LONDON: Major General Karl Harris CBE of the British Army has praised the role played by Pakistani and Muslim soldiers in the then British India, today’s Pakistan, during the First and Second World Wars to defend Britain.
Major General Karl Harris CBE made these remarks on the eve of Armistice Day as he signed the Armed Forces Covenant with Dr Tariq Sheikh, the British Pakistani businessman who is known as the UK and Europe’s biggest halal meat supplier.
The Covenant is the nation’s promise that those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared with other citizens. Tariq Sheikh signed for his company, and General Harris, for the Ministry of Defence, to help British military personnel, veterans and their families. For the British Army and the wider Armed Forces community, the agreement could open up employment opportunities, support for veterans transitioning into civilian careers and greater recognition of military service within the company.
Addressing guests after the signing, the UK military general said that Remembrance and the anniversary of the Armistice are sobering reminders of how hard the country’s freedoms were fought for. Britain, he said, has one Army, and it belongs to its communities as much as to those in uniform.
Major General Karl Harris said: “We celebrate the history and heritage that we all share, whether that’s the British Army or people from South Asian heritage. My maternal grandfather served in the Indian Army in Burma, and your relatives similarly served in that same theatre of war. My visit here today is about connection, community and celebration, bringing together the British Army and South Asian communities.”
“I was born in Gujrat, in the Punjab, in Pakistan. My wife is from Jhelum, down the road. If you know the British Army, you know those names. For a hundred years, Jhelum sent its sons into the British Indian Army,” Dr Tariq Sheikh said.
“The Pakistan Army was born of that same Army in 1947. Its regiments, its discipline and its pride are an inheritance from the British Army, and it has honoured that inheritance ever since. To every young British Pakistani I say: this tradition is yours. This is your country and this is your Army. Serve in it, join its reserves, send your children to its cadets, and carry the tradition on. The Covenant will hang in our shops across the country, and beside it a call to our customers: join the Forces, and support them with pride,” Dr Sheikh said.
