Monitor on Civil-Military Relations in Pakistan for May 2015

 

Law

and order situation in Sindh: Civil-Military Public Statements

Screen grab showing Lt.

Gen. Naveed Mukhtar during his address in Karachi ¹

Lt. Gen. Naveed Mukhtar, Commander V Corps (Karachi) delivered

an extra-ordinary speech on May 16, 2015 during a seminar organized by the National

Defence University’s Alumni Organization in Karachi. The fact that the

address could be perceived as openly critical of the elected Sindh Government,

in full media glare, signified that the channels of communication in Sindh were

not as open and fluent as were previously believed to be.

His address repeated some of the old concerns of the Military

leadership that ‘the police and administration should be free from

political interference’ in Sindh along with the resolve to bring

the Karachi Operation ‘to its logical conclusion’. However,

Corp Commander’s concerns regarding the distribution of development funds

by the Sindh Government, and the statement that ‘parallel governments

and centres of power must come to an end in the province’ were somewhat

extraordinary even by the Pakistan standards of military outspokenness.²

During an interview given by Mr. Asif Ali Zardari to Mr. Hamid

Mir in the Capital Talk episode of May 20, 2015, this subject also came under

discussion, with the latter asking that ‘Peoples Party ko Sindh main

apni performance ka jawab dena hoga. Ap nahin samajhtay kay Peoples Party ki

jo Sindh main performance hai, uss peh bohat say sawaal uth rahay hai? Pichlay

dinon aik Seminar peh Corp Commander Sahib nay Karachi main aik takreer ki.

Ap nahin samajhtay uss takreer main bhi ap kay liay koi message tha?’

³ (Translation: Peoples Party will have to be answerable for its

performance in Sindh. Don’t you feel that several questions are being

raised on Peoples Party’s performance in Sindh? A few days ago, the Corp

Commander [Lt. Gen. Naveed Mukhtar] gave a speech in Karachi. Don’t you

feel that there was perhaps a message for you in that speech?)

Mr. Asif Ali Zardari in his masterful style which alludes to

many, but directly points to none, replied that ‘Main samajhta hoon

kay aik propaganda zaroor hai. Last time bhi yeh hi propaganda tha… Magar

uss kay bawajood hum nain Sindh jeet liya… Agar hum nay perform nahin

kia, toh Sindh kay log hamain vote nahin dain gay. Uss ka aap intezaar karain.

Ap mujhay lecture matt dain toh behtar hoga. Aap apnay kaam karrain, main apna

kaam karroon’ (Translation: I believe that there is a propaganda

[against the PPP Government] like the last time… However, despite that, we

were able to win in Sindh… If we don’t perform, the people of Sindh

will not vote for us. You should wait for that. It will be best if you do not

lecture me. You should do your work, and leave me to do mine).

Even though Mr. Hamid Mir’s question was about Lt. Gen.

Naveed Mukhtar’s speech, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari did not directly refer to

it, rather choosing to make a vague allusion terming it as a propaganda. All

the while, he still managed to get his point across of refraining from any ‘lecturing’

and letting the people of province decide upon the Sindh Government’s

performance. 

It is understood that the concerns voiced by Lt. Gen. Naveed

Mukhtar represent a well-considered institutional view of the Military with

regards to the elected Sindh Government and its performance vis-à-vis

the law and order situation. One may find it difficult to disagree with most

of the things said by the Corps Commander. However, given that such statements

are made in front of the media signifies that the official channels of communication

have either been exhausted or considered useless by the senior Military leadership.

Consider also the tweet issued by the DG ISPR, Maj. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa after

the ‘special’ meeting of the Apex Committee of

Sindh on May 14, 2015, during which ‘regular, meaningful Apex Committee

meetings on weekly basis’ were emphasized, ⁴ suggesting

that the forum was not meeting as frequently, and had lost its effectiveness.

The address by Lt. Gen. Naveed Mukhtar, the tweet issued by

DG ISPR, and the statements by Mr. Asif Ali Zardari point towards uneasy civil-military

relations. Should the speech be taken as yet another effort by the Military

leadership to persuade the political leadership to take the steps which may

be difficult, may bear heavy political price but which they consider essential

for restoring peace and order in the city and the province? Does it indicate

that the Military is running out of patience? These questions are difficult

to answer with certainty but what is quite obvious is that civilian political

leadership is fast losing its grip and initiative on the law and order situation

of the city and the province. Despite the obvious weaknesses of the civilian

Government in the province, it remains indispensable in the context of the law

and order in the province.

The only alternative is that political leadership across party

divide should persuade and help the Sindh Government to reform, reinvent and

reassert itself. Leadership of the PPP in Sindh bears special responsibility

for initiating the reform from within.

Will public expression of displeasure and dissatisfaction by

such an important organ of the state as the Armed Forces help the situation

in any way? Won’t this further spread despondency and confusion among

the people? These are also equally weighty questions to consider both by the

civil and military leadership of the province and the country. Why can’t

the State institutions provide the opportunity to the Armed Forces to voice

their concerns at the proper forums rather than in public? Why shouldn’t the

civil-military interaction at various levels produce consensus on cohesive,

coordinated and effective actions? Supremacy of democratic civilian leadership

can only be established and sustained if it learns how to provide effective,

and good governance.

 

GHQ

continues to be a ‘must-visit’ for visiting Foreign Dignitaries

Picture showing the Australian Foreign Minister,

Ms. Julie Bishop, during her visit to the GHQ on May 07, 2015 ⁵

In consonance with the COAS’ growing international profile, the month

of May 2015 also saw him receiving foreign civilian officials at the GHQ. This

included Ms. Julie Bishop, the Australian Foreign Minister, who visited the

GHQ on May 07, 2015 ⁶ and Mr. Daniel Feldman, the United States Special

Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who visited on May 19, 2015.⁷

According to a pattern already highlighted by PILDAT in its

Monitor on Civil-Military Relations for Pakistan, April 2015, the Australian

Foreign Minister also held separate meetings with the Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister’s Advisor on National Security and Foreign

Affairs, Mr. Sartaj Aziz, the Federal Minister for Interior, Chaudhary Nisar

Ali Khan, MNA, the Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Mr. Ahsan

Iqbal, MNA, and the COAS.

PILDAT believes that a culture of coordinated meetings should

prevail, rather than separate and exclusive ones, as this would contribute to

a coordinated approach rather than a disjointed one. With regards to the COAS’

exclusive interactions with visiting civilian foreign dignitaries, the questions

that remain of importance, since this trend has been set from November 2014,

are:

 

Seymour

Hersh’s Report: Yet another perspective on the Bin Laden Raid

Picture courtesy Al Jazeera

Four years later and a recent report by Mr. Seymour Hersh on the Bin Laden raid

in Abbottabbad, ⁸ showed that the matter was still a subject of endless

controversy and speculation. The report’s salient assertions included:

Without commenting on the contents of the Report, PILDAT would

emphasize that the State of Pakistan has already initiated an inquest into the

raid through the Abbottabad Commission, formed on June 21, 2011. It is rather

unfortunate that the contents of its findings have not been made public yet.

Rather, the Report surfaced through efforts by Al-Jazeera’s Investigative

Unit on July 08, 2013.⁹ Because of this opacity on the part of the

Government, no accountability has resulted after the raid.

PILDAT believes that not only should the Prime Minister release

the Abbottabad Commission Report after redacting the parts sensitive for national

security, but also a Parliamentary Committee should take up the subject itself.

That way, not only would accountability ensue, but also the matter, and the

controversy surrounding it, would be laid to rest once and for all.

 

Pakistan

holds Cantonment Board Elections after 17 years

Picture showing polling taking place for Cantonment

Board election on April 25, 2015 ¹⁰

After a long gap of 17 years, Cantonment Board elections were held in 42 Cantonment

Boards across the country on April 25, 2015. All the stakeholders involved in

the Cantonment Board election should be congratulated for carrying out the exercise

before the Provincial Governments of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In the context of civil-military relations, the composition

of the Cantonment Boards is worthy of consideration. They primarily consist

of 25 members, 12 of whom are elected, and the Station Commander, who is the

Chair of the Cantonment Board, appoints the remaining 12. Many observers believe

that the veto power that resides with the Chair of the Board, and the equal

number of elected and non-elected members in the Board is contrary to principles

of popular control. The perception was perhaps best captured by an Editorial

published in Dawn on April 27, 2015 that stated that ‘the nature of

garrison areas has changed and many of them are now very much part of the urban

environment, with large civilian populations, hence the input of civilians in

their administration is as important as of those in uniform’. ¹¹

However, there is a plausible justification for the current

dynamics of the Cantonment Board, considering that the areas even today primarily

remain a conserve of Military related activities. It is also undeniable that

civilians living in military-administered areas have a voice so that they can

raise these issues. Lastly, the mantle falls upon the elected representatives

to ensure effective performance of the Cantonment Boards so that complete civilian

control can be introduced in the areas gradually.

 

Memorandum

of Understanding signed between the ISI and the NDS

In what was considered to be historic visit by many, the Prime Minister and

the COAS visited Kabul on May 12, 2015 for a on