Daily Times

By announcing his plan to retire upon the end of his tenure without getting an extension, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Raheel Sharif, has disappointed a group of people that was all geared up to lunge at the opportunity once the time came to “protect Pakistan”. Frustrated now, they insist it is too early to make such declarations. A commander cannot quit in the middle of a war, a war they believe was started on his initiative despite the opposition from right wing politicians and in spite of the unnecessary delays by the federal government. He has take to take it to its logical end.

“Do you not agree that people have welcomed his bold endeavours, be it in Karachi or Waziristan, that the operations have made Pakistan safe?” they question. If he wanted to take over, who could have stopped him? He was presented with an easy opportunity during the sit-in, no one can deny that, but he did not. That is how true soldiers conduct themselves: they put the interest of the country way above their personal gains. Listening to them and believing in their smooth rhetoric, you will be impressed. I would not call you naïve or gullible if you have slipped too like many others before you and have thought of them as sincere and honest people, gentlemen who, in the best interest of Pakistan, want the current government to make an exception.

But pull in your reins before you conclude and let me tell you what they said when General Pervez Kayani was getting his extension. In 2010, they found the former COAS indispensable for keeping the army out of politics and almost declared him a ‘messiah’ for maintaining a neutral role in the 2008 elections, a ‘lion’ who stood up to the Americans by keeping NATO routes closed for more than 90 days after the attack on Pakistani soldiers.

Surprised? Do not be because the story does not end here; the same group was seen fawning over General Musharraf before he rose to power by trampling on the Constitution. ‘The hero of Kargil’ they used to call him in 1998 once they realised the tension between Mian Nawaz Sharif and the COAS was growing. Ignoring every democratic principle, they portrayed him as the saviour who, if he failed to remove the ‘villainous prime minister’ from power and did not take charge, would cause the nation irrevocable damage that might result in a failed state or complete disintegration of the federation.

When compared to these praises let us see how they sketch out civilian governments. Without any surprise, for political administrations they carry a different tone: politicians are corrupt, dishonest and dangerous. If they are kept in power for even a minute longer, Pakistan would declare bankruptcy. Get rid of them, if not for your sake then do it for your children. And, of course, the Constitution can only exist if the country survives plunder and looting. Who will the Constitution serve if the state falls apart?

It is like they are carrying a verbal assault weapon slung on their shoulders at all times. Hearing a single word in favour of the civilians, they pull it down, unpin the safety hook, point it towards them and start firing, cheeks red, saliva droplets sputtering at listeners, their eyes streaming off electric currents. The bottom line is that they do not believe in the Constitution or the rule of law whatsoever. The political process or the electoral system means nothing to them either, not at least in Pakistan. What they believe in is manipulating the position of COAS and dragging it down to the dirty world of politics through all possible means, whether it is overt sycophancy or concealed back biting, exaggeration or defamation of the political administration. By doing so, they want to create a rift between the two institutions. And once that rift is created, the seed of misunderstanding sowed, their job is done, Now, all they have to do is sit tight, water and fertilise the ground till it has grown into a full-blown national crisis. Why? Because only in these times of crisis, can they see their careers flourishing — a position in the cabinet or a province to run, a department to manage, power, protocol, money and influence.

One must ask then who these people are. They come from various backgrounds, politicians who have failed to attract sufficient voters but have gained enough popularity to appear on television as guests, old bureaucrats wishing to serve a little longer, retired generals who wanted to be the COAS and had to retire while they still longed to grab on to power and journalists who use their pen to advocate against the rule of law wishing to be sworn in as federal minister.

In other words, each one of them wants to lead but lacks the capacity to acquire a constitutional way to follow their ambitions. So, they play up the army using a short cut. Here, I do not intend to give a clean chit to the defence institution since it has used and created some of these agents to benefit itself, but that is beside the point.

Knowing what are they up to, should the COAS have pursued extension like the last two of his predecessors did and got? No one, not even the military as an institution, likes the idea of one person sitting at the top getting extensions. It blocks the possibility of promotion for some and causes early retirement for many qualified and competent generals, choking the whole system that otherwise runs smoothly. I do not think we should interrupt it like we have done so in the past, something that has not worked well in our favour. Let us allow it to work as naturally as we want the democratic system to work without stifling it.

The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com