Saturday, April 12, 2014

Politics and the Pakistan Army


PMLN’s government very successfully managed to see through the critical issues like installing big 3 i.e. The President, Chief Justice of the apex court and the Chief of the Army Staff.  Moreover the economic issues are put on the right track , the World Banks, Asian Development Banks, IMF and other donor agencies are appreciating the efforts of the government on the economic front. The recent Pakistan development update launched by the World Bank on April 10th says, “#Pakistan’s economy is gradually improving.  GDP growth is expected to reach 4% this year driven by dynamic manufacturing and service sectors.”

It is very encouraging and Nawaz government deserves a pat on back but it was quite disheartening to see the recent exchange of the statements between ISPR and the Politicians and how media added fuel to the fire. Now the debate has been picked up by the social media and one can imagine how things can shape up in societies where tolerance level is negative.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in this tenure appears to be a changed man and it has been observed that all major and critical issues are handled exclusively by him. This is good because ultimately, he is the leader and face of the PMLN and responsible for good, bad and the ugly.

It is very important that the perception of Government –Army rift should be dispelled by PM Nawaz Sharif himself and he should pay a ceremonial visit to the GHQ on his return from Boao, China.  

Our political leadership should understand that Pakistan is passing through a critical phase on one hand the talks with Talibans is underway and on the other hand  economic development has shown positive signs of recovery and at this moment opening of another front could be disastrous specially with army.

It is quite evident that important circle in Pakistan Army are not happy the way political leaders are handling the Musharraf case and Taliban talks, in recent television interviews General (Retired) Athar Abbas former DG ISPR  in ‘Aaj Kamran Khan kay Shat “ at Geo TV  on April 10th 2014 and  Air Marshal (Retired) Shahid Latif  in ARY program on April 11th 2014  clearly expressed their concerns, moreover Pakistan Army Retired Officers Association has just issue the press release pin pointing the General Musharraf  trail.  The situation is not that simple as it looks and must be dealt carefully.

Let’s look at the example of the Egypt, how Arab spring swept away everything and then the way Morsi has been treated later.  We have to evaluate where Morsi went wrong and its repercussions. 

It has been believed that social media was the catalyst in shaping up the Arab spring and now keeping in view the present  situation in  Egypt, where the Army Chief has become the President – how  is not important here – where is the social media now, as well as free independent local and international media. Has anyone noticed this, has this situation been discussed in TV talk shows globally. These are the serious questions one must take note of.

We all love democracy and support the rule of law, we also love our brothers and sisters in armed forces let’s show respect to all institutions and avoid confrontation for cheep publicity.  

The onslaught on Musharraf by the political leadership of PMLN may be right from their or political point of view but why PPP, PTI, JI etc are  not supporting this argument and hence the perception derived from this situation is that PMLN politicians want to target the army and ensure that they never ever think of taking over. 

 Army takeovers can be stopped forever in a very simple way, that is  if the political government can ensure good governance, economic stability, rule of law, respect for the institutions and sincere love for the country.
Prime Minister Nawas Sharif is heading on the same path and sooner or later it will be achieved, so no need for insecurities especially by the courtiers. 

It will be heart breaking to see if the system fails just because of insecurities and nothing else.

No comments:

Post a Comment