Tweet policy affects civil-military relations

ISLAMABAD: The military spokesman Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa’s tweets and statements have exposed civil-military tensions at a time when the nation expects the best coordination and unison between the two sides in their fight against the menace of terrorism.

The civil government might not be delivering as per the expectations of the military establishment, but making such differences public will not benefit the cause of effectively fighting terrorism and extremism.

In the post-Lahore attack scenario, there was a need to improve the coordination between all the state institutions to check terrorism but the DG ISPR tweets did  otherwise. On Wednesday, during a press conference jointly addressed by the information minister and the DG ISPR, the latter again said that furthered the rift between the two sides.

Additionally, this situation tends to undermine the civilian supremacy as guaranteed by the Constitution and gives the impression as if the military is acting like a supra-governmental body over and above the country’s chief executive.

In case of any difference of opinion, the best course of action for both the sides should be to discuss such matters behind closed doors. It is encouraging to see that the federal as well as the Punjab governments are avoiding to publicly rebut the DG ISPR’s statement despite the embarrassment caused to them.

After the gory Lahore attack, which killed more than 70 innocent people, the DG ISPR in his tweet announced that the army chief had chaired a high-level security meeting, attended amongst others by the DG ISI and DG MI, and directed concerned commanders “to commence” operations as soon as possible.

Following this tweet, the media took up the issue in its headlines and raised the question if the civilian government had authorised the same.The next day another tweet of the DG ISPR said that the army chief had chaired a high-level security meeting at the GHQ to review the progress of the operation in Punjab to nab terrorists in the aftermath of the Lahore blast. The DG ISPR added that intelligence agencies with the army and Rangers carried out five operations in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan since last night.

On this, when the Punjab law minister was confronted by the media, he denied that there was anything wrong or that the army was acting on its own without the consultation or approval of the provincial government.

The next day, on Wednesday, again these differences were made public in a joint press conference addressed by Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and DG ISPR Lt Gen Bajwa.

During the press conference, a journalist asked the question if the military operation in Punjab had the backing of the provincial government. On this, Pervaiz Rashid said that it was the provincial government’s prerogative to decide which force and how much of the force would be required to act against any terrorist group.

He added that if there was a need, the army could be requisitioned for such operations. After the information minister finished, the DG ISPR told the press conference that it was agreed in the National Action Plan that there would be action against terrorists, their sleeper cells, hideouts, etc, in every part of the country.

He added that the Punjab operations had already been started with a larger scope. He was also quoted by the media to having said, “There is an overreaching objective of eradicating terrorism. Therefore, whatever force is required and wherever is required, operation will be conducted.”

This press conference also led the media to discuss the differences between the two sides.Many believe that the military’s action may be justified even if the Punjab government did have some reservations to this, but making their differences public will not serve the purpose but would create further complications.

After the Lahore attack, the prime minister and army chief have been holding meetings separately and have yet to sit together for a coordinated effort. It is said that such a meeting is the right forum to discuss the irritants and reservations.

In another matter, which concerns the DG ISPR tweet issue, is the controversy created following the recent meeting between the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the army chief General Raheel Sharif.

The DG ISPR tweet said that the army chief had discussed the issue of RAW’s involvement in Pakistan’s internal affairs, especially in Balochistan. However, the same evening the Iranian president denied that the RAW issue was discussed in the meeting. The Iranian president instead talked about the rumours which, he said, are spread every time an effort is made to bring Pakistan and Iran closer.It is said that press releases of such meetings should be ideally issued by the Foreign Office as such matters demand an extra care and involve serious sensitivities.