Daily Times

At a time when relations with India and Afghanistan are potentially heading towards reduced hostilities given the recent overtures for promoting peace, National Security Advisor (NSA) Lt General (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua unexpectedly resigned a couple of weeks ago.

Janjua had played a key role in resuming back-channel dialogue with New Delhi ever since taking charge in October 2015. Not only this, he also remained instrumental in pushing the Afghan government and the Taliban for a viable peace process with newly established forums such as the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS).

A veteran of the Pakistan Army, his last military posting as GOC Southern Command was crucial in containing foreign funded Baloch militancy. Furthermore, he’s also widely known for an India-focused track II diplomatic initiative, which is unusual for someone with his background.

The question remains: why resign? The NSA was supposed to further push the possibilities of a fruitful outcome for the long-delayed Afghan peace process. His abrupt departure means that he might have been a misfit in the current interim cabinet. Some reports implied that he resigned out of ‘moral compulsion’ given his close affiliation with the previous political regime.

While it’s true that the federal cabinet stands automatically dissolved with the dissolution of the national assembly or removal/resignation of a head of government, such kind of postings could be extended on the prerogative of the incoming government, similar to the appointment of some contractual ambassadors who were asked to retain their positions in the first week of June till further instructions.

But why even resign on moral grounds when the veteran general rather chose to remain part of the interim setup? Some believed that he likely wished to retain his position as NSA for the next five years should the Sharifs return to power, hence, voluntarily stepped down. Whereas, others were under the impression that he was asked to do so for maintaining impartiality.

If going by the first theory, it seems improbable given the shaky projection of the general elections that could likely lead to a hung parliament. Someone like him won’t risk resigning on such flimsy grounds given the strong indications of troubled waters ahead for the Sharif clan.

The second theory of being asked to step down does look plausible owing to his ties with the former government. Being a contractual position, the new government was under no obligation to keep him in the cabinet.

However, what’s eye-catching is that some quarters have indicated a third theory-linked to the second one. It implies that his alleged closeness and frequent interactions with officials on the other side of the eastern border, on behalf of the former Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz (PML-N) regime, became a matter of notable concern. Hence, he was allegedly asked to resign. A noteworthy factor is how institutional politics works out and this seems to be a prime example.

The NSA was supposed to further push the possibilities of a fruitful outcome for the long-delayed Afghan peace process. Janjua’s abrupt departure means that he might have been a misfit in the current interim cabinet. Some reports implied that he resigned out of “moral compulsion”

If true then General Janjua’s interactions with New Delhi were based on political grounds and approaches, which may have led to him being asked to pack up. Notably, dialogue hasn’t been stalled yet and in recent weeks, ceasefire has largely been maintained as per measures taken by the DGMOs of the two countries. However, there is still no productive progress on Kashmir, which remains on the backburner with the situation remaining unstable.

Nevertheless, his departure doesn’t mean that regional security policies would witness drastic changes since they would likely continue to be implemented in light of the formulated strategies, which obviously do not depend on a single person.

The writer is Diplomatic Correspondent, Daily Times. He can be reached at hassankhan440@gmail.com and tweets @mhassankhan06

Published in Daily Times, July 15^th 2018.