Masters of the universe

The 139th Corps Commanders Conference was held in Rawalpindi on Thursday June 9, 2011. The ISPR press release about the meeting would make for funny reading, if it was not for the fact that it is terribly sad. Sad that the armed forces and the immortals that were gathered around the table cannot see what they have become and what they are inflicting on the nation that has fed them and that, even today, wants to support them in processes that will reform them.

Coming in the wake of Osama Bin Laden raid, the PNS Mehran raid, the murder of Saleem Shahzad, and the on-camera killing of Sarfraz Shah in Karachi, the Press Release is telling in that it does not even try to address any of these concerns. After decades of control over all things in the country, its resources, its economy, governance and even its narratives about all important matters, the statement just tells us how out of touch the army top command is from the people of Pakistan and their concerns.

A couple of examples should suffice here.

“The participants noted with regret that despite briefing the joint session of the Parliament and deferring the ultimate findings to the Commission appointed by the Government, some quarters, because of their perceptual biases, were trying to deliberately run down the Armed Forces and army in particular.

This is an effort to drive a wedge between the army, different organs of the state and more seriously, the people of Pakistan whose support the army has always considered vital for its operations against terrorists. COAS noted that in order to confront the present challenges, it is critical to stand united as a Nation. Any effort to create divisions between important institutions of the country is not in our national interest. The participants agreed that all of us should take cognizance of this unfortunate trend and put an end to it.”

When the incompetence of the forces has been shown so clearly, and the army accepted it as well, how can we, the people, try to ‘run down the armed forces’? You, sir, are doing a pretty good job of that yourself as we have seen in OBL raid as well as in PNS Mehran case. And through a long line of previous incidents. After the murder of Saleem Shahzad and the on-camera performance of Rangers in Karachi, are the people still trying to ‘drive a wedge? You sir, again, are the one who has driven more than a wedge, and it is not just between the people and the army. And again, this is not a few incidents over the last few months. We should not forget the citizens who have gone missing, some have shown up dead in ditches around the country, others are still missing and a few have been released after torture and beatings.

“As far as drone attacks are concerned, army has repeatedly conveyed to all concerned that these are not acceptable under any circumstances. There is no room for ambiguity in this regard. Government is making necessary efforts in this direction, COAS said.” Again, is this really all the Forces can do given that they have been in control of foreign, defence, and even law and order policies in the country, irrespective of form of government, for the last 60 plus years? And then there is the lovely WikiLeaks that have been revealing something else about the top army brass and their attitudes on drones.

But the saddest example comes from comments about military aid from the US. The Press Release says the money was not $13-15 billion, it was only $10 billion. But this is in addition to the hefty local budgetary allocations. Be that as it may, the immortals would like to make a nice gesture to the rest of the country. And so they say that economic aid is more important than military aid and the government should divert money coming for the military to the economy. This is just so rich and bigoted that one cannot even fathom the depth that this comment is coming from.

The military has gotten bulk of the US aid not just in the last decade but in earlier decades as well. In fact, it is the military to military relationship that has been the main relationship that we have had with the US for decades now. But since the recent pressure – OBL killing showed how much the US establishment trusts the Pakistani counterpart – the military felt the need to make this statement. It is truly putting salt on national wounds. The $600 million odd or less a year that civilian side has been getting as aid from US was not crucial to the people of Pakistan and is not. But can the military do without ‘aid’ from the US? Since the generals know the US will not stop giving them money, making such statements clearly costs them nothing.

Finally we come to the mother of all statements in the Press Release: “Army leadership reaffirmed its resolve to continue supporting the democratic system without any preference to any particular political party.” This is so typical. Here are ‘masters’ of Pakistan telling us that they will let the democratic system function. In any other state this would be considered grounds for removal from service. They are in the service of Pakistan and under oath to do the bidding of the people of Pakistan, expressed through the Constitution and laws of the country. Yet, it is the wielders of guns who are telling us that they will ‘continue supporting the democratic system’.

Clearly the armed forces are taking losses and facing a difficult situation, like the citizens of the country. If 3000 military personnel have been killed in the War on Terror, 30,000 plus civilians have lost lives too. It is also clear that the governance mechanisms in the country need major reform. The military cannot be allowed to continue to be ‘masters’ and they cannot mask their incompetence, mistakes, or complicity by just being aggressive against the citizens and trying to repress legitimate criticism.

It would have been better if the military had recognised and acknowledged the need for reforms. It seems, whether they realise their limitations or not, they are going to maintain the façade of their infallibility, and use fear or generation of hysteria to continue repressing the legitimate demands for reform, transparency, and accountability. The case for reform, it appears, will have to be won through the blood of many more citizens.

The writer is an Associate Professor of Economics at LUMS (currently on leave) and a Senior Advisor at Open Society Foundation (OSF). He can be reached at [email protected]