Chinks in armoury

Head of PPP Media Cell

Hats off to General Raheel Sharif who had hung his army chief uniform as per his words after the completion of his three years successful and eventful tenure. He indefatigably chased terrorists and nailed them down bringing qualitative improvement in the law and order situation in general and in Karachi in particular. He had set the highest standards for his successor or successors who would most likely endeavour to prove worthy of this part of his legacy.

It was also hoped that his placing of the institution above personal preferences would be adhered to by them as well. For, indispensability of an individual fundamentally construes the weakness of the institution. At the same time, it also pointed out finger to the personal aggrandisement of the incumbent mandarin seeking an extension. Nation showered its appreciations on General Raheel Sharif for resisting such temptations and kept his words without being subjected to the fumbling of second thought or after thought.

He had earned well deserved reverence among all the sections of society. It may be mentioned here that the major opposition parties were also not in favour of giving him extension because it had the inherent tendency of pushing in the direction of politicisation. In that case, the institution would be relegated to the secondary stratum asphyxiating the stature of the institution the General represented. General Raheel Sharif had proved his mettle as army chief, and also a proud son of the family that had defended the country with its blood.

The prime minister also did not pay heed to the subtle pressures mounted in favour of an extension through the lobbies in media, too well known elements including the retired army officers. Of course, the prime minister had his own compelling reasons not to accord extension in the background of uneasy civil-military relations during the three years of former army chief’s watch. General Raheel Sharif also apparently did not drop a hint to the effect although some lobbies were active perhaps at their own to grind their trivial axis.

It would be unfair if a chink in his armoury, referred to by a distinguished media personality, editor and columnist, was not mentioned exemplifying a fly in the ointment in his otherwise glorious service career. The regretful facet of General Raheel Sharif’s tenure was his support for General Musharraf aimed at circumventing his appearance in the court of law to face the charges under the Article 6 of the Constitution. All anecdotal evidences suggested that he used his authority to defeat the purpose of the supremacy of the law and the administration of justice. His role could not be given benefit of doubt because he purportedly put his weight behind General Musharraf’s exit from the country without facing the consequences of his ghastly culpability of twice suspending the Constitution. Its avoidance would have earned him very special place in the history as a defender of democracy by upholding the cause of the primary law of the land.

The present government was equally responsible for the general going scot free because it did not contest his exit and seemingly succumbed to the pressure keeping in view the compelling reasons of survival strategy. Their earlier tall claims sounded hallow when they reiterated time and again that General Musharraf would be brought in the dock and justice would be done even heaven might fall. That did not happen and he was now enjoying life abroad notwithstanding his arrest warrants issued recently by an Islamabad Court.

The other chink in his armoury was his resolve against one of the media groups of the country for speaking out against certain policies pursued by the Khakis. He had now disappeared from the scene but the media group was there serving the nation and the freedom of expression. His intention would continue to cast aspersions on him for considering muzzling the media group.

The appointment of Qamar Javed Bajwa as new Army Chief had been welcomed by all as an excellent decision hoping that he would follow the terrorists to the gates of hell like his predecessor, and at the same time maintain good working relationship with other stakeholders within the ambits of the constitution. Leading his team in this direction holistically would make him a highly respected and exceptional army chief committed to conducting himself as per the advice given by the Quaid-i-Azam in January 1948 at the Staff College Quetta while delivering speech after an oath administering ceremony of the officers. The Quaid said, ‘officers should extend their total allegiance to the constitution in letter and spirit. This aspect was being discussed in all public forums forcefully suggesting that army leadership should not only be operating within the ambits of the constitution but also be seen to be working so. The tail wagging the dog should be jettisoned which had been the perennial case in the foreign/security policies of this country unfortunately.

The track record of the host of holders of the most powerful office of the army gave credence to the reality that the Quaid’s advice had fallen on their deaf ears as the country remained under the rule of dictators more than the civilians. Autocrats had left the country embroiled in the ideological, political, diplomatic and economic mess of appalling proportion. The resultant crippling aftermaths had been choking the national life in all possible ways. Their pursuit of foreign and security polices, devoid of the aspirations of the people, had entangled the nation in a vicious circle of unmitigated predicaments. Nation had been struggling since then to recover from the successive traumas but the full recovery was yet not in sight any time soon.

Successive autocrats’ iron-fist policy of persecution, victimisation and deceits had played havoc with the nation. The dictators dehumanised the politicians, unleashed wave of terror and victimisation, held sham referendums to seek legitimacy in vain. They had to face disrespectful ouster in the real sense of the word because of their blunders causing irreparable losses to the nation. General Ayub Khan destroyed the basis of national unity when he abrogated 1956 constitution, General Yayha Khan’s foolhardiness hastened the emergence of Bangladesh, India occupied Siachin during General Ziaul Haq watch and Kargil debacle was the hare-brained idea of General Musharraf. History of the country would bear it out without an iota of contradiction that they were responsible for lynching the Pakistan of the Quaid-i-Azam in myriad ways in their bids to have their pound of flesh—to perpetuate their illegitimate rule no matter what.

There is consensus among the political historians that dictators were purveyors of the national woes of appalling proportion as they destroyed the civil institutions on purpose and did not allow the political system to pass through the evolution that was necessary for its growth and refinement. The intermittent disruptions at gun point in the political process created all sort of mess the nation had been in since their departure from the corridors of power. It was hard to find any significant achievements of worth mentioning during their entire periods those resulted in the national integration and cohesion. Their coercive and self-serving policies instead sowed the seeds of political and economic alienation among the smaller provinces and the respective people.

On the contrary, civilian rules although did not usher an eras of milk and honey in the country but they kept the country on track despite working in an atmosphere akin to between the deep sea and rock. The lists of their far reaching achievements were many. They deserved richest tributes because not an inch of territory of the country was occupied by the enemy during civilian/democratic governments. Instead, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto retrieved thousands square miles of territory from India occupied during General Yayha’s tenure. Sir Feroz Khan Noon, Prime Minister of Pakistan, added Gwadar in the landmass of the country. It was another manifestation of the vision of the civilian leader as how far he could gaze into future?

The vision of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto deserved highest appreciations as they conceived and matured the Pakistan’s nuclear programme and equipped the country’s defence with the state of the art missile technology. Both the elected prime ministers made the defence of the country impregnable in the real sense. It was their vision followed by the comprehensive and integrated action plans for making Pakistan a nuclear power nation capable of defending its territorial integrity in absolute terms. As a matter of fact, no aggressor now could dare to caste an evil eye on Pakistan. The nation owed this status to the great Bhuttos who had saved the nation from the worst kind of nuclear blackmail emanating from India juxtaposed with credible danger to the national independence.

The nation had been grappling to stand on its feet since the nation got rid of dictators. The success seemed far-fetched cry yet unfortunately but it was surely and steadily on the trajectory. The nation’s remarkable resilience had kept the doomsday at bay. The Constitution of 1973 had proved as the greatest instrument of stability and integrity among the federating units. The nation was bound to march on the path of stability, peace and prosperity while conducting its affairs according to the Constitution and democratic ethos. Pakistan and democracy were inseparable. Only democracy and its continuity were the ultimate solutions of all problems facing the nation. Founder of the nation stood for it. Why dictators were hell bound to defy the benefactor of the nation?

muhammadshaheedi@yahoo.com