Gen Raheel snubs sycophants

 A big round of applause for army chief

News Analysis

ISLAMABAD: General Raheel Sharif deserves a big round of applause after he has proved himself a true professional by declining to get an extension as the army chief.

He was considered by many as a strong candidate deserving an extension but he snubbed all such voices of sycophancy or even those who in good faith wanted him to continue beyond the three-year statutory tenure.

“Pakistan Army is a great institution. I don’t believe in extension and will retire on the due date….. Pakistan’s national interest is supreme and will be safeguarded at all costs,” this is how General Raheel responded to the growing demand in favour of his extension.

There could be no better answer than this to what has been suggested during the recent weeks and months by many, including the media and politicians. General Raheel’s ‘No’ to extension, by all means, is a great service to the institution of army whose professionalism, integrity and repute have been repeatedly compromised in the past by ambitious generals, including extension seekers. He has proved that individuals, no matter how outstanding they are, should not get precedence over institutions.

He has shown to those who were portraying him as “irreplaceable” that no one is indispensable. He has made known to all and sundry that the institution of the Pakistan Army is great and is not dependent on any individual.

More importantly, he timely realised how sycophants could turn a great general into a failed soldier.General Raheel initially proved his credentials of a true soldier when in 2014 he reportedly dismissed the campaign of some “ambitious” but influential generals to oust the Nawaz Sharif government.

He also did not endorse or take benefit from the 2014 “London Plan”, which allegedly included the role of some disgruntled elements from the ISI.After the launch of Zarb-e-Azb and its great successes, General Raheel’s popularity touched new heights and his services were acclaimed both nationally and internationally.

From here, sycophants within the media started demanding an extension for the army chief while he had over one year to go to complete his present tenure.Now General Raheel has killed all the speculations about his extension. He still has almost 10 months left as the chief of the army staff. While his latest statement reiterated his resolve to continue his fight against terrorism, he is a general who during his remaining tenure could also focus on how to depolitisize the military establishment in the best interest of Pakistan and the army.

Pakistan needs apolitical and professional Generals like Raheel Sharif to effectively meet the security challenges, both internal and external.There has been no dearth of ambitious and conspiring generals, both in the army and the ISI, who have been misusing the state institutions for their personal gains and vested interests.

General Raheel has the time to review the present systems of the army and ISI to correct what makes some individuals to use the institutions for their personal gains. If there is a need of installing a system of check and balance, it should be done as early as possible ensuring that nobody can lead the country’s prime defence institutions to lose focus.

In the past, it was the political cell of the ISI which has been generally involved in controversial matters including political interferences, making and breaking of political parties and governments.

With a professional army chief and apolitical and reputed Director General ISI (Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar) presently in the field, this is the best time to chalk out a future plan of action for a politics-free ISI.

One grey area of the otherwise illustrious tenure of General Raheel is General Pervez Musharraf. It was during Gen Raheel’s tenure that the former dictator was seen finding the support of the military establishment to escape his trial. Pakistan direly needs a rule of law, which demands no sympathy for those trampling the Constitution.