Not looking at the elephant in the room
Singling out the media for bringing under critical focus the role of the army and the intelligence agencies is tantamount to barking up the wrong tree. No responsible citizen would ever find fault with the army if it sticks to its mission of defending the country, and the security agencies if they confine their activities to foiling the conspiracies hatched by the external enemies. The military leadership has to ask itself why the Parliament and judiciary are also expressing concern over what they consider as glaring wrongdoings by the army-controlled agencies. On Wednesday, the National Assembly issued a call for formulating a law to tame the agencies. Earlier, the Senate passed a unanimous resolution condemning “abductions” and “forced disappearances” While hearing a number of petitions the Supreme Court has criticised the agencies for transcending their mandate. There is a need under the circumstances on the part of the military leadership to take cognisance of the elephant in the room.
Sorry, but taking up the Mehran Bank issue is not fighting with history. The interference by the agencies in politics continues to be a live issue despite Gen Kayani’s commitment to remain apolitical. Since 2008 scores of applicants from Balochistan and elsewhere have approached the SC with complaints of their relatives having been picked up by the agencies and kept incognito in violation of law. Despite the intervention by the SC, there is no respite to forced disappearances. In Balochistan, dead bodies of those forcibly taken away continue to appear bearing signs of torture. Media persons have accused agencies of threatening or kidnapping and torturing them. Fingers were raised towards the agencies when the dead body of a journalist was discovered from a canal. Despite an enquiry commission exonerating the agencies, international rights organisations continue to challenge the verdict.
None can accuse the highly decorated war hero Air Marshal (r) Asghar Khan of trying to weaken his own institution. Like most Pakistanis, he also wants an end to the role of the agencies in politics. It has to be understood that exposure of blunders strengthens the institutions. Cover ups, on the other hand, generate vulnerabilities over time that can be fatal.
