Musharraf’s  statement   

Of matters military

A sly politician as he is, Musharraf has tried to damage both the PML-N  government and the  judiciary  by maintaining that Gen Raheel Sharif (rtd) who was then the COAS helped him flee Pakistan. Musharraf hated Nawaz Sharif and dreaded the Supreme Court. His statement was meant to convey that the PML-N  government  is powerless and the Supreme Court manageable. The statement also maintains that an army chief manipulated the legal process through the Prime Minister. What impact the friendly fire will have on the army’s reputation remains to be seen.

The PPP and PML-N have sporadically tried to retrieve the turf occupied by the army  albeit in the wrong way. Unused to democratic methods and unwilling to  thrash out the pros and cons of vital issues in parliament, the elected Prime Ministers make decisions in the style of hereditary rulers and are keen to exercise power without any restraint. When Zardari announced  in 2008 that he was  ready to commit to a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons or when the PPP government announced placing the ISI under the direct control of the interior division, they did not bother to discuss  the matter with the opposition or bring the issue to  Parliament. Both statements had to be retracted under pressure from  the army. Nawaz Sharif acted like a partisan rather than an unbiased arbitrator in the Geo-versus ISI affair.  A few months back the  report of a high level meeting on security matters was leaked  to the media which was followed by attempts to cover up the matter. Yet another section of the politicians tries to come to power by inviting the army to subvert the constitution.

The  army too needs to realise that it is not trained to run the country or manage the foreign affairs . It will be respected more if it acts like a professional army which respects the system instead of interfering in it. Meanwhile,  there is a need to conduct an enquiry into  the validity of Musharraf’s remarks.