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| Proposal to extend General Kayani’s tenure in the air |
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: There are reports about the growing mistrust between the military establishment and the Presidency though the latter categorically denies this.
In their background meetings and off-the-record discussions, authorities and officials clearly hint that the situation between the two has really become tense and some even fear that it may lead to a 1999-like situation where the mistrust had grown between the then prime minister and the Army chief.
Analyst and writer Ahmad Rashid recently wrote in an essay, “Not surprisingly they are convinced that the Army’s move was part of a long term plan to unseat Asif Ali Zardari as President and bring in someone more compliant — or at the very least force the president to sack some of his advisers whom the Army loathes.
Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain political icon Benazir Bhutto, has long taken a diametrically opposite view to the Army on foreign policy — he would like peace with India, closer ties to the US and an end to the safe havens the Afghan Taliban have in Pakistan.”
Sources in the government also admit in their off-the-record discussion that the recent talk of “minus one formula” was a deliberate spin on the part of the government apparently to pre-empt any adverse move against President Zardari.
Though the media in that case too was blamed to have popped up the “minus one formula,” it had actually come from Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and then later repeated by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.
President Asif Ali Zardari’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar, when contacted on Tuesday, denied that there existed any mistrust between the Presidency and the military establishment.“The reports about the mistrust are not correct and do not reflect the reality,” he said, adding that the security establishment accepts the supremacy of civilian government and parliament.
“It (the existence of mistrust) could be the view of some columnists and writers but there is no truth in it,” Babar said. He said it was a propaganda that was deliberately unleashed in such situations. Babar, however, said that he did not know who was behind this propaganda.
When asked whether the president desires to make some key changes in the military establishment, he said that that this question does not warrant a comment.However, it has been confirmed from more than one sources that President Zardari was desirous of dragging the issue of 17th Amendment by the end of the next year i.e. 2010, so that in October next year he could appoint a chief of the Army staff of his choice which, under the present circumstances, seems to be a remote possibility.
Contrary to President Zardari’s wish to exercise his constitutional powers with regard to the appointment of Army chief, vested in him under the 17th Amendment, the PML-N leadership, however, does not want this to happen.
Instead, like several other political parties, the PML-N is appreciative of the role of incumbent Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ever since he took over as the COAS. He is considered a professional soldier, who has no political ambitions. Although, Nawaz Sharif never met Kayani, in his private meeting he has been heard praising the Army chief for his professionalism and for redeeming the respect of Pakistan Army after Musharraf’s departure.
During the last two years of his command as the Army Chief, General Kayani earned respect from both within the military and outside for de-politicizing the institution of Army, which was badly hurt by General (retd) Musharraf.
Perhaps not many but his close aides and some friends including journalists, to whom he usually opens up his heart, are aware of opinion the president holds about the incumbent Army chief.
However, a proposal has already been aired and now being discussed in political and bureaucratic circles to give an extension to General Kayani beyond his present three-year term, possibly for another two to three years.
How the president would react to this is not known right now but Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani would support the proposal and would possibly be the approving authority to grant this extension by the time we reach October 2010.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
