Daily Times

The highlight of last week in Pakistan’s political scene too, as usual, echoed sensational breaking news and press conferences. However, the rumbling from a statement of military’s spokesperson, DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor, a snubbing rebuttal from Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and then another press conference from DG ISPR were the loudest. In a seminar that ISPR organised with Karachi Chamber of Commerce, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa had aired similar views a day earlier that economy was not doing great, debts were getting higher, the deteriorating imbalance in external current account, and that tax collection and its base needs to be improved. But when DG ISPR repeated it with a rather dismissive nuance that if economy was not bad, it was not doing well either, Ahsan Iqbal had to bluntly refute that statement.

Incidentally, Ahsan was right on both accounts; one, that DG ISPR should refrain from commenting on the country’s economic situation as DG ISPR was in no capacity to comment on economy; and two, that in fact economy is stable. It’s true that the current account is showing an imbalance but it’s for the imports of the country have increased because of the procurement of machinery to increase electricity production and other CPEC-related projects.

Ahsan’s assertions seem plausible when we see that certainly Pakistan’s economy, while still far from growing at its full potential, has performed consistently far better in the last four years than in past, which is also evident from increase in direct foreign investment, increased production, completion of CPEC’s ‘early harvest’ projects in the areas of energy and infrastructure.

It is also notable that the current government has doubled the taxation in the last four years. Interestingly, just days after this squabbling between Pakistan’s civil and military institutions, the World Bank issued a press release where it acknowledged that ‘Pakistan has done well in stabilising its economy over the past four years, and in achieving 10-year high growth of 5.3 per cent in financial year 2017’.

If the economy too — which has hitherto been dealt with and led by civilians — has to be under the purview of the military, what significant role is left for the civilians in the leadership of the state?

Even before this functional invasion from military, we already had a de facto Diarchy, an edgy one, where military arm of the state called the shots in matters of foreign and regional policy, national security paradigm, and the rest were left for civilian governments. Now if economy too which has hitherto been dealt and led by civilians has to be functionally crept in by military what significant role would be left to civilian leadership of the state? The situation as we see emerging reminds me of the Diarchy Rule that British enforced in India in 1919, which provided for local ministers in major Indian provinces to have control over lowly areas such as agriculture, local government, health, and education, while defence, foreign policy, and treasury was reserved for Viceroy and his appointed council. But back then, we were a British colony.

Having evolved as a security state, we have started seeing everything from security lens, which has led military to assume even those responsibilities which are seen odd elsewhere. Not many army chiefs in the world have to do as many foreign and diplomatic trips as ours. Lately too, our COAS has visited two ‘brotherly’ Islamic countries where he’s seen meeting, not his military counterparts but the civilian rulers. Interestingly, in the context of ongoing political rumour mongering at home, people have seen these visits with caution and possible implications for future of democracy and current regime in Pakistan.

It’s also ironic that military men, both retired and serving, can cast aspersion over the government’s performance in governance and economy without even being fully capable to champion the two. Yet when civilian leadership asks for expanding the operation against terrorist outfits to the entities which have been responsible for sabotaging Pakistan’s peace and stability efforts in the region, especially with its two immediate neighbours in east and west, the civilian leaders have to face the scandals such as Dawn Leaks.

Plain fact is that the country needs to shed an already overwhelming footprint of military on its institutional infrastructure so we can also grow like other normal countries. It’s indeed heartening to hear DG ISPR talk about the finality of civil supremacy in the affairs of the state. However, unless this could be seen fully complied with by the senior leadership of armed forces, it will remain a hollow cliché.

Let’s not forget that Pakistan’s best bet to become a prosperous society and democratic polity respected by civilised world isn’t in the de facto diarchy that we see functioning so vividly or enhancing it further, but in letting the representatives of masses and their elected government lead and work for the people and country peacefully. The well-being of Pakistanis and this country should be above all and any institutional interest.

The writer is a sociologist with interest in history and politics of Pakistan. He tweets at @Zulfirao1 and is accessible at Zulfirao@yahoo.com

Published in Daily Times, October 19^th 2017.