Daily Times

As General Qamar Bajwa’s tenure comes to an end, it is time for the government to appoint a new chief of army staff, perhaps the most important decision Shehbaz Sharif will make during his term, which is scheduled to take place at the end of this month. In a televised address to long march protestors in Lala Musa, his biggest critic and chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, recently insisted for Bajwa’s position to be extended once again. He believed that PMLN was likely to sabotage his party by appointing an anti-PTI army chief while speculating that PM Shehbaz Sharif had already made the all-important decision while attending to business in London. The rumour mills have, for now, been stopped in their tracks by a striaght-faced stateement by Defense Minister Khawaja Asif. He, too, partook in the pass-the-blame game and criticised the PTI chief for “acting hypocritically and lying about the security forces of Pakistan.”

It seems that our political parties are content as they remain trapped in an endless mud-slinging game. Routine political interactions turn into controversies with each side unwilling to take responsibility for its missteps. When politicians fail to reach their policy goals, they use theatrics to win favour with the public. Political incumbents are, consequently, forced to address these accusations with an even lethal punch; creating a chain reaction of endless accusations–bad for policy and dangerous for the public.

Blame-game politics is especially prevalent in coalition governments, such as in Pakistan, which do not have enough incentives to cooperate and are unable to compromise with each other.

Interestingly, Mr Khan was met with a similar kind of opposition from the coalition party for his extension of Bajwa’s tenure when his party was in power. Today, some believe that he, too, has resorted to the same tactics to discredit the current prime minister. The endless rounds of senseless noise will, however, do little but fester instability in an already polarised society. The appointment of an army chief is a routine process in most democratic societies, but history has revealed that it carries a special weight in Pakistan. In a country where the lines between civilian and military leadership have been tragically blurred, it is essential that our political parties realise that they have a shared interest in collaborating and devoting their time to good governance. It is only then that our civilian institutions will become powerful enough to sustain the pressures that come as an undeniable part and parcel of political life in Pakistan. *