An extension for the army chief (V)

LAHORE: This is with reference to Ayesha Siddiqa's article of July 25 titled "Command and control of war". No one dares to write so openly about the extension of the tenure of army chief and the reasons for this important decision than the said writer.

The extension was given mainly due to political reasons as stakes of political parties, the military as well as the international community are involved. I agree with Ms Siddiqa that the war on terror is a long drawn out process and a single person’s presence – or absence – will not really affect its timeframe. How can it be that the military depends on only one individual to carry forward its agenda of fighting the Taliban?

That the PPP-led government approved the extension and that most other political parties have welcomed it just goes to prove that democracy is bowing down to the military. Clearly, America must have had considerable say in the matter because it has been widely reported in the media that Washington’s top military brass get on very well with our army chief.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2010.