Battleground Pakistan - The Playground of Army-Elite Nexus
By
Prof M A Sofi, New Age Islam
15 May 2023
In what
looks like a do or die moment for Pakistan as a result of an unprecedented
phase of the political instability made worse by the economic meltdown of
Pakistan, there appears to be no let-up in the situation, with the army top
brass playing foul in concert with the PDM, a conglomerate of thirteen
political parties who are all pitted against the one-man-army in the shape of
Imran Khan!
Imran Khan has donned the garb of a martyr to Islam and Pakistan’s dignity. Ironically, taking a dig at politicians and generals for bending before outside powers, he praised India’s non-aligned foreign policy on three separate occasions (AFP)
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With his
illegal arrest a couple of days ago - and his subsequent release from jail from
what the apex court has declared as an act of illegal confinement - the
situation does not look even a trifle better in the midst of a situation when
the country is facing an existential threat, a crisis of unimaginable
proportions of its independent history. An idea of the magnitude of the crisis
may be had from a general perception that the 1971 debacle is widely being seen
as a lesser tragedy as compared to what that country is going through at the
moment. In the circumstances, what does one make of the much-admired
institution involving the Pak army and its awesome firepower that would always,
and continues to be seen as the greatest bulwark against fissiparous tendencies
from within and aggression from without? Here, a tacit reference to the army is
not accidental as it will soon become clear how its long track record of
exceeding its mandate beyond its bounden duty to secure its borders has been
the root cause of most of the ills that have afflicted that country.
For
starters, the reasons for the ‘truly professional’ tag that the Pak army has
earned for itself right since the inception of that country have to be sought
in the perception involving its total commitment and thoroughly professional
manner in which its armed forces are known to have conducted themselves on the
battlefield. Sadly, the same professional commitment is not known to inform
their conduct in their routine private/professional life away from the
battlefield where the top army brass has long been known to throw their weight around
in the arena of politics of the country. More often than not, that role has
been mainly to ensure its larger than life presence in almost all spheres of
activity in Pakistan- political, social, economic and what have you.
The awe and
admiration that the army has since long managed to command from the general
public owes to the carefully crafted image that the army has successfully
cultivated as the (sole) saviour of that country. Through the subtle and secret
manner in which it would run the affairs of the government, make or break ‘duly
elected’ governments, manipulate elections or get the politicians and the
political parties to toe its line, the army has successfully managed that their
shenanigans in public and private life remain beyond the pale of the public
gaze. And this monumental farce continued unabated and without major hiccups,
but not after the Imran Khan emerged on the political scene!
This
because the army establishment had never throughout its history fancied its
writ ceasing to run as long as the politicians across the board were seen,
perhaps with reason, as zombies, spineless pygmies who could be effortlessly
manipulated to fall in line. But as they soon learned after Imran Khan came to
occupy the hot seat post 2018 elections, the latter came across as a different
kettle of fish who meant business and who would wish to have his way as prime
minister in running the affairs of the government. That surely was not going to
go down well with the army, headed as it was at that time by the then COAS, Gen
Bajwa and his close comrades who saw to it that the only way for its top brass
to continue to have their way was to manipulate Khan’s removal from power by
fair or foul means. That they ultimately managed to do so in April 2022 by
using the services of utterly corrupt Zardaris in league with the Shareefs
buying loyalties from Imran Khan’s party in return for obscene amounts of money
and other gratifications has unleashed unprecedented political turmoil and
uncertainty in the country that refuses to ebb away any time soon.
Now after
more than a year since that massive betrayal, Army’s refusal to feel the public
pulse and to see the writing on the wall that betokens a massive support for
Imran Khan to potentially translate into a ¾ majority of his party at the
hustings is to be explained on account of its mortal fear that a return to
power by Imran Khan would get to serve them the just desserts for their devious
and sinful role during the on-going anti-Imran tirade that includes at least
two attempts on his life which he had miraculously survived while sustaining
grievous injuries in the process.
Now this
lacklustre new army chief Asim Muneer who is following into the footsteps of
his infamous predecessor, and who seems to have his own scores to settle with
Imran Khan, is petrified by the thought that in the event of IK coming back to
power, he and his henchmen would face the music for having been involved in a
series of acts of illegal arrests, detentions, abductions and persecution of
those who are raising their voice against such underhand tactics at the
instigation of the army and their agencies. Which is why, the army top brass
has vowed to do everything in its power to make sure that the Khan is kept out
of the loop. This is being executed by fabricating and framing charges and
implicating him, albeit falsely, in innumerable cases ranging from corruption,
misuse of authority, contempt of court and similar other offences so that he
remains constantly embroiled in defending these cases, culminating in his
possible disqualification from holding public office.
In this
campaign, the army looks to the judiciary falling in line while remaining
secure in the thought that it could be arm twisted to pronounce a verdict of
its choosing. This is so because the judiciary is already witnessing an all
pervasive decline of the worst kind in terms of the highest standards that used
to be its raison d'etre not long ago. And that’s in no small measure on account
of how the executive and the army have together misused their authority to
influence the judiciary in the two neighbouring countries, respectively.
The fact
that apart from the judiciary, almost all other vital state institutions
including the executive, bureaucracy, police, election commission or the (NAB) National
Accountability Bureau are being dragooned to do the army’s bidding bespeaks its
insatiable thirst for political power that they hope to continue enjoying once
Imran Khan gets out of the way and their political protégés are installed in
the new government. However, considering Khan’s stubborn refusal to fall in
line or to accept the humble pie that is being force-fed to him, the deadlock
threatens to continue!
Unfazed,
the army continues to remain intransigent, having no qualms being seen as the
chief architect of the present crisis that threatens to get worse by the day,
unless it chooses to relent and reconsider its priorities. But that looks like
a tall order, used as the top army brass has all along been, to unbridled power
without accountability, the vast resources of that country for their personal
benefits with an extravagantly lavish lifestyle to boot, and the unique
distinction of acting as a king as and when the situation so demands as well as
the king maker whenever it chooses! In such circumstances, how would the
over-pampered army expect itself to lose control over all that and much more
that it has wielded right since the inception of that country with impunity!
Its ubiquitous presence in the sundry affairs of their country and the hitherto
unchallenged control over the public consciousness and also over the entire
network of institutions has rightly earned it the dubious epithet of Pakistan
being an "army that has a country attached to it".
At this
point, it should help to disabuse the popular perception as espoused mostly by
the Imran bashers that it was the army that had thrown its weight behind to
catapult the Khan to power. The reality on the ground suggests quite the
contrary. The fact remains that as opposed to its time-honoured tactic of
manipulating elections to somehow get a political leader of their choice to
capture power, the army did go out of its way but only to make sure that in the
2018 elections, IK was to barely manage a simple majority in the parliament so
as to be kept under a tight leash and to follow their line while dispensing
governance. Little would they realise that IK was one of a kind who stood tall
in the political chessboard of that country and who would always wish the writ
of his govt to run rather than take dictations from the army. That’s exactly
what had precipitated the face off with the army which was not used to take a
NO for an answer, or to be confined to the barracks and so got the almighty
Americans to acquiesce in to their devious plan to remove the Khan from power.
Courtesy
Imran Khan's ouster from power, the underbelly of Pakistan’s institutions
stands completely exposed. If anything, it has served to open the can of worms
and expose the larger-than-life role that the army has all along arrogated to
itself to play, not excluding in the foreign affairs of that country. It's not
for nothing that every time a foreign dignitary would happen to visit that
country, their itinerary would invariably include a one-on-one meeting with the
army chief for reasons that are seen as routine by the people and those who
know enough about that country. It's that awe and sway that the army commands
over there that now stand challenged by Imran Khan who now holds such an over-
arching sway over almost every segment of the society, barring of course the
country's top elite comprising the feudal lords and those powerful mafias who
use politics as private business. Which is why they now see their writ ceasing
to run, should the Khan get back into the saddle.
Right now,
all the tricks in the trade are being employed by the army in concert with the
illegitimately installed PDM government to prevent IK from getting back to
power. These include such devious strategies as to disqualify him from
contesting elections on the flimsiest grounds, banning his party - the PTI- for
similar reasons, or even eliminating him from the scene as they have already
tried multiple times in the recent past. With (at least) the lower judiciary
sitting as a lame duck and eager to do their bidding, the army shall continue
to wreak havoc to continue their vice-like grip over the power structure of
Pakistan and, by implication, over the vast resources of that country that it
has monopolised and used to fill their coffers beyond anybody's wildest imagination
and leaving the country and its poor teeming millions high and dry. The
political lapdogs that they have all along cultivated to act as their political
protégés while carrying out their Masters Voice have equally been huge
beneficiaries of this loot and plunder that remain beyond the pale of
accountability, courtesy the wilful connivance of the law enforcing agencies in
deference to the will of the grand daddies who see themselves as the divinely
chosen masters of the destiny of their nation.
On the flip
side of the story, it's sad but true that good intentions alone are not enough
to deliver, unless tempered by a modicum of wisdom, and also tactfulness in the
case of a politician. Despite his unblemished track record in politics, the
greatest undoing of Imran Khan has been his tragic lack of tactfulness while
dealing, both with his friends and foes, that has largely facilitated the
American great gameplan in the region by forcing their hand to remove him from
power." His famous intonement “absolutely not” which was uttered in
response to a question whether Pakistan would provide use of its land and space
for the U.S in the latter’s war against the Taliban turned out to be the last
nail in the coffin before he was dislodged from power.
I'm afraid
that a further regress of that country into chaos would have implications on
this side of the border too as political unrest and continued instability in a
nuclear armed nation has the potential to spill over in the areas adjoining
ground zero.
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Prof. M. A. Sofi is currently NBHM Visiting Professor at JK Institute of
Mathematical Sciences, Srinagar He previously taught at AMU, Aligarh, Central
University of Kashmir, Srinagar and University of Kashmir, Srinagar Did
Master’s from AMU, Aligarh (1978) and Ph. D Mathematics at IIT Kanpur(1982)
Presently living in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
URL: https://newageislam.com/the-war-within-islam/battleground-pakistan-army-elite-nexus-/d/129780
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