Tirade against Pakistan army, caught in political crosshair

ISLAMABAD: The all-powerful Pakistan army is tangled in political crosshair as it is facing the tirade from those it has patronized and promoted, writes Federico Giuliani, in Insideover.

Pakistan army is known to tamper with the democratic system by engineering the ouster of one government, and later, propping up proxy governments in the country. These are bad times for the all-powerful Pakistan Army. A troubled change of guard last November has not helped. None seems to believe its public pronouncements that it is 'neutral' and not in the political game, reported Giuliani.

The recently-retired chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa, continues to be targeted for his omissions and commissions during the six long years he held the office.

Former Prime Minister Imran who engineered Bajwa's three-year extension through the executive, National Assembly and the Supreme Court that demanded a change in the Army Act, regrets it as his "biggest mistake," reported Insideover.

Those who facilitated that extension now condemn their own move. That includes the ruling dispensation, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and partner PPP. Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqqan Abbasi and Mushahid Hussain Sayed, senior PML-N officials, have demanded that the law under which Bajwa got the extension should be repealed and that no future military chief should be given any extension.

The move aims to retain the space that the political class has gained vis-a-vis the army in the last two years.

In Pakistan, the army generally enjoys a very high level of respect and public adulation for its professional work. This sometimes generates a self-righteous attitude among officers where they feel they have a monopoly over patriotism and everybody else is suspect. Deep mistrust between civilian and military leaders ensures a permanent dysfunctional state.

It is noteworthy that the military establishment brought Khan to power in August 2018 in a 'hybrid regime' experiment. Evidently, Rawalpindi continues to misuse its unlimited powers and intervene in civilian politics despite 'official' promises to disengage the military from politics.

Barely a few weeks in office (since November 29 last year), the new chief, General Syed Asim Munir has said only the 'correct' things like defending the nation, the security being the top priority and a stray Pro-forma statement against India, reported Giuliani. (IANS)