Times are clearly changing for armies holding business conglomerates in South Asia. The phenomenal growth of the Pakistan’s security forces’ stake in private businesses has been a heated buzz for quite some time now. But the apex court finally decided to resolve the matter once and for all in a case pertaining to Askari Park. Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab is entasked with assuming the charge again and opening the park to public. A very daring judgement, indeed. The ball is in KMC’s court now that has been shamelessly dodging its responsibilities using the shoulders of every Tom, Dick and Harry in the excuses playbook. The past several years have seen the Supreme Court take up the cudgels against all such controversial enterprises that range from marriage halls to plazas to cinemas. Justice Ahmed had once surprisingly remarked “Neither the federal nor provincial governments, it is the Defence Housing AUthority that is ruling (Karachi).” Just as heavily had LHC CJ Mohammad Qasim Khan lambasted at the allegedly illegal occupation of land in the vicinity of its most-prized housing authority as well as that owned by the court. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court’s latest directive is historic in the sense that it goes beyond words. New Delhi similarly upped the ante against Army for allowing a private body to operate out of cantonment. “Will you give somebody India Gate also?” the top judge thundered. Trying to juggle the back-breaking responsibility of guarding the frontier with the exhaustive commercial domain and its long winding list of technical requirements is no small feat. There is no denying the crucial role the armed forces play in giving the entire nation a good night’s sleep but it would also be naive to downplay the susceptibility of some elements to make use of independent finances to further their own designs. Pakistan’s democracy has been suspended by three bloodless military coups in the last six decades; Bangladesh by three. This tendency alone speaks volumes about the Damoclean sword looming over military bodies running lucrative empires. Though the Indian army was always denied such leeway, its refusal to relinquish control from hundreds of golf courses and clubs is an extension of the same entangled trend. As aptly elaborated by the Sudanese Prime Minister last year, such divestments comes at the cost of market forces that do not get to enjoy the royal privilege. Keeping the chequered past as well as our deepening economic crisis in mind, the Supreme Court deserves appreciation in the strongest of terms for trying to establish order across the land. If we haven’t learned even now that every penny goes a long way in strengthening the national treasury, what other staggering affairs are we waiting for? *