Military, its criticism and civilian supremacy

It is 1987 and Army is launching an operation to capture a post in the frigid battlefield of Siachin. The mission is difficult to the extent of being suicidal. A young Captain from the Special Services Group (SSG), Capt Iqbal, hailing from Pashtungarhi near Pabbi/Peshawar, volunteers for the deadly mission. Iqbal is my pal, my course-mate and deeply Pakistani at heart with strong religious moorings. He had earlier volunteered for SSG, finding the life of Army Services Corps (ASC) less challenging for his ambition.

Before this mission, he pens down his will; listing the stuff he was to return (if embraced shahadat) being government property under his usage; emphasising clearance of his troops’ mess bill (at such inhospitable places, troops and officers eat from troops’ mess/langar and officers pay for their meals); underlining paying due to unit washerman and barber; calling for qaza (compensation) of Ramazan fasts he missed; stressing payment of his outstanding bank loan roughly Rs900; calling for not cementing his grave; instructing to distribute his post-death emoluments among the poor and the needy; and requesting all for prayers.

Capt Iqbal leads the charge from the front, and makes the ultimate supreme sacrifice…that every soldier worth his salt yearns for, leaving all of us and his fiancé to envy his death. Recognising his heroism, he is honoured with Hilal-e-Jurrat (HJ), the second highest gallantry award in operations after Nishan-e-Haider. To this day, he remains the pride of our Course (batch) and the Military.

Some years later, President Zia while addressing the joint session of Parliament, mentions Iqbal’s heroics and his will. While clearing a lump is his throat, the General tells the lawmakers “…and this is the stuff Pakistan’s military is made of.” He goes on to say “and they impose martial law also on your asking.” And then he makes the ultimate statement, saying… “and I know, now you will not thump your desks.”

The unprecedented, continuous and mostly unsubstantiated propaganda against the Armed Forces especially the Army and its leadership is callous, indecent and based on raw emotionalism rather than hard known facts. Without getting into the ifs and buts of the Ramazan saga, as I call it, the youth of one political leaning are doing what no enemy has been able to do…so far. Trying to undermine morale of the Military…not that they are any close to doing it. And ironically, this was the most ferocious cohort to defend the Armed Forces in the cyber space.

It is fathomable that political leadership of this cabal understands implications of this sinister campaign; but sometimes politicians would prefer immediate brownie-points over long-term negative implications of such populism. Imran Khan and his party is no exception, just like all other renowned political leaders who find it politically savvy to hit at the military’s broad side, in order to shore up their dwindling political fortunes. Years ago, during a feast in our obscure village in KPK, a cousin (non-military background) took others to task for insensitive comments against the military, underlining the importance of military morale. No American/Western politician would do it. Likewise, during a meeting with Americans in Khowst (Salerno base) opposite Kurram District, American officers were reluctant to criticise President Bush, their supreme commander.

Military in Pakistan is not kosher and the aim of this write-up is not to defend mistakes of the Miltablishment, which are many; but then nobody has the benefit of hindsight, when you are in the thick of a crisis, that you have no experience dealing with. My last piece related to the topic was ‘Unconstructive criticism and military morale’ published in this space on September 10, 2020. PTI/affiliated youth brigade needs to know there are many bots on social media, countless fake accounts and numerous agencies/hostile media involved in this sinister hybrid warfare.

Venting dissent over certain actions and decisions is one thing, calling names involving families especially ladies, in sheer street lingo, is quite another. And that is reprehensible and deeply troubling. Understandably, under prevalent unregulated social-media environment, general public has become cynically addicted to see dominoes falling. Juicy, grapevine and scandalous content is appealing, irrespective of its veracity. Recent research finds that social media companies play up such negativity to encourage extended usage of their platforms for sustained/enhanced revenue.

There are certain imperatives of Pakistan’s sociology and politics that need reiteration.

One, ours is a case of divided and at times divergent loyalties. There is deep infiltration of elements not totally loyal to Pakistan in the business, media, political cadre and establishment, etc. These people with dual loyalties have no/minimal stake in the state of Pakistan. Legislation to weed out/bar this cohort from national decision-making is urgently essential.

Two, the stranglehold of the politico-military elite over the levers of power is almost complete, with no end in sight other than a bolt from the blue, like a revolution from below. And that, given our demography, is not likely if not impossible. Public disconnected, however, is inching towards violent outcomes.

Three, ours will remain a case of ‘guided democracy’ for reasons spelt out in my writings. The very political class does not want military to be hands-off, neutral and/or apolitical, given the military’s essential if not constitutional role of being an honest broker during political impasses (that are many and recurrent, thanks to our feuding politicians) alongside/without Judiciary. Politicians of all shades look towards Aabpara/Rawalpindi for mentorship and support to come into power for ‘serving Pakistan by serving themselves first’.

Four, civilian supremacy of the Military. Politicians complain, military is too intrusive, controlling and protective of its turf. It manipulates domestic environment for ‘military-preferred policy’ outcomes. Military – like most citizenry – feels (without this being institutional input) that after winning elections, our politicians are almost always short on governance and delivery. Financial mismanagement, corruption and incompetence are some shortfalls. And without performance, especially economic stability, civilian primacy of the military would remain a pipedream. Turkey is case in point.

Five, in Pakistan’s case, the motive behind winning elections is invariably to monopolise power and exploit resources. With fascist and dictatorial streaks visible when at the top, the politicians-elect generally have no plan for sustainable development and poverty alleviation. Our political culture is one of hyperbole, and regular brushes over irrelevant non-issues.

States without militaries host foreign militaries. We continue.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2022.

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