young Officers maintained the
tradition of leading from the front and the ratio of the officers verses
soldiers who laid down their lives to eliminate the menace of terrorism is the
highest in the history of warfare. Entire nation is proud of these valiant sons
of the soil and their names will be written in the Golden words in the history
of Pakistan.
Soon after taking over the command of Pakistan Army the present Chief of the
Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, who happens to be younger brother of Major
Shabbir Sharif Shaheed, NH and nephew of Major Raja Aziz Bhatti Shaheed, NH, set
three traits to be achieved by the entire ladder of leadership from a Junior
leader to himself. The "Three Cs" as he calls it, are Character, Courage and
Competence. Remaining within the ambit of our Motto leaders at all levels who
possess these three traits need not to fear any challenge in the profession of
soldering.
Among all the leadership traits character holds a special significance. Once the
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) presented himself before the people of Mecca, he
referred to his nobel character traits of Truthfulness and Trustworthiness. In
the Armed Forces of Pakistan, character of an individual is exposed to his
peers, seniors and juniors since the day one joins the profession of arms till
he sheds away his uniform and even thereafter. Specially for a leader strength
of character matters a lot. If the the leader is of sound character he enjoys
trust of his colleagues and their blind following. They know that their
commander will lead them only to the right cause that is to safeguard the
geographical and ideological boundaries of Pakistan. Worldly wishes have no
place in the life of a leader of character and no amount of pressure can alter
his loyalty to the cause.
Similarly, courage is one of the most important leadership qualities. It is the
Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (PBUH) to lead from the front as he personally
commanded each and every Ghazwa. Pakistan Army is proud of its officers who have
a firm belief that if they survive a mission they will be called Ghazis and if
they sacrifice their lives during the accomplishment of the assigned task they
will achieve the distinction of Shahadat which is the objective of each and
every soldier of Pakistan Army. A true leader is never afraid of danger to his
life and he is always with the led at every occasion, when the going gets tough
the soldiers always find their leader leading them from the front. It was
sheerly a matter of courage to make a decision whether or not to go for North
Waziristan Operation. Whole nation is witness to fact that Top Leadership of
Pakistan Army is always with the soldiers whether it is Operation Zarb-e-Azb in
the North Waziristan Agency or Line of Control and the Working Boundary or
fighting on the internal front in Balochistan and Sindh.
Competence of a leader is an equally important trait to gain the unflinching
confidence and faith of his troops. The profession of soldiering is very very
transparent. Both the leaders and the led know your ins and outs. They know your
capabilities and your limitations. One thing is for certain soldiers will trust
only a competent leader to lead them to war. So, the competence of a leader
becomes an important battle winning factor. Competence in soldiering is not only
the ability of a leader to plan an operation on paper but also to physically
execute it on ground. At the higher pedestal a leader is likely to confront
multi dimensional national security challenges. A competent leader has the
ability to quickly differentiate between essential and non essential and lay
down priority. Competence helps a leader in visualizing the fluid situation in
its right perspective and make speedy yet correct decision.
Our cause is just; we want to live in peace and harmony but with dignity and
honour and would prefer to resolve all the outstanding issues including the core
issue of Kashmir. But we want to make it loud and clear to all our enemies both
external and internal, we can't be dictated and we can't be coerced. Pakistan
Army is ready to face both conventional and sub-conventional threats. We have a
credible nuclear deterrence with second strike capability. Our Army is
adequately equipped and well trained and our leadership is blessed with three
Cs, character, courage and competence; we are ready to face the world.