This letter is in apropos to a recent news item “There will be no military coup, assures Kayani” published in your newspaper. The army is supposed to be subservient to the civilian rule, so they should not interfere in the government of the country.
Ideally, in a democratic state, even such assurances from the army chiefs that there will be no coup are seen with disdain. However, in Pakistan, the words from military leadership are seen to be more authentic than civilian rulers. Army is still very strong in Pakistan, and this can be witnessed in the recent Memogate issue.
A few days back, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani used not so nice words for army. He practically mocked them over the issue of Osama bin Laden. Army has genuine reasons and excuses right now for being angry over the political setup, that it is highly corrupt and has been unable to deliver.
Still, the army chief came out saying that they would uphold the constitution. That’s very encouraging, but one wonders whether it is because generals have really learned their lesson to obey the constitution or because of some weakness.
There are many reasons to believe that the army is not as strong as it used to be. In recent past there have been numerous incidents which have damaged the image and morale of the army. There has been attack on GHQ in Rawalpindi and ISI headquarters were blown up in Lahore.
The most damaging of all was the OBL incident, and it raised many question whether the army can defend the country if such an operation can be carried out by a foreign force right besides the capital. These issues might have forced army on the back foot as they are not in a position of a coup d’état now.
Whether the army is weak or not, it is good for the civilian government that military rule is out of question at the moment. It will help in the evolution of democratic institutions in Pakistan. However, the civilian government should also learn its responsibilities and resolve the public issues.
Democratic government should also give the army the respect it deserves.
SULTAN MEHMOOD
Lahore
Looks like all the institutions such a judiciary, army and media are joining hands to oust a democratically elected government. All of these other institutions are not directly accountable to people but government is. It will be best to wait for general elections, if they care about democracy.
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