Speculations rife as to the purpose of the meeting
With the first civilian power transition coming to its end, everyone that has any stakes in the matters political is trying to ensure they retain their influence. Given the unique position Pakistan’s military holds in our politics, it is no wonder that the Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani went to see the future Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, at his residence in Lahore. The meeting may have been dubbed a “routine one” by both parties, its timing and the duration it lasted are surely not a routine. Nawaz Sharif has yet to take oath as prime minister; he is not in government rather government in waiting. So what compelled Gen Kayani, the most powerful military leader in the country, to visit a leader whose government is yet to take control of the reins in Islamabad?
Observers have dubbed the meeting as unusual, though looking at Kayani’s recent past actions doesn’t make it any suspicious. He telephoned Imran Khan a few days ago to inquire after his health. Apparently, he wants to have smooth relations with the next civilian government setup. A good step, if that indeed is the intention. However, certain developments make the sceptics be on their toes. As Gen Kayani is due to retire by November this year, another extension in his service might have come up though the N League supremo has been vocal against any extension. Kayani might also want to make sure the military and political leaderships are on the same page regarding war on terrorism. Also, with the US due to leave Afghanistan in the hands of Afghans, a unified strategy is a must to tackle the issues creating right thereof and thereafter, if a repeat of the effects of the last US withdrawal are to be avoided. Moreover, Pakistan’s military has taken a clear stand against the terrorists, as Gen Kayani’s past statements suggest, which appears to be at odds with the stand that the PML-N leader has taken recently. After the TTP designated PML-N as one of the parties they were willing to talk to for peace, the N League, a right wing conservative party, has been vocal in taking up their offer for real. If that indeed is what the two leaders discussed – some of the PML-N’s leaders have said that the meeting revolved around issues of internal and external security – then there is nothing to it.
But there is one other matter that may just spoil all the good things out of this meeting: what to do with former dictator General Pervez Musharraf. If Gen Kayani insisted on saving his former boss, as certain events hint at like Ijazul Haq saying that “Musharraf will leave the country before swearing-in of the new (PML-N) government” and Ashraf Ghumman withdrawing his petition on judges’ detention case in the ‘larger national interest’, the sceptics might be right that there was an agenda behind the meeting. And that doesn’t sound too good for democracy and justice. Nonetheless, one hopes that both the sides have been, and prove to be, wiser and neither causes any harm to the democratic process or obstruct justice.