Daily Times

The dharnas (sit-ins) by the Pakistan Tehreeq-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) are continuing. With plenty of hype, both parties promised to bring one million followers each. This would surely have put a lot of pressure on the government but it was not meant to be. PAT’s show of strength was a little better than the PTI’s but both fell far short of target.
Despite the disappointing size of the crowd, Imran Khan seemed to be very sure of the fall of the government and deadline after deadline was given but no finger was raised. Army generals watched from the sidelines. The hopes of a section of the media, some politicians and retired military men were dashed when General Raheel Sharif and his colleagues refused to be drawn in.
Generals in the present military high command were young subalterns when General Ziaul Haq took over government in 1977. They have seen the 1970s when Pakistan was a peaceful country. There was no religious intolerance and no extremism, and mosques and imambargahs were places of peaceful worship without armed guards. Barelvis and Deobandis may have existed but no one noticed and they minded their own business. Karachi was considered a progressive city. The northern areas were a tourist’s haven. FATA was considered more peaceful than the settled areas. Anyone could go to North Waziristan or South Waziristan without any problem.
Religion was considered a personal affair and was kept out of the running of the state. Education was mostly done in government run institutions and provided quality and affordability. There was no load shedding and electricity was affordable. Then General Ziaul Haq overthrew the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Things began to change. General Zia and his colleagues systematically transformed Pakistan into a different country. The Russian invasion of Afghanistan proved to be a boon for Zia and his cabinet. They jumped into the war thoughtlessly. Anyone from around the world who wanted to take part in the war was welcomed, armed and fed. Journalists and politicians were lashed while gun-trotting jihadis were treated as heroes; some of them bought properties and settled here permanently. With them we saw an influx of arms and drugs. Wahabis from the Middle East formed a deadly nexus with the Deobandis of FATA. This was considered a plus in countering the Russian invasion. Money from the west flowed freely and the government was happy.
Everything changed. Karachi became a violent city with killings being a daily occurrence. Bomb blasts became routine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The peace loving people of the northern areas saw a Shia Sunni divide and the widespread killing of Shias. The monster of load shedding appeared. Kalabagh dam became controversial. Pakistan became a security state in the name of Islam. Throughout the 1990s, the military manipulated everything behind the scenes and no government could complete its tenure. Unstable and weak governments meant easy control for the military. Politicians were kept on the run throughout the 1990s. This ensured that no civilian had enough power to change existing policies. The policy of strategic depth was ruthlessly imposed on the Afghans and, resultantly, Pakistan earned a bad name among the Afghan people.
Relations with India did not improve at all. Iran was unhappy and China complained about Islamic extremist influence in its south. After 9/11, the same freedom fighters became terrorists who spread around the world. Almost all terror suspects had links with Pakistan, maligning Pakistan’s reputation. General Raheel Sharif and his colleagues saw this transformation of Pakistan as observers. Being junior officers they kept to their professional duties. Soon after taking command of the Pakistan army, General Sharif struck decisive blows to the Pakistani Taliban in North Waziristan. It was later followed by a ground offensive. This was different from the policy followed by his predecessors. The offensive is still going on successfully and the military command is determined to continue the operation till the total elimination of terrorist hotspots.
The new military command has taken a different path after taking over. It has been clearly stated by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) that the army is to follow the constitution in letter and spirit. This should have cleared all doubts, if they existed, in the minds of the PTI and PAT leaderships that seem to have been guided by the old school of thought. Blinded by a short route to power, the leaderships of the PTI and PAT, without looking at the ground realities, went ahead with the azaadi (independence) march. It looks like Imran Khan chose to listen to a section of the media that openly invited a military takeover. He failed to see the change that had occurred in the new military leadership. The change PTI wants in the system has already started. Despite full invitation by the PTI and PAT and section of the media to intervene and force Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign, the military high command has stuck to its role according to the constitution.
What the PTI and PAT are demanding is the old way of running the country. There is a lesson here for retired military officers. The new generation of generals is smarter, wiser and has learnt from the mistakes of their seniors. During the peak of the dharna, when all were predicting divine intervention, an overwhelming majority of the top brass was not in favour of any intervention. Some retired military men might have wished for the army’s involvement but General Raheel and his colleagues probably read the whole script much before all of us. Some retired officers erroneously feel that Pakistan’s troubleshooting of present problems lies in military intervention and running of the state the way it was done during the 1990s. They must understand that the whole region has changed and the race now is of economic activity and regional cooperation, not regional confrontation. Not so long ago we used to compare ourselves to Malaysia and Taiwan but, as the situation stands today, we are in danger of being left behind even in South Asia. We are already being compared to Afghanistan.
The old school needs to understand that a prime minister who comes to power after securing a majority in parliament cannot be made to follow instructions from military high command. He and his party have been given a mandate to run the country for five years. If the ruling party does not perform well, it will be voted out of power. A recent example is that of the PPP. Mr Zardari was able to complete his five-year term in office but the PPP was voted out in subsequent elections because of bad performance.
For the PTI, it is patience and continuous struggle. Imran Khan should understand that it is very difficult for any government in Pakistan to deliver on its promises. Considering the size of the economy and its population, five years are not enough to transform the lives of the people. India is a prime example where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress Party alternate in power. The poor continue to struggle and promises stay promises. The poor do not get relief with the building of motorways, nuclear bombs and underground railways. At least a generation of progress needs to occur to touch the poor for a better living. For the PTI, patience, tolerance and performance are key.
For the future of Pakistan our military plays a key role. Its job should be to do what is laid out in the constitution. It should allow the government to function and let the people of Pakistan decide whom they want as their leader. Politicians have learnt a lot as was witnessed in parliament recently. Despite many differences they stuck together to strengthen democracy and the PTI’s and PAT’s onslaught was thwarted. When the military protects its former senior officers (General Musharraf’s case in point) it should also ensure that retired officers do not use their clout to destabilise the system. This not only harms national interest, it also points a finger at the military. The military leadership has to play a very proactive role in helping the government fight conspiracies especially when military officers retired or serving are involved. All in all, during the present crisis, the role of the military top brass needs to be appreciated and it is hoped that the future military leadership will follow suit.

The writer is a freelance columnist