This update is meant to identify key developments during the month on Performance of Democratic Institutions in Pakistan with selected high-profile international developments included occasionally.

1. 12^th GE to be held in Last Week of January 2024: ECP
2. Change of Command at the Supreme Court
3. Trial of PTI Chairman in Cipher Case
4. ECP asks Caretaker Government to refrain from inducting “persons of known political allegiance”
5. ECP lacks authority to hold a re-poll on grounds of tampering after consolidation of election results: SC
6. SC Rejects NAO Amendments
7. Accountability of former Army and ISI Chiefs: Nawaz Sharif
8. Caretaker PM chairs 5th meeting of Apex Committee of SIFC
9. Information Commission cannot order Supreme Court to share any information about the court: AGP
10. COAS attends Provincial Apex Committee Meetings
11. COAS meets Businesspersons
12. 259^th Corps Commanders Conference
13. Speaker National Assembly meets Foreign Dignitaries
14. Chairman Senate meets Foreign Dignitaries
15. Interactions of COAS with Foreign Dignitaries
16. Caretaker Prime Minister’s Interactions with COAS
17. Former US President Trump suggests Death for Former US Chairman of Joint Chiefs

12^th GE to be held in Last Week of January 2024: ECP

On September 20, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) finally announced that General Election will be held in Pakistan in the last week of January 2024. It was stated in an ECP press release that that “intekhabat January 2024 ke aakhri hafte mein karae jayen ge.”^[1]

Even though a specific date was not appointed by the ECP, it is understood that Sunday, January 28, 2024 would be the likely date of holding the 12^th General Election.

On September 27, the ECP also published a list of preliminary delimitation rearranging electoral districts across Pakistan in light of the 2023 population census.^[2] Preliminary proposals for delimitation were originally scheduled to be published on October 9 but the ECP chose to shorten the process in response to demands from political parties.^[3]

Earlier on September 13, President Dr. Arif Alvi had written to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) suggesting that the General Election should be held across Pakistan no later than November 6, 2023, 89th day since the dissolution of the 15^th National Assembly. President Dr. Arif Alvi had also previously written to the CEC thrice regarding the 12^th General Election date. The CEC, as well as the Ministry of Law, have maintained that appointing the date of GE falls solely within the jurisdiction of the ECP. ^[4] It must be noted that Constitutional term of the President ended on September 8 though due to absence of electoral college for election of the President, he would continue to be in office. ^[5]

On September 23, the ECP had proposed 18 amendments to the election rules in line with amendments to the Elections Act, 2023.^[6]

Change of Command at the Supreme Court

On September 17, Justice Qazi Faez Isa was sworn in as the 29th Chief Justice of Pakistan. At the ceremony, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa Justice Isa requested his wife, Ms. Sarina Isa, to be present alongside him during his oath-taking. President Dr. Arif Alvi administered oath who had previously filed a reference against Justice Isa in May 2019 over alleged misconduct and non-disclosure of assets of his spouse. The 13-month tenure of Justice Isa is due to end in October 2024.^[7]

Since taking oath, Justice Isa has initiated many firsts. He appointed Ms. Jazeela Aslam as the first-ever female registrar of the Supreme Court. He also made history by ordering live-streaming of a full court bench hearing on the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Act, 2023. ^[8] On September 20, CJP Isa took steps to address issues related to case management and complaints against judges. ^[9] Under his leadership, the Supreme Court case load of 57,000 cases was reduced by resolving 257 cases within one week of the CJP taking oath.^[10]

Earlier on September 11, the outgoing Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial chose to mark the commencement of the next judicial year 2023-2024 despite having only 5 days left in his tenure ending on September 16. Speaking at the ceremony, he expressed concerns on what he termed as the impact of “bitter” constitutional litigation on the performance of the Supreme Court. He said that “the court was put to test in a trying contest which was… only hostile and aggressive and as a result we sat back and became [its] victim and suffered in performance.” He acknowledged that the Supreme Court had been put to the test in a hostile and aggressive environment which had affected its performance. He also acknowledged that some of his observations, such as wishing for political stability, had been mocked or misinterpreted. He mentioned challenges faced by the court in political cases, including a recent judgment regarding the timing of election to the Punjab Assembly and noted that while his fellow judges did not dispute the need for election within the stipulated period, the case presented difficulties due to its political nature. “Tamam sathi judgon ka meray saath bartao bohot acha raha, hum mein se kisi ne bhi assembly ki tehleel ke baad aam intekhabat 90 din mein karaney se ikhtelaf nahi kia, mushkil iss liye pesh ayi ke ye aik siyasi larai thi. Adalat ki zimedari hai ke ye batana ke aain kia kehta hai, adalat ki kuch aaini hadood hain jin ke ham pabnd hain.”

CJP also said that “shadeed tanqeed ke baad iss sal ke 9 mah mein aik az-khud notice lia, umeed hai meray kabil janasheen meray baad az-khud notice mein behter mechanism banaein ge.” ^[11] . While admitting that he was unable to reduce the pending log of cases, the CJP said that “zer-e-iltwa muqademat mein 2000 ki kami hi kar sakey, taenati ke pehle saal mein record 23000 muqademat niptae, guzashta saal niptae huay muqadedmat ki tadad 18000 thi, koshish thi zer-e-iltwa muqademat ki tadad 50000 se kam ho sakein.” ^[12][13]

On September 25, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood forwarded his opinion on a number of complaints against Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi to Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and recommended rejection of similar complaints against other judges and former Chief Justices based on the grounds that these were related to judicial orders already upheld by the Supreme Court. ^[14]

On September 22, a decision to revive the students’ union at the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) was taken during a syndicate meeting in the presence of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, as a member of the syndicate who lent his support to the initiative. Justice Isa highlighted that the Martial Law Order banning Student Unions had been repealed by an Act of Parliament in 1989 and a 1993 Supreme Court judgment, while disapproving of students’ involvement in politics, had allowed for the existence of elected bodies addressing students’ issues and organizing co-curricular activities. ^[15]

On September 28, CJP Justice Qazi Faez Isa remarked that if the Faizabad sit-in verdict had been enforced, it could have prevented the recent Jaranwala incident. The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing on a series of petitions challenging the judgment until November 1, 2023. He was heading a three-member bench including Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah which heard pleas challenging the Supreme Court judgment in the Faizabad sit-in case. At the beginning of the hearing, the Ministry of Defence, the PTI, and the ECP submitted applications to withdraw their pleas. Similar applications had previously been filed by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). Chief Justice Isa expressed his curiosity about the withdrawal of the review petitions and emphasized the importance of accountability for the future of Pakistan and questioned why there seemed to be hesitation in telling the truth about filing review petitions. He also suggested that the petitioners should bear the cost of filing frivolous review petitions. The CJP also raised significant questions regarding the case, pondering whether all institutions were now directly controlled, why these review petitions had not been addressed over the past four years, and whether powerful forces were influencing case scheduling. He emphasized the accountability of everyone, including the court, to the people. ^[16]

Trial of PTI Chairman in Cipher Case

On September 16, PTI Chairman Mr. Imran Khan moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking post-arrest bail in the cipher case. Separately, his party filed an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the registrar’s September 14 decision to return a petition for “being not entertainable.” Mr. Khan also challenged the dismissal of his bail plea by a special court set up under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).^[17]

On September 14, a special court under the amended Official Secrets Act dismissed the bail pleas of Mr. Khan and Mr. Shah Mehmood Qureshi citing overwhelming evidence connecting both suspects to allegations in the cipher case. Both Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi were accused under sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act. ^[18]

On September 26, after a special court extended Mr. Khan’s judicial remand in cipher case till October 10, Mr. Khan was moved to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi from Attock Jail. The IHC Chief Justice, Justice Aamir Farooq had directed the police to transfer Mr. Khan to Adiala Jail in response to a petition by Mr. Khan filed earlier.^[19]

ECP asks Caretaker Government to refrain from inducting “persons of known political allegiance”

On September 13, the ECP wrote to Principal Secretary to the Caretaker Prime Minister advising the Federal Caretaker Government to avoid inducting individuals with known political allegiances into the caretaker cabinet. ECP, however, did not specifically object on the induction of Federal Caretaker Minister of Interior, Mr. Sarfaraz Bugti who is a sitting Senator belonging to Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) according to the official website of the Senate of Pakistan. A number of Caretaker Ministers were earlier made to resign from the KP Provincial Cabinet after the ECP pointed out their political affiliations.

On September 15, Mr. Fawad Hassan Fawad took the oath as the Caretaker Federal Minister. He had earlier served as principal secretary to two Prime Ministers, Mr. Nawaz Sharif and Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. His administrative prowess was not limited to the federal level as he had also remained principal secretary to former Punjab Chief Minister, Mr. Shehbaz Sharif.^[20]

The ECP emphasized the importance of maintaining a neutral caretaker setup and urged caution in selecting both cabinet members and senior civil servants for key positions to ensure a level playing field for all political parties and candidates in the upcoming elections. ^[21]

ECP lacks authority to hold a re-poll on grounds of tampering after consolidation of election results: SC

On September 9, a Supreme Court bench headed by CJP Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Ayesha A. Malik ruled that the ECP lacks the authority to order a re-poll based on tampering with election records after the consolidation of the final election results by the Returning Officer (RO) under Section 95 of the Elections Act.

The SC had taken up appeals against January 18, 2019 notification of the ECP as well as February 15, 2019 IHC order in response to allegations of tampering with election records in a specific constituency (NA-91 Sargodha–IV) following the 2018 General Election. The SC clarified that the ECP’s general powers under Article 218(3) and Section 8(c) of the Elections Act are subject to two parameters: during the election process and when there is no express provision in the law enacted by the Parliament to address the issue. As a result of the judgment, the respondent was to be de-notified, and the appellant was to be re-notified as a returned candidate in the constituency (NA-91 Sargodha–IV).^[22]

SC Rejects NAO Amendments

Just a day before his term ended as the Chief Justice, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, heading a bench comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah rejected amendments made in the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) under the PDM Coalition Government and ordered restoration of corruption cases against public representatives. The verdict was split by 2-1 as Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah dissented with the order arguing that if the Parliament could enact a law governing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), it also had the authority to repeal or amend it. ^[23]

During a hearing on the petition filed by Mr. Imran Khan on the issue on September 5, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial had remarked that a “short and sweet” verdict would be released soon. ^[24]

The 55-page judgment restored all inquiries, investigations, and references that were disposed-of based on amended sections of the NAO to their positions before the amendments. The judgement ordered that the NAB and other relevant bodies should return the records of these matters to respective forums and proceedings should continue from the same stage at which they were disposed of or closed. The judgment held Mr. Imran Khan’s petition maintainable due to its alleged violation of various articles of the Constitution including Article 9 (security of person), Article 14 (inviolability of dignity of man), Article 24 (protection of property rights), and Article 25 (equality of citizens). It also struck down specific sections of the amendments introduced to the NAO, setting the minimum pecuniary threshold for NAB cases at Rs. 500 million and creating exceptions for public office-holders. ^[25]

Following the SC judgement, the NAB approached accountability courts to re-open cases involving amounts less than Rs. 500 million. Cases transmitted to accountability courts include those concerning former President Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, former Prime Ministers including Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Mr.Shaukat Aziz, among others. ^[26] On September 25, the NAB officially closed an inquiry against Caretaker PM, Mr. Kakar which had been initiated on allegations of corruption and corrupt practices related to an NGO named Voice of Balochistan. Caretaker PM himself chose to publicly state that the inquiry against him had been closed.^[27] On September 27, NAB is set to reopen three cases against Mr. Nawaz Sharif.^[28]

Accountability of former Army and ISI Chiefs: Nawaz Sharif

On September 18, former Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif, while addressing his party workers in London, called for accountability of former Chief of the Army Staff General (Retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Former DG ISI, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Faiz Hameed as well as former Chief Justices Justice (Retd.) Asif Khosa and Justice (Retd.) Saqib Nisar for engineering his ouster from premiership in July 2017.

Mr. Nawaz Sharif named what he termed as culprits behind ouster of his government and said that were “Uss ke peechay General Bajwa aur General Faiz hain; aala-i-kar kaun hai, [Justice] Saqib Nisar hai, [Justice] Khosa hai, woh Panama wala bench hai, [Justice] Ijazul Ahsan hai; yeh log aik caroron ke mandate waley prime minister ko aik minute mein chutti kara ke jailon mein daalte hain.” Mr. Nawaz Sharif further highlighted that Pakistan is on the brink of default and further added that “jinhon ne iss mulk ke saath yeh kia hai, woh sab se barey mujrim hain, 70 salon mein kisi ne itna bara jurm nahi kia hoga, jo ye jurnm kia hai ke 25 crore ke mulk ko aaj default ke kinare la ke khara kar dia hai.” ^[29]

On September 18, Mr. Shehbaz Sharif had left for Pakistan after spending a month in London but returned to the UK merely 48 hours later on September 21 after Mr. Nawaz Sharif’s speech.^[30] It was speculated that his visit might carry a message from the military establishment that Mr. Nawaz Sharif’s stance on these issues was unacceptable. ^[31] While addressing a press conference in London, while Mr. Shehbaz Sharif did not explicitly name individuals when discussing the events surrounding Mr. Nawaz Sharif’s removal from office in 2017, but referred to it as a “joke played on the nation.” Mr. Shehbaz Sharif also announced that Mr. Nawaz Sharif would return to Pakistan on October 21, 2023.^[32]

In an interview of General (Retd.) Bajwa as claimed to have been conducted by Mr. Maitla, and videos released in a series afterwards, the former COAS had said that if Mr. Nawaz Sharif decided to proceed against him as the former COAS just as he did against Gen. (Retd.) Musharraf, the Pakistan Army wouldn’t take it.

The interview quoted Gen. (Retd.) Bajwa as saying that: “agar anti-establishment beyaniya banati hai [PML] N league tau ye Nawaz Sharif ki ghalati ho gi jo yeh dobara dohrane ja rahey hain[Gem Retired] Musharraf ke khilaf bhi unhon ne trial bhi kia aur muqadima bhi kia, FIR bhi ki, lekin aap daikh lein ke Musharaf ko saza bhi nahi ho saki, kabhi woh adalat jate kabhi woh ghayab ho jate, kabhi kahin jate huay ghayab ho jate aur ultimately woh mulk se ghayab ho jatey, aur Nawaz Sharif ke paley kuch bhi nahi aaya. Agar Nawaz Sharif fauj ke khliaf beyania banaen ge tau iss se [General] Asim Munir pe dabao aey ga. Jo Nawaz Sharif ke haami hain fauj mein woh bhi un ke against ho jayen ge, aur Imran Khan ke himayati jo fauj mein hain woh dabao dalein ge [General] Asim Munir pe ke [PML] N League ki himayat na ki jae. Anti-establishment beyanya banane ki establishment kabhi ijazat nahi de gi, aur yeh civilians ko samajhna chahiye aur yeh un ko samajh nahi aati. Kabhi bhi [Pakistan] army apne ex-army chief pe samjhota nahi karey gi.” ^[33]

On September 26, Mr. Javed Latif, Senior PML-N leader and a close aide of Mr. Nawaz Sharif, claimed that PML-N was not demanding accountability of General (retired) Bajwa and General Faiz Hameed and emphasized that although many PML-N members believed that both were responsible for Mr. Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification, the party was not demanding any action against them.^[34]

Caretaker PM chairs 5th meeting of Apex Committee of SIFC

On September 8, Caretaker Prime Minister Mr. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar presided over the fifth meeting of the Apex Committee of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). The meeting was attended by Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir and federal and provincial ministers.

According to the PMO, a series of measures were approved in the meeting to address both short-term and long-term objectives related to investment facilitation. The discussions included strategies to remove obstacles hindering local and foreign investments, as well as budget investment from countries such as China and Arab nations, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia. The meeting also involved detailed briefings on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of laws and regulations. A road map for addressing economic and administrative challenges was developed as well. ^[35]

Information Commission cannot order Supreme Court to share any information about the court: AGP

Attorney General for Pakistan, Mr. Mansoor Usman Awan suggested to the Supreme Court on September 27 that the Supreme Court could establish its own regulations regarding the disclosure of information.

This suggestion was made in a case in which a private citizen, Mr. Mukhtar Ali, Executive Director of Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), sought complete information about the number of staff employed at the Supreme Court. While the SC expressed its willingness to provide the requested information under Article 19A of the Constitution, it stated that it needed to examine the potential ramifications of disclosing such information. The SC directed the Attorney General and the petitioner to submit written submissions to fortify their respective arguments and to explain the procedures practiced around the world regarding disclosure of such information.

The petitioner had originally submitted a request to the Supreme Court registrar in 2019 under the Right of Access to Information Act 2017. When the information was not provided, the petitioner approached the Pakistan Information Commission (PIC), which ordered the registrar to share the information. The registrar’s office filed a writ petition in the IHC challenging the PIC’s order, but the high court rejected the plea. During the hearing, the Attorney General argued that Article 19A requires the provision of information for matters of public importance, not for private use. He stated that the PIC cannot order the Supreme Court registrar to provide any information about the court. CJP also noted that certain types of information, such as information the court staff included two individuals from the transgender community and about judges’ families, could not be shared as they are private matters.^[36]

COAS attends Provincial Apex Committee Meetings

On September 27, Chief of Army Staff, General Syed Asim Munir, co-presided the Provincial Apex Committee meeting in Peshawar where he reiterated the Pakistan Army’s commitment to ensuring peace and stability in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in order to create a secure environment for economic development.

During the meeting, General Munir was briefed on the overall security situation in the province as well as efforts to combat smuggling, hoarding of essential goods, and drug trafficking. The meeting emphasized the unity of state institutions and the public in protecting life and property.^[37]

On September 28, COAS also visited Lahore and co-presided a meeting of the Provincial Apex Committee alongside Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mr. Mohsin Raza Naqvi. During the meeting, General Munir received a briefing on the overall security situation in the province. The meeting also included discussions on the progress of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and the Green Punjab initiatives.^[38]

COAS meets Businesspersons

On September 04, President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mr. Kashif Anwar, alongside prominent business figures, met with Chief of Army Staff, General Syed Asim Munir at the Corps Commander headquarters in Lahore to discuss economic situation of the country. Caretaker CM Punjab was also present in the meeting.

General Asim Munir highlighted the pivotal role of the SIFC emphasizing its potential to attract substantial investments of up to US $ 100 billion from countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and others. To bolster economic decision-making, he revealed the formation of task forces focused on economic matters and different sectors. ^[39]

On September 06, Mr. Zubair Tufail, President United Business Group (UBG), while addressing a press conference, said meeting of the business community with the COAS was held in a positive atmosphere and the representatives of the business community gave suggestions to the Army Chief and discussed the current economic situation with him.^[40]

259^th Corps Commanders Conference

On September 7, 259th meeting of the Corps Commanders Conference was held under the Chief of the Army Staff, General Syed Asim Munir.

According to the ISPR, the conference “re-affirmed that inimical propagandists’ desperate attempts to cause wedge between the state institutions and public are indicative of their mounting desperation and will only result into more humiliation of such elements, InshaAllah.” ^[41]

Speaker National Assembly meets Foreign Dignitaries

1. On September 06, Head of South and Central Asia Division, Voice of America, Ms. Ayesha Tanzeem called on Raja Parvez Ashraf, Speaker, National Assembly at the Parliament House, Islamabad. ^[42]

Chairman Senate meets Foreign Dignitaries

1. On September 21, Chairman Senate, Senator Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani delivered a video message at the 6th Sino-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, marking the occasion of the expo’s 10th anniversary.^[43]
2. On September 22, Chairman Senate of Pakistan, Senator Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, extended his warm greetings to participants at the 10th session of the Euro-Asia Economic Forum, hosted in the city of Xi’an, China.^[44]
3. On September 22, Ambassador of Ethiopia to Pakistan, HE Mr. Jemal Beker Abdula, called on Chairman Senate Senator Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani at the Parliament House, Islamabad.^[45]
4. On September 26, Chinese Ambassador, H.E Mr. Jiang Zeidang, called on Chairman Senate Senator Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani at the Parliament House, Islamabad.^[46]
5. On September 28, Chairman Senate of Pakistan Senator Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, attended a reception Celebrating the 74th Founding Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China at the Serena Hotel, Islamabad.^[47]

Interactions of COAS with Foreign Dignitaries

During September 2023, there were two meeting of General Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) with foreign dignitaries:

1. On September 5 and 6, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Syed Asim Munir was on a two day visit to Uzbekistan where he called on H.E Mr Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan, Defence Minister and the Chairman and Secretary of the State Security Service of Uzbekistan.^[48]
2. On September 13, during his visit to Republic of Türkiye, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir called on H.E Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Republic of Türkiye, Foreign and Defence Ministers, Commander of Turkish General Staff and Commanders of Turkish Land and Air forces. ^[49]
3. Army Chief of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, General Fayyadh Bin Hamed Al Ruwaili, called on Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir at the GHQ, Rawalpindi.^[50]

Caretaker Prime Minister’s Interactions with COAS

Care taker Prime Minister Mr. Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar and Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir met thrice during the month of September 2023:

1. On September 08, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir met with Caretaker PM, Mr. Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar at the fifth apex committee meeting of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) held at the PM Office, Islamabad.^[51]
2. On September 08, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir met with Caretaker PM, Mr. Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar at the second session of the fifth apex committee meeting of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) held at the PM Office, Islamabad.^[52]
3. On September 17, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir and Caretaker PM, Mr. Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar were present at the oath taking ceremony of CJP Justice Qazi Faez Isa at Aiwan-e-Saddar, Islamabad.^[53]

Former US President Trump suggests Death for Former US Chairman of Joint Chiefs

On September 25, Former US President Mr. Donald Trump, on his social-media network, Truth Social, wrote that Former US Chairman of Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley’s phone call to reassure China in the aftermath of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.” ^[54]

Mr. Trump further said a war between China and the United States could have been the result of this treasonous act. General Mark Milley had served as Chief of Staff of the US Army before becoming Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in October 2019.

In September 2021, Former US Chairman of Joint Chiefs General Milley had told US Congress that he had made it clear to Chinese officials that Mr. Trump was not planning to attack China in his final weeks as President. The phone call was, in fact, explicitly authorized by Trump-administration officials. General Milley said his task at that time was to de-escalate and give a message to China that the US was not going to attack you, as he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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