Finally, a new army chief

But will the army be depoliticised?

After speculations spread over months, Gen Raheel Sharif, third in line of seniority, has finally been appointed the new COAS. This shows that Nawaz Sharif’s views favouring the appointment of the senior most general to the post subsequently underwent change. There were in fact pronouncements by party leaders during the last couple of months which indicated that seniority might not be the sole consideration for the job.

There was however no justification for delay in announcing the name of Gen Kayani’s successor which led to unnecessary suspense and gave birth to all kinds of surmises besides making the issue a subject of debate in the media. In any case, the COAS had to be chosen from a small group of four to five senior generals. Their personal files could have provided all the information about their professional competence to determine which one was best qualified to hit the ground running. In addition the prime minister could have sought reports from agencies about the non-professional aspect of the life of each of them. The exercise could have been completed in a couple of months if not weeks and announcement made accordingly. Nawaz Sharif was presumably extra cautious on account of his bitter experience of Pervez Musharraf, who overthrew the PML-N’s elected government despite having been appointed for his avowed loyalty. Things have however changed since 1999. The major political parties in the opposition are no more willing to court the army. Despite its much criticized penchant for judicial activism, the superior judiciary is committed to supporting democracy. The presence of a vibrant independent media is another deterrent to the man on the horseback. But still, the old habits die hard

The most effective way of putting an end to Bonapartist tendencies is to improve governance and people’s livelihood and run the country through consensus. The parliament rather than the army should formulate policy decisions on the basis of informed recommendations prepared by parliamentary committees after receiving institutional inputs from all stake holders. While Gen. Kayani supported democracy, major defence and foreign policy decisions continued to be taken throughout his tenure by the GHQ. Similarly despite Kayani’s recognition of the existential threat posed by extremism and militancy, there was little change in the age old military doctrine that considered India as the major enemy. The moral: As long as the GHQ takes crucial policy decisions, no army chief can depoliticise the institution.