Operation Stalemate

Capital suggestion
Timeline: In January, the National Action Plan (NAP) was firmed up. In January, the GHQ facilitated the formation of apex committees for the implementation NAP. In March, Nine-Zero was raided. In April, a law and order review meeting was held at the Karachi Corps HQ where no civilian was invited (end of apex committee?). In May, Lieutenant-General Naveed Mukhtar said that the Sindh government was “inefficient”.
Backgrounder: On May 14, 2006, the PPP and the PML-N signed the Charter of Democracy under which: “the military’s subordination of all state institutions” was to be abolished; the “political wings of all intelligence agencies will be disbanded”; and the charter had concluded that “terrorism and militancy are by-products of military dictatorship”.
PM Nawaz Sharif (current chessboard): One: An understanding of non-interference into the affairs of Sindh with PPP Co-Chairman Asif Zardari. Two: An understanding with Co-Chairman Asif Zardari of forming a joint front against PTI Chairman Imran Khan. Three: To adopt the path of least resistance on matters important to the GHQ. Four: To postpone the final decision on Sindh to an ever-postponing future.
Co-Chairman Asif Zardari (current chessboard): One: Co-Chairman Asif Zardari is with PM Nawaz Sharif in both the National Assembly and the Senate. Two: Co-Chairman is standing with PM Sharif against Chairman Imran Khan. Three: Co-Chairman says that he is “not afraid of any magic wand”. Four: Co-Chairman insists that everything is fine in Sindh. Five: On Karachi affairs, Co-Chairman is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Quaid-e-Tehreek Altaf Husain. Six: According to the Co-Chairman, Dr Zulfiqar Mirza is speaking on behalf of “someone else”.
COAS General Raheel Sharif: The current army chief’s reputation and stature now stand taller than any COAS over the past four decades. No army chief in recent memory has enjoyed so much public trust as does the current one.
His current chessboard position: One: Fighting terrorists in Fata (Operation Zarb-e-Azb successful). Two: Fighting urban terrorism in Karachi (Operation stalemated; see definition below). Three: Facilitated the formation of the National Action Plan (Operation stalemated). Four: Facilitated the formation of apex committees for the implementation of the National Action Plan (Operation stalemated). Five: Facilitated the establishment of military courts (Operation stalemated). Record so far: Major operation successful = 1; Operations stalemated = 4.
Definitions: Stalemate is a “situation in which further action is blocked”. Deadlock is a “situation, typically one involving opposing parties, in which no progress can be made”. Standstill is “a complete cessation of movement; stop; halt”. Gridlock is “a complete lack of movement or progress resulting in a backup or stagnation”. Quandary is “a state of uncertainty or perplexity”.
What really is the root cause behind ‘Operation Stalemate’? Two words: Trust deficit; the civil-military trust deficit. The GHQ insists that it is out to fight terror. The ruling politicians fear that the GHQ is out to capture political power in the name of fighting power. The ruling politicians are bent upon maintaining the status quo-both the political and the financial status quos. The GHQ, on the face of it, wants to break the status quo – at least the current status quo on the partnership between politics and crime.
We are in the midst of a serious war – and fighting a war in a system full of distrust risks losing it. The need of the day is trust management – trust management between and among interdependent relationships. Red alert: Time is of the essence.
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com.
Twitter: @saleemfarrukh