Daily Times

The general political opinion is that three-time Prime Minister (PM) Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was nurtured and groomed by a military dictator, and he has long had an’understanding’ with the establishment. If taken at face value, then he should have a well-defined and acceptably harmonised working relationship with the establishment. But it is not so. From 1992 to date, he has been in conflict with the boys in uniform. Clearly, his nurturing and grooming has not proven effective. He remains bent on making his own decision, and this seems to be unacceptable to his groomers.

His recent controversially-hyped interview begins with the statement: “You can’t run a country if you have two or three parallel governments. This has to stop. There can only be one government: the constitutional one.”

The statement reflects all the reasons for his grievances – which are not his alone. Any true democrat would want the establishment to stop interfering in the political affairs of the country. True democratic values can lead to an inclusive society, a society where everyone can have uncompromised social and religious space.

Elements that conduct social fiddling and promote religious infatuation have a critical role to play in fourth and fifth generation warfare – and can be intentionally created – though they can also come into existence organically. In the latter case, they get direct or indirect support from strategic powers — local or the alien — which motivates them to peddle their own social, political or religious beliefs.

Non-state actors created for any specific objective won’t be restricted to that objective alone. Soon they create their own objectives and set targets for themselves without its initial sponsors support or consent

The conflicts in Afghanistan and some African countries are precise example of such warfare in recent decades. Swat and FATA as well, because of the insurgency spawned by the same militant groups strategically created to support the war against the Soviet Union. Pakistan, in return for its support in this endeavour sought international support for the Kashmir cause, as well as from the battle hardened militants returning from Afghanistan.

The past four decades of experimenting with insurgencies in the region have shown that non-state actors created for any specific objective won’t be restricted to that objective alone. Soon they create their own objectives and set targets for themselves without its initial sponsors support or consent.

So we must ask, what is the problem Nawaz Sharif has said, “militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial?”

Here he was referring to the Mumbai attack-related trials which have stalled in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court. It is true that ten years on the Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court has been unable to give a verdict on the case. The court has denoted the delay to a lack of evidence. Regardless, if Nawaz says this is an unacceptable situation, he is right.

Furthermore, even if this is an ‘admission’ by the former PM, as portrayed by the Indian media, they should check their own state’s actions in different parts of Pakistan. It should vigilantly report on the massive causalities in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) before pointing fingers at Pakistan. At the same time, the Pakistani establishment also needs to understand that it needs to keep out of the democratic process.

The writer is an Islamabad-based policy advocacy, strategic communication and outreach expert. He can be reached at devcom.pakistan@gmail.com. He tweets @EmmayeSyed

Published in Daily Times, May 19^th 2018.