Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif has shown the nation that he is a man of substance. Following his statement calling for “across the board accountability”, the army chief dismissed 6 serving officers of the army over allegations of corruption. This move by General Sharif is praiseworthy as it has dispelled the view that the army is immune from accountability. More importantly, it has further strengthened the limits that the constitution has prescribed for the armed forces. The General has silenced those who considered his earlier statement as tantamount to interfering in civilian matters. By acting on his words and taking to task his own officers, General Sharif has shown that the army is committed to leading by example, and committed not to directly interfere with civilian matters, but, nevertheless, it would surely set a high benchmark for the civilian administration to match. General Sharif’s dismissal of army officers is certainly not without context as the government has come under increasing criticism over its lethargic response to the Panama Papers controversy. The ruling party’s unapologetic behaviour coupled with the supposed inadequacy of the inquiry commission has led to a great deal of frustration in the public. The people have resigned to the fact that the country’s leadership will shirk their duty of effective accountability and continue to exploit them. Amidst this despair, General Sharif’s action shines like a ray of hope as at least one institution is committed to transparency and accountability. However, within this optimism lies the danger of losing sight of the bigger picture and directing the debate in the wrong direction. In the immediate aftermath of General Sharif’s action, certain segments of society have taken to conflate institutional accountability with national accountability, and are calling for the army chief to take the task of making the civilian administration accountable too. It needs to be emphasised here that the army has its own rules and ethos. Meanwhile, Pakistan has the institutions in place to deal with civilian matters. While it can be argued that these institutions have largely failed to deliver effective justice and accountability, nevertheless, their failure must not be taken as justification for military interference. This is because it takes time for institutions to develop their own rhythm and work effectively. Military interference in this respect, more often than not, impedes their development rather than facilitate it. Hence, political parties and media should pressurise the government into taking meaningful action over the Panama Papers issue so that democratic practice can take root. Government should also not evade responsibility, and ensure a thorough investigation, with which faith in the democratic system would be restored. Pakistan’s political landscape at the moment is a complex web of intrigue as civil-military relations remain in an ambivalent state. While the statement of the army chief was taken by most as a thinly veiled warning to the civilian administration, his latest move implies that the army wants to shame the government into acting on its own. It is true that ideally the army should have no business in giving any signal to the civilian administration as to what it should do. However, it is also true that Pakistan army is the most powerful institution of the country and the message that it does give matters. Realpolitik has on many occasions forced the government to acquiesce to the wishes of the military leadership. Needless to say, such a dynamic of power is not healthy for the future of democracy in Pakistan, and it is from this lens that the decisions of the military leadership should be viewed. The decision of General Sharif to lead by example while not directly engaging the army in the issue is hence laudable. The General has time and again shown that he is going to play his part in strengthening democracy in Pakistan and not let anyone derail the system. Rather than the military dictators that ‘intellectuals’ often refer to for becoming instrumental in messing with the country’s constitution, Pakistan needs generals like Raheel Sharif who support the democratic process, and manage to keep their institution within its prescribed constitutional limits. *