SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
Pakistan’s civil-military relations have been at odds. During several successive democratic governments, the tussle between two pillars of state has been observed. Infact military has never opted to remain in barracks rather it always wished to have a due share in power and that lust for power has brought army into power corridors in the form of successive military coups. The major problem is corrupt democratic governments. Due to rampant corruptions democratic leaders and governments are black mailed by the Military’s top brass. Though it is 7th successive year that democracy has been in function but military has been the motor to run the system behind the curtains. Take for example the case of Karachi. There is lot to be done yet to bring the crime-infested city of Karachi back to normalcy. But the success the military-backed and the Rangers-led operation has achieved so far is not regarded as insignificant. And it is believed that it is the military’s backing of the operation that has made all the difference. Hence, the heightened speculations with regard to the state of civil-military relations. Many believe a soft coup has already been staged under the cover of the dust kicked up by the Imran-Qadri dharna in August last year. And some others keep whispering about what they call the ‘creeping coup’. Operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched in North Waziristan against both the good and the bad Taliban even before talks between the representatives of the government and the TTP had been officially abandoned as futile. The North Waziristan campaign was owned by the civilian authority only after it had begun and that too seemingly reluctantly generating the impression that it was not deemed necessary to consult the civilian authority before launching the campaign. Next, we see the Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif, and the new Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, interacting directly and at an unusually great frequency. In fact, on one of his visits to Pakistan, Afghan President Ghani went to the GHQ for a meeting with General Raheel without first calling on the civilian authorities reinforcing the impression that it is the military that is calling the shots vis-a-vis Pakistan’s Afghan policy. There are many ways an elected government will seek harmony with an Army not used to “institutional subordination” under the Constitution. It constantly “reinterprets” the national-security policy according to the changing leadership in GHQ. Nawaz Sharif’s government has fallen in line behind him to reap the advantage of this bold policy. It is because of poor policies of democratic government that once again Army has been on driving seat.
pakistan.shafaqna.com
