The general sounded like a true professional soldier, showed complete faith in democracy, talked about upholding the Constitution and the rule of law, appreciated the role of civil society and the media, and paid rich tributes to the role of the Pakistan Army, intelligence agencies and police, etc.
To the discomfort of India and the likes of Narendra Modi, General Sharif referred to Kashmir as the “jugular vein” of Pakistan and sent a clear message to India that though Pakistan does pursue the objective of peace, it could neither forget Kashmir nor put this major irritant between the two countries on the backburner. The only missing point, an important one, in the army chief’s speech was Islam and the Islamic ideology.During the recent weeks, there have been ups and downs in the civil-military relationship, which led to a lot of gossiping about the “anger” and “uneasiness” in the military circles. But hearing the army chief in this fashion was like music to one’s ears.
General Raheel showed his complete faith in democracy, the upholding of the Constitution and rule of law and insisted that this was the only way forward and the real path to the country’s progress. Raheel insisted that all institutions of the state have to play their role in strengthening the system.
Such commitment to democracy, Constitution and the rule of law from the army chief would serve as a real shut up call to some of those retired generals/air marshals, etc, and some “informed” defence correspondents who, while quoting their sources hurl subtle threats on the behalf of army and create misunderstandings between the civilian and military leaderships. General Raheel’s speech has proved one point that such retired generals/air marshals and journalists are not trustworthy. They are perhaps pursuing someone else’s agenda to create rifts and invite troubles for Pakistan.
In the midst of the ongoing Geo-ISI controversy, General Raheel Sharif also chose to appreciate the role of civil society and the media. I had my fears that he might give a passing remark on the Geo-ISI controversy but he did not mention it at all. General Sharif was instead all praise for the role of the media. He also voiced his complete support to the freedom of press and responsible media. With such a man being the army chief, I do expect better handling of the situation arising out of the post-Hamid Mir attack Geo-ISI controversy.
As the anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim BJP’s extremist Narendra Modi, who is generally expected to be the next prime minister of India, recently talked of a possible May 2 Abbottabad like strike in Pakistan to target Dawood Ibrahim, the army chief, General Raheel, sent a clear message to India that no nonsense would be accepted by the Pakistan Army.
He instead made India feel uneasy by referring to Kashmir as the jugular vein of Pakistan. Raheel appreciated the sacrifices made by the people of held Kashmir and urged upon the need for resolving the issue in line with the UN resolutions and the desire of the Kashmiri people.
Raheel Sharif’s speech, on the one hand, has won the acclaim of those struggling for the rule of law and upholding of the Constitution and, on the other hand, his words would give sleepless nights to Narendra Modi in India and those here trying to create a rift between the civilian and military leaderships.
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