And so are the saviors
Very few see the prime minister, already scathed by the Panama leaks, walking absolutely free. The PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf), that ever since 2013 has been trying to oust the Sharifs by hook or by crook, is already claiming victory
Not once but twice in a week we have been informed by no less than the army chief himself that the military stands by democracy in Pakistan. First it was the PTI chief Imran Khan who gave the good news after calling upon General Qamar Javed Bajwa last Friday that democracy was, after all, safe and secure. And a few days later the general, while addressing Pakistanis at the High Commission in London, personally reassured the nation that democracy was inviolable.
Are there some doubting Thomases that are worried about the future of democracy in the country and hence need to be reassured? We had (rightly) assumed that since two general elections have been held followed by peaceful transfer of power after Gen Musharraf’s exit in 2008, democracy is now secure.
Perhaps for the first time in the country’s unsavoury history of the boots trampling democratic institutions an elected government completed its term in 2013 albeit with a lot of hiccups. And the subsequently elected PML-N government will soon enter its fifth year in office.
Most likely the only wild card in the pack is the much-awaited verdict by the apex court on Panamagate involving the prime minister and his family. All kind of speculation is rife in the media about the possible outcome: ranging from outright disqualification of the prime minister to passing the buck to a commission to possibly sending the prime minister packing.
Very few see the prime minister, already scathed by the Panama leaks, walking absolutely free. The PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf), that ever since 2013 has been trying to oust the Sharifs by hook or by crook, is already claiming victory. ‘Mithai’ (sweets) are being distributed and the Khan is calling sympathetic anchors and columnists, thanking them for their support.
Ruling party stalwarts on the other hand have threatened, albeit without much conviction, that if Sharif is ousted by virtue of a Supreme Court verdict there will be an adverse reaction on the streets. According to Khawaja Saad Rafiq, not known for his reticence: ‘awam lohey kay chanay chabwa dain gey’ (there will be a severe backlash against the verdict on the streets).
Perhaps the military leadership wants to reassure the nation that it stands behind not merely a democratically elected government but democracy and democratic institutions at large. And whatever the verdict it will not be bailing out anyone.
The possibility of the PML-N successfully agitating an adverse verdict is remote. Past attempts at mustering street support by the ruling party have never borne fruit.
Heavens did not fall when Musharraf ousted the Sharifs in 1999. Several attempts to return from exile by the Sharifs also failed owing to lack of support even from their local leadership.
Does the fault lie entirely with the persona of Sharif or the military’s domineering ethos? But why complain when certain crucial decisions have been outsourced to the military by the civilian government itself?
In any case, the PML-N government has a comfortable majority in the parliament. If Sharif is disqualified, all that needs to be done by the ruling party is to elect a new prime minister. So far as Shahbaz Sharif is concerned his domain in Punjab is not under any imminent threat.
The possibility that Sharif walks virtually free in the Panamagate verdict also cannot be entirely ruled out. In that scenario it will be interesting to watch the reaction in the PTI camp.
Officially the Khan and his stalwarts repose full confidence in the apex court. Nonetheless, the verdict being not of their liking the PTI, true to its norm, might go back in the agitation mode.
When the army chief says that the army will back democracy it works both ways. Thankfully the military being in cahoots with the Supreme Court to oust an elected government is a thing of the past.
In 1997 then chief justice Sajid Ali Shah, in league with an intrusive president and a scheming ISI chief, almost succeeded in ousting an elected government through a judicial coup. Thankfully the military chief General Jahangir Karamat, at the last minute, refused to play ball. The whole scheme failed.
President Farooq Leghari had to resign in disgrace. In collusion with Sharif, his own judges managed to oust the CJP.
No such situation exists today. Neither the military nor the civilian government has the desire or the gumption to try to influence the apex court through third degree methods.
We must thank the much-maligned former CJP Chaudhry Muhammad Ifthikhar for liberating the judges from their own shackles. Despite the warts Pakistani democracy has come a long way since those philistine days.
Talking of generals, recently appointed Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair has come out hard against former army chief General (r) Raheel Sharif. According to him 100 per cent credit for restoring peace in Karachi goes to his boss Nawaz Sharif and nobody else.
According to the Sindh governor, Raheel Sharif was an ordinary general, overhyped by the media. This is the first salvo by a PML-N stalwart against the former military chief since his retirement. It only confirms the obvious: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had a very uneasy relationship with the khaki Sharif.
Of course, it is true that buttressed by his able image-maker Inter services public relations (ISPR) chief Lt General Asim Saleem Bajwa, General Raheel Sharif meticulously built a larger than life image of himself. Perhaps at the expense of the prime minister who, naturally, resented it? It was well known that Sharif’s image-makers were constantly fighting a losing battle to bolster the image of their boss.
But now that the general is retired and has been nominated by the government to head a controversial Saudi-led coalition, why rub him on the wrong side? Zubair surely has more urgent matters to deal with as governor.
Primarily the PML-N is headless and in complete disarray in Sindh. The governor should be looking at more important issues including developing a modus vivendi with the provincial government.
Nonetheless, by confirming the deep fissures that existed between the prime minister and his army chief perhaps Zubair has opened to question relations between the present army chief and the prime minister.
Is the honeymoon period over or soon to be over? Judging by past record it is only a matter of time before the prime minister starts tiring of the present military chief as well.
Does the fault lie entirely with the persona of Sharif or the military’s domineering ethos? But why complain when certain crucial decisions have been outsourced to the military by the civilian government itself?
Take the case of foreign and security policy. According to the ISPR to dispatch General (r) Raheel Sharif to Saudi Arabia as head of the military alliance is a state decision. Where did the parliament, which had declared neutrality on the issue, figure in this?
Perhaps the matter was clinched by the COAS during his recent visit to the UAE. Its rulers, miffed over Pakistan’s recalcitrance to join the military, were not even on speaking terms with our rulers. Already the military chief is being made to play the role of a de facto foreign minster. Hopefully history will not repeat itself and Sharif will not be hoisted with his own petard.