Compromise on civilian supremacy ruled out

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday held detailed deliberations with his key political and ministerial aides on the post-ISPR tweet situation and its implications for the future of democracy and constitutional rule in the country.

Informed sources said that the prime minister decided to hold a few more such consultative meetings in the coming days to chalk out a strategy to avoid the recurrence of such a situation in the future.

“It was a day of detailed brainstorming on the issue requiring serious and comprehensive discussion,” a source said, adding that the government has taken the ISPR tweet really seriously and is desirous of finding a durable solution to avoid such a situation in the future. 

These sources said that there has been no decision taken about the issuance of any further notification as the meeting in general agreed that what the prime minister had approved and conveyed through an executive order to concerned ministries was complete. “All the recommendations of the DawnLeaks Commission have been approved and implemented in letter and spirit,” a source, who attended the meeting, said, adding that there was no need for any further notification.

There was an agreement that the ISPR tweet, issued in indecent haste without understanding the PM’s office order, was unwarranted and had undermined the civilian supremacy as envisaged in the Constitution. It was said that such a response from a government institution tend to hurt democratic values and constitutional rule.

There was a consensus that the issue requires careful handling to avoid confrontation between institutions. However, it was said that any compromise on civilian supremacy would mean hurting the constitutional rule and democracy. 

The participants of the meeting, held under the PM, include Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Railways Minister Kh Saad Rafiq, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Irfan Siddiqi, former Information Minister Pervez Rashid and others.

The participants of the meeting were given the opportunity to freely express their views on the situation. The prime minister sounded upset over the ISPR tweet, which rejected his (prime minister’s) order whereas most of the participants agree that what the government did was fully in line with the Leaks Commission's recommendations.

When a participant of the meeting was asked by this correspondent about the issuance
of a notification to satisfy the military establishment, he said, on condition of not being named, “Which notification and for what purpose”.

He added that there is no ambiguity on part of the government that the PM’s Office order was “complete”, which not only conveyed the chief executive’s approval of all the recommendations of the commission but also directed the concerned ministries to take necessary action for the implementation of these recommendations.

According to one participant, it was also discussed in the meeting that if somebody believes that any part of the recommendations remains unimplemented, then let him point it out. According to sources, the PM will hold a few more such sessions to reach a decision regarding the strategy to be adopted to address the issue.