Why disturb civil military relations?

This refers to the article, ‘Civil-military equilibrium’ (August 22) by Babar Sattar. Neither does the ISI operate in the manner discussed in the article nor in isolation. Theoretically, the ISI comes under the command of the prime minister and does not enjoy the status of an autonomous body. Practically, it is answerable to the army chief and takes orders from him. Nothing can be kept secret from the army chief. Moreover, no retired general can influence an in-service general. In fact they avoid meeting each other except on ceremonial occasions
The writer says: “It is no secret that General Sharif was not the expected choice for the position of chief.” This shows that the system of selection of army chief is not known to the writer. It is the prerogative of the prime minister to pick any one out of the three names received from the GHQ, and he may also send back the summary to include some new names. Moreover, corps commanders cannot dictate to the army chief or show dissent once a decision is taken. No doubt the present army chief has no ambitions, neither do the rest of the generals. It is not for the army chief to carry out any operation without the approval of the prime minister. For a change let us accept that civilian supremacy is gradually taking its roots. Let us not undermine the authority of the prime minister. It is too early to suggest his successor.
Lt-Col (r) Mukhtar Ahmed Butt
Karachi