market
Mid-career crises
Managers who end up leaving their jobs at critical junctures find a variety of ways to deal with the loss
By Jazib Zahir
Tahir was thrilled to be one of the few Pakistanis to be offered a position with a prestigious private equity firm in Dubai. He was earning over four times what he would earn in comparable jobs at home and enjoyed the cosmopolitan lifestyle and opportunities for training and advancement for over two years.

Doer assembly
Compared to all other provincial assemblies, Sindh Assembly's performance has been impressive 
By Imtiaz Ali
The present Sindh Assembly is distinguishable from the past assemblies at least in two respects - number of legislations and active role of Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Around 29 bills were passed during the last two years - some were amendments in existing laws. All the bills were passed unanimously mainly because of "friendly opposition".

Must you fight
Revival of 'Compulsory Military Service' in Afghanistan may not work this time
By Muhammad Arif Shafi
The level of resistance showed by Taliban in the recent military operation in Marjah was not expected by the coalition forces in Afghanistan. No doubt Taliban are stronger today, compared to the time of their defeat in late 2001.

He almost became the first prime minister of the country to represent the Pakistan People's Party who wasn't a Bhutto – the highest pinnacle that a PPP leader can possibly aspire to. Yet he came so close that he only got beaten to the post by a whisker – a cruel irony – by a fellow Multanite and an old political rival and fellow party traveller, Yousaf Raza Gilani.

A secret aspiration is one thing but until the fateful October 2007, no one in the country's largest political party actually believed s/he could be the prime minister instead of the inimitable Benazir Bhutto. It was only her shock assassination that led to a race to fill her large political shoes.

And yet there is no shame in the fact that Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi found himself the federal foreign minister instead, a post that his declared mentor Zulfikar Ali Bhutto once held and which catapulted the PPP founder to the heights of glory that he eventually scaled. There is all the time in the world for Qureshi to do a Bhutto and become the chief executive of the country if the fates don't sting the PPP yet again.

However, before that is to happen, he has to prove that he is a success as a foreign minister. This proof, sadly, has been largely absent despite the fact that he is now nearly two years into the job. While he may beat his Indian and even American counterparts when it comes to power dressing – his Armani suits are the stuff of legend now – what is not on show is a flair for diplomacy. The élan needed to convince your foreign negotiators, to charm your adversary to drive a hard bargain and prevail on the diplomatic front is conspicuously absent. Qureshi has presided over opportunities to tackle issues that a foreign minister with a nose for diplomacy would die for – a major multilateral war next door whose outcome you can influence (Afghanistan), making war noises but negotiating peace with a nuclear opponent (India) and a growing hunger for engagement on development and economic recovery in Pakistan by a powerful bloc (Europe) – and yet he has fallen short on each count.

Irrespective of the fact that the military establishment is still too strong in Pakistan to let the Foreign Office fashion foreign policies, there's little by way of a legacy that Qureshi can lay claim to if for some reason he was to leave the office of the country's top diplomat today. In the geo-strategic significance that the country finds itself today in, the Pakistani foreign minister should have been one of the most wanted men on the planet for engagement. Yet he is conspicuous by absence of sheer personality. He does attend all the conferences and bilateral and multilateral forums that foreign ministers do, but he's hardly ever in the news. Even the Foreign Office spokesman and the ambassador to the US seem more visible and articulate than he is. He has failed to borrow a leaf from the book of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who as foreign minister overshadowed even the larger than life Field Marshal Ayub Khan. The world used to deal with Bhutto as the leader of Pakistan when he was just a minister. Now that was talent. Bhutto's feat is the stuff of legend.

If there is solace for him, it's not in his current karma as a foreign minister but in the fact that if party chief Asif Zardari chose Gilani over Qureshi as the PPP nominee for prime minister in 2008, no less than Benazir Bhutto chose Qureshi as her nominee for the candidate of prime minister in the National Assembly in 2002. Not just that, Benazir also considered Qureshi more politically astute than Gilani or any other aide in Punjab and in 2006 nominated him to reorganise and lead the party in the country's most populated and politically most crucial province. In early 2007, Benazir again chose Qureshi as her aide, above all her party colleagues, to attend a meeting at the White House. And yet Qureshi failed to learn the art of global stage diplomacy from Benazir who even as a politician in the wilderness carried more clout than the foreign minister of a country that is being wooed left, right and centre by all world powers today.

Curiously, it is not uncommon to see Qureshi absent from the prime minister's foreign trips, which seems odd considering that it is the foreign minister that takes the lead on bilateral and multilateral dialogues between countries and global groups. There are also reports of cold relations between the foreign and the prime minister. Apparently, the bad blood developed after Gilani ran away with Pakistan's diplomatic success at Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt when Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh amazingly accepted Pakistan's emphasis that the composite dialogue process be resumed without prejudice to progress on resolution of the Mumbai terror attack. Sources close to Qureshi say he is bitter with Gilani not acknowledging all the hard work he did behind the scenes to convince the Indians on the Pakistani position, a no mean victory considering the traditional hardball that Delhi plays. And yet that says more about Qureshi than about Gilani.

To give Qureshi credit where it is due, take a look at Gilani's federal cabinet. Which ministers in the army of them are representative of all that is good about PPP: politically seasoned, intellectually suave, widely regarded even by their foes, substantially strong on their portfolios, veterans in winning elections even during difficult conditions, and party loyalists for decades? Qureshi and Gilani are about the only ones that fit the bill, albeit the former more than the latter. Qureshi belongs to the caliber of PPP stalwarts that keeps the party in contention in all seasons, much like Aitzaz Ahsan and Raza Rabbani. Qureshi, although a surprise eventual choice for foreign minister, made probably the best candidate among the four contenders to be the first non-Bhutto prime minister from PPP. His competition included Gilani, Ahmed Mukhtar and Amin Fahim. It was not a race lost by Qureshi on the dint of merit but on the basis of a more mundane compulsion: loyalty – candidates considered aides of the late Benazir lost out despite demand from within the party, and closeness to Zardari became a decisive factor, like all factors relating to the party after the twice elected former premier's murder. PPP insiders also say that Zardari vetoed Qureshi's chances because at that point in time Benazir's widower himself eyed the position of prime minister and only wanted an interim premier for less than 100 days. Gilani was chosen because he offered safer credential as a pliant player.

Qureshi is among the breed of those not rare but not too common either Pakistani politicians that have an interesting mix of populist backgrounds and cultured and suave pedigrees. Most are either of the two. Qureshi hails from Multan, the agricultural heartland of Punjab, but was born in Murree, which all his life he has been frequenting in the summers to escape the heat of the plains. His schooling was at Aitchison, which helps in rising up the political ladder in Pakistan, if history is a guide. He graduated from FC College, also in Lahore, but went to Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University in England to study law, before returning home. He says he studied law to get a degree, not to practice it but to prepare for a political career. He got back to Pakistan in 1983 when military dictator General Ziaul Haq was very much ensconced.

Qureshi's political opening came in Zia's 1985 non-party elections. He got elected to Punjab Assembly and kept being elected to it for eight years before contesting and winning his first election to the National Assembly in 1993 and has stayed here since. He only lost in the 1996 general elections. He turned down an invitation by military ruler General Pervez Musharraf to be his advisor on the economy. In Punjab and at the Centre, he has served as both provincial and federal minister more than once each time.

Qureshi at one time also served as the first district nazim of Multan when Musharraf held local elections in 2000. However, he resigned and ran for the National Assembly in the 2002 general elections, also held by Musharraf, and won. He was one of the few PPP legislators from south Punjab that did not desert the party to join Musharraf's bandwagon as part of the pathetic 'Patriot' group.

In fact as Multan nazim, Qureshi was one of a four or five district nazims in the country that refused to plough local resources for Musharraf's referendum campaign to become president or to support the bid in any way. He openly boycotted the referendum and actually led a campaign against it. It was partly his loyalty and partly his continued appeal in rural Punjab (also as a champion of farmers as the president of Pakistan Association of Farmers, a post that he continues to hold), that Benazir appointed him president of the party's Punjab chapter in 2006, to prep PPP up for the 2008 general elections. He was instrumental in bringing out massive crowds to greet Benazir when she finally made it to the Punjab in 2007 after a decade in exile.

Qureshi's detractors say he employs his feudal background to rally support. He after all belongs to a widely respected and wealthy feudal family based in the Seraiki-speaking belt of Multan and claims a saintly lineage being the sajjada nasheen of the revered Bahauddin Zakaria, the patron saint of Multan. He is also the son of Makhdoom Sajjad Hussain Qureshi, the late governor of Punjab when Muhammad Junejo was prime minister during 1985-87. His family has been for centuries among the largest land owners in the region. However, he says his voters can't be dumbed down. "Lineage is still important, but it is no longer paramount," he said in an interview ahead of the 2008 elections. "Now everybody has to win the vote." That may be so but while he can win the voters in his constituency, he can barely lay claim to winning the votes of Pakistan's foreign constituencies. So far he has hardly left a lasting mark to crow about on the global diplomatic canvas, the basis on which his performance will be judged, and not how good he is with people in Multan.

People voted in hordes for PML-N in the NA 55 by-elections on February 24 to the surprise of political pundits who had predicted the party's downfall after the Mansehra NA-21 by-polls. Sheikh Rashid Ahmed lost despite having strong political backing of all factions and parties opposed to PML-N. Voter turnout (35 per cent) was the same as that of the Feb 18, 2008, general elections and the number of votes secured by the winning candidate Shakil Awan were almost the same (over 70,000) as bagged by PML-N bigwig Makhdoom Javed Hashmi.

The real losers were Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI), the two parties that were media darlings and were looked upon as representing a "substitute" or "change" or "third option" for the people of Pakistan. As the wave of by-elections sweeps across Punjab, the future and popularity of political parties are the main subjects of public discussions these days.

By-elections for NA-123 (Lahore), from where Nawaz Sharif withdrew his nomination papers, and two Punjab Assembly seats PP-82 (Jhang) and PP-284 (Bahawalnagar) will be held on March 10. The interesting part of this political battle is the changing stance of PML-Q. After extending full support to Pakistan Awami League founder Sheikh Rashid in Rawalpindi, the party has now made a local alliance, withdrawing its candidate in favour of the JI contender Hafiz Salman Butt in a bid to defeat PML-N in NA-123.

Noted political analyst Suhail Warraich does not think this alliance will matter much. "The popularity graph of PML-N is on the rise especially in the urban areas of the province."

He says, "The Rawalpindi result shows PTI and JI stand nowhere. Hence their so-called demand for mid-term polls has evaporated, and their agenda of anti-Americanism has also failed." He believes the NA-21 defeat of PML-N in Mansehra was a consequnec of some local conditions.

Warraich considers JI's man in NA-123, Hafiz Salman Butt, a strong candidate, but he expects no major change in PML-N's vote-bank. "On the other hand, it seems PML-Q is trying to hold its ground by forming alliances with PTI and JI in the future."

As for the Pakistan People's Party, its strategy has been vague, at best. It claims that it is obliged under the Charter of Democracy (CoD), to not oppose the PML-N candidate. However, it did not announce open support for the PML-N in NA-55 amid impressions that it actually backed Sheikh Rashid. Meanwhile Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has announced that PPP would support the PML-N candidate in PP-111, scheduled after the March 10 by-polls.

"I don't think there is a significant change in the popularity graph of mainstream political parties," Rasool Bukhsh Raees, professor of Political Science at LUMS, says, adding, "PML-N retained its vote-bank and popularity in Rawalpindi." Raees thinks PPP's graph is down because the ruling party could not come up to people's expectations, either at national or at provincial level.

Political analyst Dr Hasan Askari says, "By-elections results may indicate support for a particular party at a particular time. Political parties cannot concentrate on one constituency in the general elections as they do in the by-polls, therefore success in some by-election does not guarantee success in general elections."

"The Rawalpindi result shows JI and PTI stand nowhere, while PPP seems to have lost some support especially in Punjab," he opines. Askari thinks alliances between PML-Q, JI and PTI are not likely to be a regular feature. "It is just a political tactic given the fact the PML-Q is not expected to win from Lahore. The only difference this time is that JI and PTI are contesting the election," he says, ruling out the perception that these parties are the "third force."

"The only third party in Pakistan is the military," he says. "JI and PTI exist only in media because they have a good number of sympathisers in media, and they have a lot of nuisance value. But these parties cannot win more than one or two seats."

"JI has a specific ideology and vote-bank, but PTI does not. When PTI tries to become an Islamist party it overlaps with JI (which has more committed voters than PTI) and when it tries to become slightly liberal it overlaps with PML-N. Imran Khan is good in criticism, but does not offer any clear alternatives to the economic, social and political policies of the two mainstream political parties," Askari concludes.

Tahir was thrilled to be one of the few Pakistanis to be offered a position with a prestigious private equity firm in Dubai. He was earning over four times what he would earn in comparable jobs at home and enjoyed the cosmopolitan lifestyle and opportunities for training and advancement for over two years.

Unfortunately, during the depths of the financial recession several such financial firms were forced to restructure and lay off relatively inexperienced employees. Professionals like Tahir were forced to return to Pakistan and make a fresh start in their careers.

Tahir was able to get an acceptable position in the finance department of a prominent multinational. "It would be a dream job for most people with my qualifications," he admits. "But it took me some time to adjust to the fact that I was effectively taking a step down in my career." He is particularly bitter about the fact that he feels he worked harder than most of his peers in the firm to distinguish himself, but was still the most vulnerable candidate to a layoff decision.

Tahir isn't the only one who has faced such a major shift at a critical point in his career. Many Pakistanis engaged in jobs abroad have returned to the motherland for a variety of reasons and adopted various techniques to find jobs acceptable to people of their qualifications.

Wasil had graduated from an Ivy League school in the United States and had got a coveted investment banking job in New York City. The hours were grueling with him often spending the night in his cubicle, but the compensation was astronomical and the long term prospects promising. But when it came time to renew his work permit, the bank decided not to retain him under pressure to reduce the number of employees.

He failed to find an alternative employer willing to sponsor him over the next two weeks and thus had no choice but to leave the country. "Under the scheme by which recovering financial institutions accept funds from the US government, they are expected to reduce the number of people working on foreign visas," he explains.

But Wasil found that the intense training he had received at the bank was a skill in demand in the Middle East where the financial institutions are keen to hire people with western exposure. He still felt it was his destiny to return to Pakistan and see where he could contribute and he ended up finding a stint working for someone who was operating a private investment firm from his home.

Wasil particularly appreciates the flexibility of timings offered by his new job. This has allowed him to explore alternative outlets for his abilities. He has started offering career and college counseling services in the city and it has been a rewarding experience. "Maybe returning to Pakistan has been a blessing in disguise," he says. "The work I have managed to find is just as interesting and I've also been able to set up a side business that would not even have been an option abroad. And I must say the lifestyle here is much more relaxing."

It's not only Pakistanis settled abroad that have to deal with choices when careers don't pan out as planned. Closer to home, mid-level managers aspiring to top management are often disillusioned. Imran explains that he was hired as a consultant to a local telecommunications operator upon the understanding that if he performed he would be given a full time offer. He feels he exceeded expectations and provided valuable input in completing projects. But when it became clear that he was not going to get the long term appointment he expected, he felt he had no choice but to seek an alternative career path. Fortunately, the kind of contacts he made in his position as a consultant allowed him to find a solid position at a vendor company.

The common reasons cited for having to abruptly leave jobs are restructuring in top management and conflicts over ethical issues. Changes in top management often result in re-assessment of company strategy with managers shuffled around. Those who are dissatisfied with the shuffles may find that it is in their best interests to leave.

That does not mean that they are not satisfied with their subsequent paths. Asnan chose to leave his company after over a decade of service when two divisions were merged and he was effectively demoted. Feeling that there was not much of a future for him at the company, he decided to use some of his saving to pursue higher management courses in the United States. He feels it is time to enhance some of his skills and this can only expand his options in the long run.

Asnan points to several colleagues who have been disillusioned with their jobs, but have found alternative outlets for their experience. He says several of his peers with strong academic backgrounds found their calling in becoming university lecturers in management. "There are many people who have their heart set on teaching and research, but pick more lucrative alternatives early in their careers," he says. "But when things don't work out as planned, they take it as a sign to return to their first love."

Asad left his job as a systems administrator at an IT company and went into business for himself as an independent consultant. He shares anecdotes of others who have decided to set up their own businesses and consultancies based on the vast experience they have accumulated. "It was once believed that you study one trade for a few years and then you try to do the same job forever," he says. "But now people realise that the process of education can be much longer and it is optimal to be ready to shift between several careers over the course of a lifetime."

The present Sindh Assembly is distinguishable from the past assemblies at least in two respects - number of legislations and active role of Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Around 29 bills were passed during the last two years - some were amendments in existing laws. All the bills were passed unanimously mainly because of "friendly opposition".

One bill called The Sindh Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill, 2008 was returned by the Governor Sindh for reconsideration as it aimed at bringing Education Boards under the control of chief minister Sindh instead of the governor. The bills that were passed were all government bills. Several private bills are still in the process, which include those submitted by women legislators pertaining to gender discrimination, domestic violence, harassment at work and children's protection etc.

After a gap of 17 years, PAC Chairman Sardar Tam Tamachi presented an audit report before the assembly as audit was not taken seriously by successive governments. The PAC has, so far, held 60 meetings and completed audit of two years 2004-05 and 2005-06 during the last 14 months.

Now it intends to take up audit of provincial departments for current year 2009-10. The PAC Chairman has written a letter to the chief minister Sindh, urging him to issue instructions to all provincial departments to get their remaining audit settled within next two months. After that, the PAC would start scrutiny of departments for the current year.

There have been five major achievements owing to the active role of PAC, according to Director General Audit Sindh Nazeer Ahmed Seehar. "First, a record Rs1229 million have been recovered since 12 January 2009. Second, non-production of relevant record by provincial departments was a major problem, but now ratio of production of record has increased. Third, the departments did not take AIRs (audit information reports) seriously in the past, which kept lying for years. But now the departments have shown keen interest in AIRs. Departmental Accounts Committee (DACs) meetings were negligible in the past, but are taking place regularly. Fourth, in major departments like agriculture, irrigation and works and services, inter-departmental payments were a serious issue and outstanding liabilities were pending since 1970s. On the recommendations of PAC, chief secretary held a meeting and it was decided to deduct outstanding dues at source. Fifth, in record time, two audit reports of year 2004-05 and 2005-06 were discussed in 60 meetings during the last 14 months," the DG says.

"Therefore, Sindh Assembly's PAC is ahead of all other provinces. It is active like National Assembly's PAC," the DG audit opines. In order to make PAC more effective, the DG recommends the PA body should take cognisance of those officials who are facing corruption charges and financial irregularities and still working in departments concerned. He says these officials/employees who are facing inquiries should not be given any posting till the inquiry absolves them of any financial irregularities.

MPA Arif Mustafa Jatoi of National People's Party (NPP) thinks the performance of the assembly is average. He says the situation cannot be improved until the assembly's Standing Committees (SCs) are empowered on the pattern of National Assembly. "At present, these SCs have no power, because only empowered SCs can summon the government officials to redress public grievances. It would make government accountable before the legislature, which is very important in democracy."

He says performance of these SCs was almost negligible barring a few exceptions. "Only one Standing Committee on Irrigation and Power has submitted its report about the power crisis in two years. But it was rejected by the assembly with majority vote on a motion moved by a minister who happens to be chairman of the said committee," says Jatoi.

Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid) legislator Muhammad Shaharyar Khan Mahar also shares the views of Arif Jatoi, complaining the assembly session has never been held on time. "There is limited opposition, and that too is "friendly". PML-Q is the only opposition, but its MPAs are ignored and their bills are thrown into dustbin," Mahar says.

"Education, health and law and order are not being debated upon. Concerned ministers make emotional speeches, receive applause from party legislators and that is all," observes Mahar, adding target killing is a serious issue in Karachi and everyone knows who is behind it, but it is not debated in the assembly. He claims when the PML-Q legislators walked out of the assembly to protest target killing, they were assured that the issue would be debated upon, but it did not happen. "Two years have passed, but teachers have not been recruited against the available vacancies and many schools remained closed. All that the present government did was to blame the outgoing government for shady affairs in the Education Department."

"Resolutions passed in the assembly should be respected and implemented. Otherwise, people would approach judiciary for redress of their grievances," Mahar says.

Rejecting the criticism of assembly's performance, Pakistan People's Party's senior legislator Dr. Sikandar Ali Mandhro says record of the assembly speaks volumes for its performance as all bills and several resolutions were passed unanimously. He says the session may not start on time, but the daily agenda is always completed.

Dr. Mandhro says standing committees discuss only those issues which are referred to it by the house, declaring he would not support giving suo moto powers to these SCs.

The Sindh Assembly's record reveals that from April 5, 2008 till April 4, 2009, around 293 resolutions were received, out of which seven were passed, two were withdrawn while 284 lapsed. However, all joint or government resolutions numbering 28 were passed. Three privilege motions were received during the said period, but all lapsed.

Around five adjournment motions were moved - one of them was withdrawn, two were declared out of order while two lapsed, which means that no adjournment motion was debated.

One adjournment motion moved by a woman legislator of Pakistan Muslim League (Functional), Nusrat Abbasi, was debated for two hours as it pertained to recent increase in fuel prices. The assembly has been meeting regularly for the last two years and has even surpassed the minimum requirement of 70 days.

The level of resistance showed by Taliban in the recent military operation in Marjah was not expected by the coalition forces in Afghanistan. No doubt Taliban are stronger today, compared to the time of their defeat in late 2001.

US President Barack Obama's new Afghan policy, announced at the end of last year, shows the American's level of interest in the region. Sending thousands of more troops to the region and setting the withdrawal timetable at the same time means the Get-Rid-Of policy is underway. Of course, Taliban are also well aware of the fact that the occupied forces will start withdrawing by mid-2011. Afghan Taliban have a vast experience of guerrilla warfare against the Soviet Union and some of these old tactics have created problems for the occupied forces.

The war expenses have reached the highest level in Afghanistan while the death toll of Americans is on the rise with every passing day. More and more people in the United States are criticising the war which they do not own, and the situation is no different in the rest of the world. It might not be a very serious concern for the American government today, but there is no guarantee that the situation will not change in future. In order to avoid such problems, they are working on the proposed revival of Compulsory Military Service (CMS) in Afghanistan.

The term 'Nafoosi' or 'Mukallafiyat' which are commonly used by the Afghans for the compulsory service, is not new to them, but what makes the difference today is the environment. Compulsory Military Service (CMS) was introduced by King Zahir Shah in mid-1930s and remained intact till 1985. Afghanistan remained without army for almost ten years (from 1991 to 2001).

There are a number of states which have the CMS as they have no formal military. Those states also include Israel and Iran. One can easily understand the external problems and conflicts of both Israel and Iran, which are missing in the case of Afghanistan. If the CMS is introduced in Afghanistan, it will be the only country where the youth will fight their own countrymen.

Syed Qasim Khan, 75, from Kunar province, who had served in the CMS in Afghanistan, recalls his memory of those days: "It was Zahir Shah's government at that time and I was 21-year-old. Afghans had paid a heavy price for that Compulsory Military Service. In the early days of CMS, the Safi tribe in Kunar province refused to join the military. The army killed more than six thousands men, including those three thousands men whose dead bodies were found at one place."

According to him the government was offering them all the basic facilities like medical, food, clothes etc. The minimum age for the CMS was 20 years and the duration of service was two years.

Syed Qasim commented on the past and today's Afghanistan in these words: "Today's Afghanistan has changed a lot as compared to that of three or four decades back. At that time, we were not facing any external threat or enemy from outside. We had a clear vision for the defense of our motherland under the Islamic flag of Afghanistan. But today the aggressor is setting our goal and telling us to fight our brothers. We had no sense of higher education at that time, while today's youth feels the need of higher education. In the past, population was not a matter of concern for the Afghans and people had more children while today the trend of two children has developed wherein it will be almost impossible for anyone to send his only son to Army for the 'Nafoosi' to fight his own countrymen."

Ibadullah, who is working as a freelance journalist in Kabul, feels the same. "In my view, most of the Afghan youth will never join such a service. They will have no other choice except to go to Pakistan and other countries if compelled for CMS. Implementation of this idea will certainly create more problems for the Afghans who are already facing so many problems. After 9/11, we were wrongly and sinfully blamed for the terrorist attacks. All the Afghans are ready to fight and die for their land even with the compulsory service, but not in the presence of occupying forces."

Engineer Sayed Javed, working in Salar-Zai Limited Company, says, "The army generals who are advising President Karzai on Compulsory Service are living in a fool's paradise. The Americans have failed to recruit the required 400,000 men in Afghan army in nine years, and today the total number of Afghan army is not more than 80,000. If the Afghans are not interested in army service under the occupying forces with attractive salaries and other packages, then what will be the situation if the CMS is introduced?"

Saadullah Walizada, an Afghan trader who often visits Pakistan, says: "The American might get the required number of Afghan security forces, but it will also enhance security risks for the Americans. We have already witnessed several incidents in which Afghan soldiers have killed American soldiers. These incidents will certainly increase if the compulsory service is introduced as there are chances that Taliban may also join the military. Most of the Afghans are not willing to fight Taliban and it's the ground reality."

Walizada narrated an incident to substantiate his point: "A friend of mine wanted to visit a Taliban leader in jail. He went there and requested the superintendent jail to allow him to meet the leader. The superintendent jail replied that he would allow him to meet the prisoner, but on one condition -- that the Taliban commander must provide a written statement pardoning the superintendent of that jail in case of Taliban regain power."

It will be interesting to mention here that almost all the operations carried out by the Afghan Army against Taliban remained successful and no collateral damage was reported. On the other hand the operations carried out by foreign forces always led to heavy civilian causalities.