A welcome development

There are a number of ways to view the appearance before a parliamentary forum (on their invitation) of General Qamar Javed Bajwa COAS on Tuesday 19^th December. We have decided that it was a generally positive development but of uncertain outcomes. The meeting was held in-camera but enough has come into the public domain to gain a flavour of the proceedings. The principal takeaway is that the general was of the opinion that it is for parliament to take the lead role in determining policy in all respects, and that the vacuum left by the politicians over the course of the incumbent government served nobody well, particularly in respect of foreign policy. He told those assembled that they were the policymakers and that it was up to them to come up with the policy guidelines and, crucially and possibly to the surprise of many, he reportedly said: “We will follow you.”

The general reportedly said that the country had suffered for the lack of an appointment of a foreign minister for the last four years. He is right, and that fact has been lamented in these columns many times. There was circumlocution when it came to the issue of Pakistan joining the Saudi-led military alliance and reference made to the April 10, 2015 parliamentary resolution that caution was to be exercised in joining the alliance, our relations with Iran being of key importance. There was denial in respect of army involvement in the current political fracas, likewise the Panama leaks and a distinct impression of irritability with assorted conspiracy theories. The general also came close to an admission of failure, saying in response to a senatorial question about military roles in past foreign policy failures: “We all made mistakes in the past. Let’s move on now.”

In as much as it is possible to divine meaning, it appears the baton is placed firmly in civilian hands, and the expectation is that the civilians will also move on, acknowledge their own mistakes and not repeat them now or in the future. We admire his optimism, even if we do not entirely believe it well placed.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2017.

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