And the one ahead
The incumbent government came into power through the general elections conducted in May 2013 and Mian Nawaz Sharif was elected prime minister of this country for the third term, which is unprecedented in the political history of Pakistan. The previous government of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which ruled the country for five years from 2008 to 2013, had to face severe interventions from the judiciary and military establishment on several occasions, as claimed by the leadership of PPP many times.
Similarly, it was said during the early days of the incumbent government that it was unable to play its cards freely as the hyper-active then Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Chaudhry was in full swing at that time. After some time, PML-N got a new CJ and also a new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) in the form of General Raheel Sharif. A number of ups and downs erupted during the tenure of this government and certain lacunas need to be addressed in the next year. It is, therefore, pertinent to analyse the performance of the incumbent government in the outgoing year.
National security:
The national security of the country took central stage just after the tragic incident of Army Public School (APS) Peshawar in which more than 130 children were brutally massacred. In the aftermath of APS, the government vowed to implement the National Action Plan (NAP) in order to curb militancy and extremism. Military courts were established to implement NAP vigorously.
The national security of the country took central stage just after the tragic incident of Army Public School (APS) Peshawar in which more than 130 children were brutally massacred
The barbaric attack at the Pakistan Air Force Base in Badaber, Peshawar at a time when the operation Zarb-e-Azb was in full swing, has raised many questions about our security apparatus. Tackling hate speech was an integral part of NAP but one can witness that this clause could not be implemented in letter and spirit as the cleric of Lal Masjid, Maulana Abdul Aziz, still dares to challenge the writ of the state and incites his disciples bluntly.
Prominent defence and security analyst Shahzad Chaudhry told DNA that it seemed like NAP was being implemented in Karachi only. He was of the view that no effort was made to curb hate speech despite the fact that it was a core point of NAP.
According to Chaudhry, our various problems of national security can be resolved in the year if the National Action Plan is implemented fully.
It is a matter of fact that the war against terror can be won by owning this war. The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that we do not own this fight against terror as our own war. The provincial Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami from Punjab, Mian Maqsood Ahmad, told DNA that America’s war has been spread to every nook and corner of Pakistan. When asked about the progress of NAP, he said it must be initiated against financial terrorists and the plunderers of the national exchequer instead of launching raids on religious seminaries.
“The government is trying to destroy the religious literature under the disguise of National Action Plan and not arresting the culprits of May 2007 riots of Karachi in which more than 250 people were put on fire alive”, he maintained.
He was of the view that the Karachi Operation has failed miserably as the atmosphere of terror still exists in the city.
Foreign policy
Foreign policy plays a vital role in forming the policies of a country and it is being said that the military establishment of Pakistan controls the foreign policy of this country. The incumbent government, after coming into power, tried to take control of foreign policy by developing good relations with India, but civil military relations started to decline soon after this and the civilian government abandoned the idea to take control of it.
Civil military relations have been a central topic in the politics of Pakistan since the inception of this country and it seems this debate would last for some time to come, at least
Afghanistan is regarded as a crucial country from our foreign policy point of view. It was unprecedented in the history of both countries that the newly elected president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, visited the General Head Quarter (GHQ) Rawalpindi and the Pakistan army decided to train Afghan forces as well. This bonhomie did not last long and mutual relations started to decline with accusations from both sides and our COAS rushed to Afghanistan just after the APS attack in order to record his protest. We have witnessed that a delegation comprising Pakhtun Nationalist leaders was sent to Afghanistan to normalise ties.
LG polls:
The year 2015 would be remembered throughout the political history of Pakistan as this was the year when first party based local bodies elections were held in the whole country. The people got an ample chance to elect their representatives and democracy reached to the grass root level. It is being said that these local representatives would play an important part in the next general elections as well and therefore, political parties are nominating the people with carefully to head the district governments.
Civil Military Relations:
Civil military relations have been a central topic in the politics of Pakistan since the inception of this country and it seems this debate would last for some time to come, at least. There was some frictions in these relations in 2015 as the tour of COAS to America just after the visit of prime minister’s raised many questions. The debate regarding extension of the incumbent COAS has surfaced keeping in view that he has successfully developed a following among the common people. The tenure of General Raheel Sharif will expire on 29th of November next year and it is yet to be answered what line of action the military command will take after his retirement.
