Daily Times

Come November. There was a super hit movie “Come September” in the 60s. This movie was about a rich billionaire and his controversial life manifested by his yearly sojourns in Italy every year in September. In Pakistan, it is Come November but not each year. After every three years. The speculation starts a year before. The dilemma of “to give or not to give” starts when the government is in a tight corner. On paper, these are the business-as-usual appointments of the army chief in Pakistan. This year, it has assumed a new dimension. That dimension is that the givers and takers are all under various pressures and are probably still wanting to yet not wanting to give and take. Stakes are so high that the “take” element may also include taking lives.

Why is there so much talk and tension around this appointment? In other democratic countries, this process is a normal process that hardly gets noticed except on the day of the appointment. In Pakistan, this matters more than the appointment of the President or the Prime minister. The reason being that it is the most powerful position in the country. Legislatively, it may just be another key appointment, but politically, it is “the” appointment. Academically, COAS is the senior-most appointment in the Pakistan Armed Forces, who is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee in a separate capacity, usually consulting with the Chairman joint chiefs to act as a military adviser to the Prime Minister and its civilian government in the line of defending the land borders of the country. That is where the academic separates itself from the realistic. The COAS, due to tradition and history, does much more than defend the borders of the country. These “out of the syllabus” duties and “domain extensions” are due to:

The fact that the politicians knew and complained about recordings yet kept on doing the “dirty secret work” is their flaw and folly.

The Disorganized Democracy-The armed forces as an institution is a great example of disciplined execution. They have a system that is exemplary and keeps on operating regardless of the situation. The political forces, on the other hand, are chaotic, disorganized and changeable, according to the situation. When the democratic forces come into power, they are by nature slower in execution. Democracy requires consultation and consensus-making, which means delay, changes, abdication or many other issues that are not faced by armed forces or the private factor. Having said that, the atrocious governance by the governments has created this dismal perception that democratic governments are inefficient, corrupt and unable to deliver. This creates a comparison that the armed forces are the saviours. Take the example of the floods in Karachi last year. After ruling Sindh for 15 years the Sindh government was unable to clean the canals that were blocked and caused urban flooding. Finally, the army had to be called to do that job. This is a reflection of the growing role of the military in a country where for a decade terrorism, climate change and corona have made it a crisis centre. In every major task force formed to deal with these crises due to a lack of planning and execution by the government, a military man is seated to deal with the mess the politicians have created. This history and traditional perception in the public has given more and more power to the forces to extend their domain. This extension of the domain used to be criticized but not vocalized the way it is presently. However when the domains are limitless, then they are bound to raise questions.

The “Know your secrets” Network-Information is power. Intelligence is a deal. Files are a negotiation. The intelligence system of the government is based on the IB or the intelligence bureau. But the real information network that traces every call, every word, and every transaction you make, lies with ISI i.e inter-services intelligence of the military. Tracking, tracing and truncating anti-state activities requires a sophisticated system of interrupting the most secret of conversations. Unfortunately, these were not just used for external but for internal tapping and tracking too. This made the politicians an easy target. The fact that the politicians knew and complained about it yet kept on doing the “dirty secret work” is their flaw and folly. The recent audio leaks on the meetings held in the PM office are a prime example of this “extended domain.” This information became a base for many PM changes in the past. The public accepted those as they also saw these politicians as the party to the crime. It is only the present no-confidence movement that has made the public realize that this extension of authority is not for the public good but for their good.

The Government Infiltration-Perhaps, the most visible domain extension is the infiltration of the military-sponsored placements in key institutions. There are some direct and some indirect placements. Direct institutions involve all types. From WAPDA to PCB, many an institution in the past has been occupied by their veterans. In the indirect category, main political institutions like NAB, ECP, FIA etc and many ambassadorial posts are given to civilians who are on their service roll. This placement on key positions makes them pull the strings on deciding whom to nail and whom to let scot-free. The present government has 60 per cent of its cabinet involved in cases and since the heads of the major investigative and accountability institutions are indirectly reporting to their sponsors almost all references are being dismissed. This has been done in a crass hurry.

The International Facilitation-Traditionally, the main area of interest for the military has been foreign policy. Some of it is a natural extension as defence matters affect international relations, trade etc. The army chief plays the main role in facilitating loans and concessions etc. The US Aid to fight terrorism was mainly military aid and thus, the American tilt in our policy was very apparent. It was this difference in approach over Russian and Chinese VS American tilt that started a whole series of differences that ended in a vote of no confidence against the then PM.

This November has started ominously. The heat is on. The Long march has got into the skins of the “opposition.” So much so that the threat of stopping it at all costs has assumed a reality status. The shootout that injured Imran khan and 14 others on the container is a sad reflection of how power can destroy and absolute power can destroy absolutely. Apparently, the rituals go on. There are the usual statements by the present COAS of not wanting a third extension and there are many more speculations saying he will. The matter deserves a debate deeper than that. It should be about the extension of the term. It should be about the extension of the role. It should be about the extension of the domain. It is about the encroachment of political zones. It is about jurisdiction intervention. These are matters being overtly discussed by PTI and covertly by the media. The power countdown begins, but so should the process of limiting the transgressions into civilian executive domains.

The writer is a columnist, consultant, coach, and analyst and can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com. She tweets @AndleebAbbas