Battleground Pakistan - The Playground of Army-Elite Nexus

By Prof M A Sofi, New Age Islam 15 May 2023 In what looks like a do or die moment for Pakistan as a result of an unprecedented phase of the political instability made worse by the economic meltdown of Pakistan, there appears to be no let-up in the situation, with the army top brass playing foul in concert with the PDM, a conglomerate of thirteen political parties who are all pitted against the one-man-army in the shape of Imran Khan! Imran Khan has donned the garb of a martyr to Islam and Pakistan’s dignity. Ironically, taking a dig at politicians and generals for bending before outside powers, he praised India’s non-aligned foreign policy on three separate occasions (AFP) ----- With his illegal arrest a couple of days ago - and his subsequent release from jail from what the apex court has declared as an act of illegal confinement - the situation does not look even a trifle better in the midst of a situation when the country is facing an existential threat, a crisis of unimaginable proportions of its independent history. An idea of the magnitude of the crisis may be had from a general perception that the 1971 debacle is widely being seen as a lesser tragedy as compared to what that country is going through at the moment. In the circumstances, what does one make of the much-admired institution involving the Pak army and its awesome firepower that would always, and continues to be seen as the greatest bulwark against fissiparous tendencies from within and aggression from without? Here, a tacit reference to the army is not accidental as it will soon become clear how its long track record of exceeding its mandate beyond its bounden duty to secure its borders has been the root cause of most of the ills that have afflicted that country. For starters, the reasons for the ‘truly professional’ tag that the Pak army has earned for itself right since the inception of that country have to be sought in the perception involving its total commitment and thoroughly professional manner in which its armed forces are known to have conducted themselves on the battlefield. Sadly, the same professional commitment is not known to inform their conduct in their routine private/professional life away from the battlefield where the top army brass has long been known to throw their weight around in the arena of politics of the country. More often than not, that role has been mainly to ensure its larger than life presence in almost all spheres of activity in Pakistan- political, social, economic and what have you. The awe and admiration that the army has since long managed to command from the general public owes to the carefully crafted image that the army has successfully cultivated as the (sole) saviour of that country. Through the subtle and secret manner in which it would run the affairs of the government, make or break ‘duly elected’ governments, manipulate elections or get the politicians and the political parties to toe its line, the army has successfully managed that their shenanigans in public and private life remain beyond the pale of the public gaze. And this monumental farce continued unabated and without major hiccups, but not after the Imran Khan emerged on the political scene! This because the army establishment had never throughout its history fancied its writ ceasing to run as long as the politicians across the board were seen, perhaps with reason, as zombies, spineless pygmies who could be effortlessly manipulated to fall in line. But as they soon learned after Imran Khan came to occupy the hot seat post 2018 elections, the latter came across as a different kettle of fish who meant business and who would wish to have his way as prime minister in running the affairs of the government. That surely was not going to go down well with the army, headed as it was at that time by the then COAS, Gen Bajwa and his close comrades who saw to it that the only way for its top brass to continue to have their way was to manipulate Khan’s removal from power by fair or foul means. That they ultimately managed to do so in April 2022 by using the services of utterly corrupt Zardaris in league with the Shareefs buying loyalties from Imran Khan’s party in return for obscene amounts of money and other gratifications has unleashed unprecedented political turmoil and uncertainty in the country that refuses to ebb away any time soon. Now after more than a year since that massive betrayal, Army’s refusal to feel the public pulse and to see the writing on the wall that betokens a massive support for Imran Khan to potentially translate into a ¾ majority of his party at the hustings is to be explained on account of its mortal fear that a return to power by Imran Khan would get to serve them the just desserts for their devious and sinful role during the on-going anti-Imran tirade that includes at least two attempts on his life which he had miraculously survived while sustaining grievous injuries in the process. Now this lacklustre new army chief Asim Muneer who is following into the footsteps of his infamous predecessor, and who seems to have his own scores to settle with Imran Khan, is petrified by the thought that in the event of IK coming back to power, he and his henchmen would face the music for having been involved in a series of acts of illegal arrests, detentions, abductions and persecution of those who are raising their voice against such underhand tactics at the instigation of the army and their agencies. Which is why, the army top brass has vowed to do everything in its power to make sure that the Khan is kept out of the loop. This is being executed by fabricating and framing charges and implicating him, albeit falsely, in innumerable cases ranging from corruption, misuse of authority, contempt of court and similar other offences so that he remains constantly embroiled in defending these cases, culminating in his possible disqualification from holding public office. In this campaign, the army looks to the judiciary falling in line while remaining secure in the thought that it could be arm twisted to pronounce a verdict of its choosing. This is so because the judiciary is already witnessing an all pervasive decline of the worst kind in terms of the highest standards that used to be its raison d'etre not long ago. And that’s in no small measure on account of how the executive and the army have together misused their authority to influence the judiciary in the two neighbouring countries, respectively. The fact that apart from the judiciary, almost all other vital state institutions including the executive, bureaucracy, police, election commission or the (NAB) National Accountability Bureau are being dragooned to do the army’s bidding bespeaks its insatiable thirst for political power that they hope to continue enjoying once Imran Khan gets out of the way and their political protégés are installed in the new government. However, considering Khan’s stubborn refusal to fall in line or to accept the humble pie that is being force-fed to him, the deadlock threatens to continue! Unfazed, the army continues to remain intransigent, having no qualms being seen as the chief architect of the present crisis that threatens to get worse by the day, unless it chooses to relent and reconsider its priorities. But that looks like a tall order, used as the top army brass has all along been, to unbridled power without accountability, the vast resources of that country for their personal benefits with an extravagantly lavish lifestyle to boot, and the unique distinction of acting as a king as and when the situation so demands as well as the king maker whenever it chooses! In such circumstances, how would the over-pampered army expect itself to lose control over all that and much more that it has wielded right since the inception of that country with impunity! Its ubiquitous presence in the sundry affairs of their country and the hitherto unchallenged control over the public consciousness and also over the entire network of institutions has rightly earned it the dubious epithet of Pakistan being an "army that has a country attached to it". At this point, it should help to disabuse the popular perception as espoused mostly by the Imran bashers that it was the army that had thrown its weight behind to catapult the Khan to power. The reality on the ground suggests quite the contrary. The fact remains that as opposed to its time-honoured tactic of manipulating elections to somehow get a political leader of their choice to capture power, the army did go out of its way but only to make sure that in the 2018 elections, IK was to barely manage a simple majority in the parliament so as to be kept under a tight leash and to follow their line while dispensing governance. Little would they realise that IK was one of a kind who stood tall in the political chessboard of that country and who would always wish the writ of his govt to run rather than take dictations from the army. That’s exactly what had precipitated the face off with the army which was not used to take a NO for an answer, or to be confined to the barracks and so got the almighty Americans to acquiesce in to their devious plan to remove the Khan from power. Courtesy Imran Khan's ouster from power, the underbelly of Pakistan’s institutions stands completely exposed. If anything, it has served to open the can of worms and expose the larger-than-life role that the army has all along arrogated to itself to play, not excluding in the foreign affairs of that country. It's not for nothing that every time a foreign dignitary would happen to visit that country, their itinerary would invariably include a one-on-one meeting with the army chief for reasons that are seen as routine by the people and those who know enough about that country. It's that awe and sway that the army commands over there that now stand challenged by Imran Khan who now holds such an over- arching sway over almost every segment of the society, barring of course the country's top elite comprising the feudal lords and those powerful mafias who use politics as private business. Which is why they now see their writ ceasing to run, should the Khan get back into the saddle. Right now, all the tricks in the trade are being employed by the army in concert with the illegitimately installed PDM government to prevent IK from getting back to power. These include such devious strategies as to disqualify him from contesting elections on the flimsiest grounds, banning his party - the PTI- for similar reasons, or even eliminating him from the scene as they have already tried multiple times in the recent past. With (at least) the lower judiciary sitting as a lame duck and eager to do their bidding, the army shall continue to wreak havoc to continue their vice-like grip over the power structure of Pakistan and, by implication, over the vast resources of that country that it has monopolised and used to fill their coffers beyond anybody's wildest imagination and leaving the country and its poor teeming millions high and dry. The political lapdogs that they have all along cultivated to act as their political protégés while carrying out their Masters Voice have equally been huge beneficiaries of this loot and plunder that remain beyond the pale of accountability, courtesy the wilful connivance of the law enforcing agencies in deference to the will of the grand daddies who see themselves as the divinely chosen masters of the destiny of their nation. On the flip side of the story, it's sad but true that good intentions alone are not enough to deliver, unless tempered by a modicum of wisdom, and also tactfulness in the case of a politician. Despite his unblemished track record in politics, the greatest undoing of Imran Khan has been his tragic lack of tactfulness while dealing, both with his friends and foes, that has largely facilitated the American great gameplan in the region by forcing their hand to remove him from power." His famous intonement “absolutely not” which was uttered in response to a question whether Pakistan would provide use of its land and space for the U.S in the latter’s war against the Taliban turned out to be the last nail in the coffin before he was dislodged from power. I'm afraid that a further regress of that country into chaos would have implications on this side of the border too as political unrest and continued instability in a nuclear armed nation has the potential to spill over in the areas adjoining ground zero. ----- Prof. M. A. Sofi is currently NBHM Visiting Professor at JK Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Srinagar He previously taught at AMU, Aligarh, Central University of Kashmir, Srinagar and University of Kashmir, Srinagar Did Master’s from AMU, Aligarh (1978) and Ph. D Mathematics at IIT Kanpur(1982) Presently living in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. 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