The Supreme Court has been asked to order conferring the title of field marshal on Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif.
The petition is an appeal moved by Sardar Adnan Saleem Khan Mazari — an executive member of the District Bar Association Rawalpindi — against the Oct 18 judgement of the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench which had rejected the same plea.
He contended that the IHC’s order is illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional without taking into consideration the merit of the said post which is globally recognised and Pakistan is no exception.
“That the exemplary, outstanding and professional performance during peace and war time with total dedication and devotion by attaining the highest standards and mastery in battlefield our present COAS needs national appreciation, award and recognition; and in our constitution of Pakistan no tenure/period of COAS is enshrined anywhere,” the appellant contended.
In the appeal, Sardar Mazari traced the history of field marshals and stated that the late President Muhammad Ayub Khan had also served at the same post, which showed that such posts existed in Pakistan.
The federal government through the cabinet division, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the defence ministry were named as respondents in the petition.
Sardar Mazari pleaded that Gen Raheel had “demonstrated visionary leadership to the people of Pakistan as well as the security forces by setting an example as a trailblazer and role model for others by giving new direction and hope for the nation in consonance with the constitutional frontiers of Pakistan”.
He contended that Gen Raheel’s exemplary, outstanding and professional performance during “peace and war with dedication and devotion by attaining the highest standards and mastery in battlefield suggested the army chief should be appreciated nationally by awarding and recognising his services”.
“It is a universal and divine law that whosoever rendered his services for the nation and humanity at a larger scale in an extraordinary, exemplary and selfless manner should be elevated to the highest level of the military hierarchy,” the appeal said.
Thus, the high court’s order was arbitrary, misconceived against the law and principle of good governance, Sardar Mazari argued.
He also highlighted the ‘Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2016’ report which stated that Pakistan recorded a substantial decrease in terrorist activities last year, with 45 per cent fewer attacks and 38pc fewer deaths reported.
This is the second consecutive year in which Pakistan has seen a reduction in terrorist activities. Terrorism in the country is now at its lowest level since 2006, stated the report which was released by the US-based Institute for Economics and Peace, an independent think-tank.
Similarly the GTI report, based on data from the Global Terrorism Database which was collated by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, a department of the Homeland Security Centre of Excellence led by the University of Maryland, also stated that Pakistan had the third largest decline in deaths.
There were 677 fewer deaths in Pakistan. As a result, Pakistan had the lowest number of deaths from terrorism since 2008, the report said.
The petition argued that the reduction in deaths from terrorism was in part explained by Zarb-i-Azb being carried out by the Pakistan Army. The operation, it said, focused on removing militants’ safe havens in North Waziristan.
Sardar Mazari’s petition said that Pakistan continued to see a decline in its levels of terrorism due to infighting within the largest active group, the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, as well as to the operations of the army in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
-Focus shifts to race for Gen Raheel’s successor-
As General Raheel Sharif formally started his farewell visits on Monday and by doing so put at rest all speculations about a possible extension in his tenure, the focus has now shifted on to who will be his successor.
Defence sources claim that Gen Raheel Sharif has suggested that the PM appoints two senior-most officers against the top military posts.
“The army chief has suggested that Lt Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat might be elevated as the new Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) chairman, while Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem should be appointed as the new army chief. The recent military exercise in Khairpur Tamewali was meant to impress the PM with operational skills of Gen Ishfaq,” a well-placed source in the federal government told the Pakistan Today.
PM Nawaz Sharif has quite an extensive experience of making army appointments. He has picked five out of the seven army chiefs since the departure of General Ziaul Haq. Army chiefs appointed by PM Nawaz Sharif are Gen Asif Nawaz Janjua (1991), Gen Waheed Kakar (1993), Gen Pervez Musharraf (1998), Gen Ziauddin Butt (1999) and Gen Raheel Sharif (2013). It would be the sixth time the premier will be picking the new army chief.
Traditionally, the outgoing army chief also gives his input for the appointment of his successor, though his recommendations are not binding on the prime minister.
At the time of Gen Raheel’s retirement, current Chief of General Staff (CJS) Lt-Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat will be the senior-most general, followed by Corps Commander Multan Lt-Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmed. This means, barring any exception, Gen Hayat is likely to be elevated as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) while Gen Nadeem is expected to be appointed as the next army chief.
However, next two generals in seniority list – Corps Commander Bahawlpur Lt-Gen Javed Iqbal Ramday and Inspector General Training and Evaluation in the GHQ Lt-Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa – are not out of the race either.
Military sources said all four generals have an ‘impeccable career’ and are capable both as ‘strategists and operational commanders’.
The announcement of the appointment of the new army chief and CJSC is expected on November 27.
Read more: Who will be the new army chief?