1. DHA, Lahore exercises most, if not all the powers of the Local Governments but is managed by an unelected Governing Body⁴ and an Executive Board⁵ in violation of Article 140A of the Constitution.

2. The appropriate Legislature in relation to DHA, Lahore, is the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab. The management of the Governing Body and the Executive Board must be changed, as presently it comprises of Army Officers who are not under the administrative control of the Punjab Government.

3. The ‘unfettered and uncontrolled power’ conferred upon DHA, Lahore under the Chief Executive’s Order No. 26 of 2002 to itself decide its area of operations violates the constitutional rights of the Government of the Punjab.

With regards to the resistance put up by the DHA, Lahore to an audit by the Auditor General of Pakistan, the Supreme Court noted that the Authority does not fall outside the ambit of the Article 170(2) of the Constitution. It therefore stated that the Auditor General is the ‘competent constitutional authority for conducting the audit of DHA’ and should ‘proceed expeditiously to do so’. Similarly, the bench also noted that the advertisement of plots in Phase VII of DHA was also ‘evidently illegal’.

The DHA Lahore, over time, has developed into a modern and sought-after residential area. The Authority however has come under increasing scrutiny due to an apparently unfettered role and alleged violations of the law. These include alleged occupation of 137 canals of land of the Government of Punjab, 64 canals of land allotted by former Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo for settlement of katchi abadi residents, etc.⁶ The Auditor General Pakistan, Rana Asad Ameen also informed the Supreme Court that his office had written six letters to the DHA, Lahore for carrying out the audit of accounts but its management was not cooperating with them.

Considering all these factors, including alleged illegal occupation of land, aversion to an audit of its accounts by the AGP Office, and unfettered powers bestowed upon the Authority, PILDAT believes that it would in the interest of the armed forces and civil-military relations in Pakistan that the DHA, Lahore makes its workings more transparent. To begin with, the audit of its accounts will enhance its reputation of conformance to rule of law.

Pakistan Senate’s Deliberations Upon an Alleged ‘Civil-Military Disconnect/Disequilibrium’

While debating upon the theme of Public Participation and Democracy on September 15, 2015 (International Democracy Day), two stalwarts of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the Senate observed that there was a growing civil-military disconnect in Pakistan. The debate arose when Senator Farhatullah Babar requested admission of an Adjournment Motion to discuss the ‘statement of former Minister Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan alleging involvement of elements of security establishment in political re-engineering of the country’.

Although the request for admission of the Motion was denied by the Honourable Chairman Senate, Senator Farhatullah Babar observed that ‘the civil and the military are not on the same page and there is a serious disconnect between the Civilian Government and the Security Establishment’.⁷

Honourable Chairman of the Pakistan Senate, Senator Raza Rabbani, on the other hand stated:

Unfortunately, the state of the Federation is in a drift. Although we are in a state of democratic transition, it must also be admitted that there is disequilibrium in civil-military relations. There is a need to address this disequilibrium.⁸

However, on the occasion, the Honourable Leader of the House, Senator Raja Muhammad Zafar-ul-Haq, while representing the Government emphasized that ‘I can confidently say that today civil military relations in Pakistan are in a state where we can say that by the grace of God there is no challenge to democracy’.

It needs to be noted that Pakistan is actively involved in an internal war, along with facing increasing hostilities on its eastern border. Therefore, security remains a primary concern necessitating a proactive role of our Armed Forces, which may lead to a perception of disequilibrium.

Moreover, difference of opinion between the civilian / political and Military leadership, especially during times of war, is not a novel phenomenon even in developed democracies. Consider the case Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the former American commander in Afghanistan. In his memoirs, Gen. McChrystal has stated that ‘the beginning of President Obama’s first term saw the emergence of an unfortunate deficit of trust between the White House and the Department of Defense, largely arising from the decision-making process on Afghanistan’ due to which he had to eventually submit his resignation.⁹

The point to be emphasized is that any difference of opinion should be resolved through existing forums for civil-military leadership’s interaction and coordination, including the increasingly dormant National Security Committee.

Apparent Erosion of Safeguards Against Military Rule: Has Article 6 of the Constitution Become Ineffective?

During the aforementioned debate in the Pakistan Senate on September 15, 2015, revolving around perceived civil-military tensions, the Honourable Chairman of Pakistan Senate, Senator Raza Rabbani made a critical observation related to enforcing Article 6 of the Constitution. He stated:

I believe that Article 6 has become redundant. Our weaknesses have made it redundant. In my eyes, no constitutional clause can protect democracy. Only the people can protect democracy provided they are given ownership of the system.¹⁰

The Honourable Chairman Senate went on to propose certain remedies for the evolving civil-military dynamics during a period of democratic transition, which include:

1. The Parliament ascertaining the nature of civil-military relations and prescribing a subsequent course of action;

2. Zero tolerance for corruption across the board;

3. Complete supremacy of the rule of law;

4. Show of unity by all of Pakistan’s democratic forces, whether they may be the political parties, members of the civil-society, lawyers or intellectuals, so that by building upon the strength of national unity, the Federation may be strengthened.

PILDAT believes that there is significant weight in the observations made by the Honourable Chairman of the Pakistan Senate with regards to implementation of Article 6 of the Constitution. Apparently, Senator Raza Rabbani’s statement alludes to the Treason Trial of the former President, Gen. (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf for his imposition of Emergency (de facto Martial Law) in November 2007. The matter till now has been held up not only because of the judicial proceedings, but also because of the flagrant disregard shown by Gen. (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf for court proceedings. He has missed multiple appearances in front of the Special Court. In fact, this habit of not appearing before a court of law due to ‘medical reasons’, even though he has not shied away from frequent media appearances, is a mockery of the rule of law.

PILDAT completely agrees with the observations of the Honourable Chairman Senate. Until there is public support and ownership of the Constitution, especially of the Article 6, the civilian elected Governments will remain largely ineffective, and the specter of a military intervention would always loom large. ‘Zero tolerance for corruption’ and ‘Rule of Law’ are certainly two most important pillars which support democracy.

Optics of Leadership: Wither the Elected Government?

The optics generated by the COAS, Gen. Raheel Sharif’s visit to the Khyber Agency to celebrate Eid with the troops on September 25, 2015 were inspirational not only for our Armed Forces, but also for the rest of the nation as we remain actively engaged in a war against terrorism.

PILDAT believes that the Honourable Prime Minister, Mr. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, MNA had initiated a commendable precedent by visiting North Waziristan on October 09, 2014. However, it was hoped that the elected political leadership could replicate the same for this Eid as well. Leaders of developed nations around the world follow this laudable tradition of joining their troops at the battlefronts on festivities such as Christmas, etc. For instance, the American President Barrack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan between Thanksgiving and Christmas in December 2010 to personally thank the US troops for their services and to boost their morale in the fight against terrorists. It was therefore regrettable that the Honourable Prime Minister chose to travel abroad on the occasion. Earlier, the Prime Minister had spent his Eid ul Fitr as well in Saudi Arabia in stark contrast to the military c