Double, double, toil and trouble

Appointing the new COAS

The PMLN government which is used to nominating acting heads of vital government departments when cronies are not readily available faces a dilemma in the appointment of the new COAS as in this case ad hoc appointments are not permissible . The decision continues to be delayed despite the fact that the appointment has to be made by the end of next month. There is a perception that the recent tension between the government and the army caused by the leakage of a high level security meeting has added to government’s worries which was already looking for a safe COAS.

The government has had enough time to take the decision. The process for the selection of the COAS should have begun soon after Gen Raheel Sharif announced last year that he would not seek extension. What is more the Prime Minister is no novice. Of the seven army chiefs after Gen Zia, five were handpicked by Nawaz Sharif. The Prime Minster should have understood by now that any general appointed to the powerful post would soon become his own man. Further, the only realistic way to keep the army within its constitutional limits is to strengthen democratic institutions, practice good governance and instead of acting arbitrarily take the opposition along.

The Prime Minister would have received the dossier of all the generals eligible to be army chiefs from the GHQ along with the views of Gen Raheel Sharif. The intelligence reports about the generals’ views about the system, war on terror and relations with India and the US would also have been on his table gathering dust. This should help him to take a decision at the earliest. There are some who think that instead of making a personal choice the safest way would be to abide by the principle of seniority. This implies that while the senior most four star officer from any of the three services can be made the CJSC the post of the COAS has to go to the senior most army general.