ISLAMABAD:
Echoes of an inter-institutional tiff are in the air in the wake of some
recent harsh comments passed by two federal ministers, followed by a
rare statement by the army chief which was apparently made in the
backdrop of Musharraf’s indictment by a trial court on treason charges.
While many analysts have taken the army chief’s statement as a warning shot for the Sharif government, khaki circles say the COAS was compelled to react to growing discontent within his institution over the harsh comments passed by the defence minister and the railways minister against an ex-army chief, which were tantamount to hurting the institutional pride of the army. While sticking to their guns, however, the ministers have maintained that the only person responsible for hurting the army’s institutional pride was none other than Musharraf who had indulged his institution in politics and thus made it controversial.
The Defence Minister, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, has described parliament the most powerful institution of the country, the Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq has said that no one can stop him from criticising the military dictators. The government circles say Musharraf is not being tried by the government but by the judiciary in accordance with the law of the land for abrogating the Constitution twice. Even otherwise, they say, being the head of a political party, Musharraf was no more a part of the army and thus no institution or entity should try to manipulate the institution of judiciary by making uncalled-for statements.
Speaking to the Special Services Group (SSG) Commandos at the Ghazi Base near Tarbela, General Raheel Sharif said on April 8 that “Pakistan Army upholds the sanctity of all institutions and will resolutely preserve its own dignity and institutional pride”. His statement was considered quite significant in both the Khaki and the government circles given the fact that before being appointed the COAS, he did not make public statements in his 35-year career, thereby suggesting that he had little interest in politics and that he would be a safe choice for the key slot of the army chief. He was thus elevated as the COAS by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while superseding two more-senior generals.
However, General Raheel Sharif, who is considered to be a professional soldier and a man of few words who has rarely spoken on non-professional issues even after being made the COAS, has not only broken his silence on the issue of Gen Pervez Musharraf’s treason trial but has also warned critics against undermining the military’s institutional morale. In his comments at the Ghazi Base in Tarbela, General Raheel Sharif regretted the timing of the campaign to ‘malign the military as an institution’ at a time when the country is faced with multiple internal and external challenge. ISPR statement noted that the army chief had made these remarks in response to “the concerns of soldiers on undue criticism of the institution (of Army) in recent days”.
While the army chief might have tried to cool down the sentiments of some of the SSG commandos by making these remarks, there are those in the government circles who believe that he has actually tried to assert the authority of the military as an institution at a time when a former COAS has been indicted by a trial court on treason charges.
It is for the first time that General Raheel has issued a statement which is being described by analysts as an obvious indication of the growing differences between the civilian and military leadership. The statement was made at a time when the government was expecting the army to maintain its institutional neutrality during the proceedings of the treason case against Pervez Musharraf.
The top brass of the army has already endorsed the views expressed by the army chief during the four-hour-long corp commanders conference, held in Rawalpindi on April 9. Subsequent media reports have stated that the commanders expressed solidarity with the COAS and articulated their confidence in his leadership. It has also been reported that the generals were upset with the government for having been unfairly criticised by the federal ministers and for proceeding with the so-called peace talks with the Taliban despite their reservations. These developments have in fact dispelled the impression of the civil-military leadership being on the same page which was being created by the government circles ever since the appointment of General Raheel as the army chief on November 27, 2013.
That was the second time that Nawaz Sharif, being the prime minister, had ignored the seniority rule while appointing the army chief. Earlier, Nawaz had elevated Musharraf as COAS out of turn by superseding the senior-most Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan Khattak, a move which had backfired when Musharraf seized power in a counter coup in October 1999, after being sacked by Sharif and replaced by the then ISI chief, Lt Gen Ziauddin Butt. It is an open secret that the army has directly or indirectly ruled Pakistan for more than half the years since its independence.
In fact, in the very first decade after Pakistan came into being in 1947, the army became a politicised force — the power behind the throne in politics and, therefore, soon seized control. Subsequently, the army chiefs kept intervening frequently to impose martial laws for protracted periods; the coups of Generals Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan were followed by a pro-Jehad Zia regime that lasted 12 years and the so-called anti-Jihad Musharraf regime, which consumed nine more years of Pakistan’s life. Having tasted political power, the army has simply ceased to be apolitical. Despite repeated pledges by General Ashfaq Kayani and General Raheel Sharif to keep their institution away from politics and to make it apolitical, the army keeps influencing the national politics in one way or the other.
Analysts believe the Pakistan Army’s agenda of remaining the most powerful actor in national politics has received some irreparable setbacks in the last few years, starting with the May 2011 covert raid in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden and left the Khakis hugely embarrassed. They believe that the decision of the COAS to finally speak up was meant to restore the institutional pride of the Pakistan Army.
Yet they are of the view that the army chief would have received enormous public support had he made public his concern over the ongoing peace talks with terrorists [who have killed over 50,000 civilians and security forces personnel] instead of trying to side with Musharraf who was responsible for indulging the army in politics and thus hurting its dignity and pride. Thus, the only legitimate way for the Pakistan Army to preserve its dignity and institutional pride is to stay away from national politics and focus on its professional responsibility of defending the geographical frontiers of the country.
While many analysts have taken the army chief’s statement as a warning shot for the Sharif government, khaki circles say the COAS was compelled to react to growing discontent within his institution over the harsh comments passed by the defence minister and the railways minister against an ex-army chief, which were tantamount to hurting the institutional pride of the army. While sticking to their guns, however, the ministers have maintained that the only person responsible for hurting the army’s institutional pride was none other than Musharraf who had indulged his institution in politics and thus made it controversial.
The Defence Minister, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, has described parliament the most powerful institution of the country, the Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq has said that no one can stop him from criticising the military dictators. The government circles say Musharraf is not being tried by the government but by the judiciary in accordance with the law of the land for abrogating the Constitution twice. Even otherwise, they say, being the head of a political party, Musharraf was no more a part of the army and thus no institution or entity should try to manipulate the institution of judiciary by making uncalled-for statements.
Speaking to the Special Services Group (SSG) Commandos at the Ghazi Base near Tarbela, General Raheel Sharif said on April 8 that “Pakistan Army upholds the sanctity of all institutions and will resolutely preserve its own dignity and institutional pride”. His statement was considered quite significant in both the Khaki and the government circles given the fact that before being appointed the COAS, he did not make public statements in his 35-year career, thereby suggesting that he had little interest in politics and that he would be a safe choice for the key slot of the army chief. He was thus elevated as the COAS by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while superseding two more-senior generals.
However, General Raheel Sharif, who is considered to be a professional soldier and a man of few words who has rarely spoken on non-professional issues even after being made the COAS, has not only broken his silence on the issue of Gen Pervez Musharraf’s treason trial but has also warned critics against undermining the military’s institutional morale. In his comments at the Ghazi Base in Tarbela, General Raheel Sharif regretted the timing of the campaign to ‘malign the military as an institution’ at a time when the country is faced with multiple internal and external challenge. ISPR statement noted that the army chief had made these remarks in response to “the concerns of soldiers on undue criticism of the institution (of Army) in recent days”.
While the army chief might have tried to cool down the sentiments of some of the SSG commandos by making these remarks, there are those in the government circles who believe that he has actually tried to assert the authority of the military as an institution at a time when a former COAS has been indicted by a trial court on treason charges.
It is for the first time that General Raheel has issued a statement which is being described by analysts as an obvious indication of the growing differences between the civilian and military leadership. The statement was made at a time when the government was expecting the army to maintain its institutional neutrality during the proceedings of the treason case against Pervez Musharraf.
The top brass of the army has already endorsed the views expressed by the army chief during the four-hour-long corp commanders conference, held in Rawalpindi on April 9. Subsequent media reports have stated that the commanders expressed solidarity with the COAS and articulated their confidence in his leadership. It has also been reported that the generals were upset with the government for having been unfairly criticised by the federal ministers and for proceeding with the so-called peace talks with the Taliban despite their reservations. These developments have in fact dispelled the impression of the civil-military leadership being on the same page which was being created by the government circles ever since the appointment of General Raheel as the army chief on November 27, 2013.
That was the second time that Nawaz Sharif, being the prime minister, had ignored the seniority rule while appointing the army chief. Earlier, Nawaz had elevated Musharraf as COAS out of turn by superseding the senior-most Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan Khattak, a move which had backfired when Musharraf seized power in a counter coup in October 1999, after being sacked by Sharif and replaced by the then ISI chief, Lt Gen Ziauddin Butt. It is an open secret that the army has directly or indirectly ruled Pakistan for more than half the years since its independence.
In fact, in the very first decade after Pakistan came into being in 1947, the army became a politicised force — the power behind the throne in politics and, therefore, soon seized control. Subsequently, the army chiefs kept intervening frequently to impose martial laws for protracted periods; the coups of Generals Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan were followed by a pro-Jehad Zia regime that lasted 12 years and the so-called anti-Jihad Musharraf regime, which consumed nine more years of Pakistan’s life. Having tasted political power, the army has simply ceased to be apolitical. Despite repeated pledges by General Ashfaq Kayani and General Raheel Sharif to keep their institution away from politics and to make it apolitical, the army keeps influencing the national politics in one way or the other.
Analysts believe the Pakistan Army’s agenda of remaining the most powerful actor in national politics has received some irreparable setbacks in the last few years, starting with the May 2011 covert raid in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden and left the Khakis hugely embarrassed. They believe that the decision of the COAS to finally speak up was meant to restore the institutional pride of the Pakistan Army.
Yet they are of the view that the army chief would have received enormous public support had he made public his concern over the ongoing peace talks with terrorists [who have killed over 50,000 civilians and security forces personnel] instead of trying to side with Musharraf who was responsible for indulging the army in politics and thus hurting its dignity and pride. Thus, the only legitimate way for the Pakistan Army to preserve its dignity and institutional pride is to stay away from national politics and focus on its professional responsibility of defending the geographical frontiers of the country.
