Stirrings of unrest

Too much, too soon, too lopsided

Much is being made of the apparently contrasting statements by the COAS and the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The anchors and writers are busy overtime trying to discern the germs of a clash between the two institutions that they represent and the impact that it may have on the course of things in the country.

The statement by the COAS is a bit unusual as he has generally refrained from intruding into the working of other institutions, but then too much has been happening at a near breath-taking pace including the SC judgement in the Asghar Khan case, the NLC matter and the NAB investigation into the railway affairs. What is strange is that, instead of targeting the individuals involved in these matters, the predominant stress has been on institution-bashing. When viewed in an environment of abdication of governance resulting in an unprecedented surge of corruption, an orgy of killings in many parts of the country, wilful liquidation of the state institutions, serious reservations about the commitment of the ruling elite to national strategic interests, arrogant defiance of the SC adjudications and the rule of law and a refusal to redress the increasing problems faced by the common people, the targeting of the military assumes a menacing angle. The matter is further complicated by an over-exuberant media that is mostly driven by the urge to play to the gallery rather than initiating the process of an objective and dispassionate appraisal of events and issues. Most of these matters are forgotten like they never existed the moment something else is seen on the horizon that offers a chance for some more animated bashing. The predilection on the part of the anchors and writers to act the pontiff without adequate knowledge and information about the subject they are commenting on adds insult to injury and makes the entire critique non-transparent and counterproductive.

If it is the past record of an institution that is to be the bench-mark of its current performance also, how could one overlook the criminally complicit role that the judiciary, the bureaucracy and the political elite have played in facilitating the advent of dictatorships in the country? Take the Asghar Khan case alone. The ISI may have been guilty of distributing money, but who are the people who received these amounts to rig the election? They include politicians and members of religious groups and the media. Why is it that these institutions are not being targeted as viciously as the institution of the army? Bureaucracy has always been the handmaiden of the ruling elite to use in the advancement of their self-centred policies. Why is it that they are being spared by the media and the politicians?

It is obvious that when an institution is being targeted in a sinister manner, its commander would be put under immense pressure. There are three basic points that the COAS made in his speech to a group of army officers at the GHQ. One, no individual or institution has the monopoly to decide what is right or wrong in defining the ultimate national interest; two, weakening of the institutions and trying to assume more than one’s due role will set us back and three, equally important is the trust between the leaders and the led in the armed forces. Any effort to create a distinction between the two undermines the very basis of the concept and is not tolerated. Of the three, the last one is the most menacing. If, indeed, there has been an effort to create a distance between the “leaders and the led” in the army, it is most unfortunate. It is neither in the interest of an institution that is in a state of war fighting terrorism and insurgencies nor of the country that is in the throes of multiple woes reflected in the virtual abdication of governance.

Stating that “all systems in Pakistan appear to be in a haste to achieve something”, he posed two interesting questions. One, are we promoting the rule of law and the constitution? And, two, are we strengthening or weakening the institutions? Without going into what the army may or may not have done in the past, the last five or so years have been relatively untainted where the institution has actually refused to take the bait on numerous occasions. Towards the culmination of the legal fraternity’s struggle for an independent judiciary, the option of intervention was presented to the army on a platter. Instead, it played a constructive role to abort an ugly situation that could have resulted in a harrowing bloodbath.

On the other hand, look at the conduct of the political elite. The incumbent concoction has failed in every domain of governance. It has virtually lived in defiance of the SC and its adjudications. It has patronised corruption and nepotism. The essential component of prosecution has been virtually eliminated from the annals of justice and every criminal has been allowed to escape the clutches of accountability. Having satiated themselves on state riches, they are roaming all over the country in control of all critical positions and postings. They sit in the presidency, they sit in the prime minister’s house, in the federal and provincial secretariats, in the chief ministers’ and governors’ houses, in control of the corporations scripting and overseeing their demise, authoring mega scams with monotonous regularity and doing just about everything that is illegal. In spite of that, I have not seen the media castigating the institution of politics. Why are the knuckles out for the army alone?

The principal problem with Pakistan is the political vacuum that has only increased since the induction into power of the incumbent aberration. It neither has the legitimacy nor the competence to tackle the existential issues that the country faces today. The coalition has survived because, virtually, all its members have sold their souls – some for a place in the ruling echelons, some to save their scions and political heirs from the clutches of accountability, and some to continue reaping the illicit harvests at the cost of the people of the country. In the process, the system responsible for their induction in the first place has degenerated beyond repair and reprieve.

The writer is a political analyst. He can be contacted at: [email protected]