The general question

Confirmation from Defence Minister Khawaja Asif that former army chief Gen Raheel Sharif would be granted a No-Objection Certificate to head the Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism has finally ended months of speculation and uncertainty over the future of the retired general. A lot of that uncertainty was created by Asif himself, who told the Senate in January that Gen Raheel had not requested an NoC and that his trip to Saudi Arabia was mistakenly hyped by the media as an offer to head the military alliance when he had actually gone to perform umrah. Asif at the time also gave an interview confirming Saudi Arabia had asked Gen Raheel to head the alliance. Now, finally, that confusion has been lifted. Gen Raheel’s post-retirement career is likely to be controversial back home since it is peculiar for a former army chief – especially one as lauded as Gen Raheel Sharif – to immediately resume a new role as a private individual. For good or for ill, his leadership of this alliance will be linked to Pakistan’s policy in the region. That creates a problem for Pakistan since parliament explicitly passed a resolution against involving ourselves in the Middle East back in 2015 when Saudi Arabia wanted us to join its war in Yemen; and we only vowed to stand side-by-side with Saudi Arabia should its territory be threatened. The PTI has already used this resolution as a reason to oppose giving Raheel Sharif an NoC and many others will feel the same way too.

Already, there have been reports of Pakistani involvement in the various Middle Eastern wars. Last week, the Middle East Eye reported that Pakistani was planning to deploy a brigade to Saudi Arabia to protect its border with Yemen. The claim was instantly denied by Khawaja Asif but then, a few days later, the minister said in an interview that discussions were ongoing between Islamabad and Riyadh and that a final decision was yet to be taken. The presence of Gen Raheel Sharif in Saudi Arabia may end up increasing pressure on us to be more deeply involved in the region. The different wars in the Middle East have found the two major powers in the region – Saudi Arabia and Iran – on different sides. It is in Pakistan’s interest to maintain good relations with both countries. There is a chance that the general’s deployment will complicate that. In the end, it is the government which has the authority to decide if Gen Raheel Sharif can take up the post and it should make a final decision based only on what is best for the country.