While we were still enjoying the joke being circulated on SMS on the difference between Pakistani and Indian democracies – that in India government determines the age of army chief while in Pakistan it’s the army chief who determines the government’ age – then came a real news as well. It’s not a joke but a dark reality – the Supreme Court has accepted a case against ‘possible’ removal of army chief and DG ISI. The apex court has asked the attorney general to get a written confirmation from the government that it has no intention to remove the two generals.
As per constitution, army chief reports to defence secretary who in turn reports to the defence minister. Now, the court is asking a written confirmation from the prime minister that he will not remove a subordinate (not a direct subordinate but at a third or fourth ranking in the hierarchy). Do we need another joke to be circulated? Why can’t we change the constitution to reflect the ground realities? This will save the court a substantial time for some constructive cases as well.
MASOOD KHAN
Jubail, Saudi Arabia
