Rekindling hope

The change of command in the Pakistan Army seems to have rekindled hopes of an early solution to the country’s political crisis. Although the main opposition, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in a way has upped the ante in its game of political brinkmanship by announcing plans to dissolve the provincial assemblies of Punjab and the KP and to tender resignations from Sindh and Balochistan assemblies, it has given some space to the establishment to come up with a solution which can be acceptable to all.

But the window in which a middle-ground can be found is a small one given the fact that it is not just a race against time, but there are many spoilers, especially in the government ranks, who would rather stick to power at whatever cost than to hold general elections. They would also like to pit the PTI against the Pakistan Army’s new leadership for the sake of their narrow political gains.

But both for the Pakistan Army and the PTI, intensifying confrontation is neither in the interest of the country nor in their own. The PTI in particular needs to hold its horses and avoid falling in the temptation of going into a full-blown confrontation mode, which might spoil its prospects of coming back into power – maybe with a two-third majority as desired by the former premier Imran Khan.

The PTI has a mass appeal. Being the only national party in the country, it has followers in each and every province and unit of Pakistan. It also has the goodwill and many backers, and well-wishers in each and every institution of the country. Through its mass mobilisation campaign and announcing dissolution of two provincial assemblies, it has increased pressure on the government which is already struggling because of the grave economic situation.

The PTI needs to give some time to new Chief of Army Staff General (COAS) Syed Asim Munir to settle into his new role and complete the cycle of changes at the senior command positions – a process which he has already started.

The signals from the GHQ are heartening. As expected, General Munir in his very first week as the COAS, has been quick to distance himself from some of the old practices. The transfers and posting in the military are being done quietly – without the old fanfare.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) even refrained from issuing its customary press release, notifying the changes. This shows that the new chief wants to keep the Pakistan Army away from the media glare and even his own activities and engagements out of the public eye. This is a good beginning and provides great optics even without being seen.

But the biggest test for the new COAS would be how he helps bring political stability without which neither the economy nor the defence and foreign relations could be managed properly. On this front, despite the intuitional announcement that the Pakistan Army has become ‘apolitical’, the new COAS has to play either a covert or an overt role.

A majority of people in Pakistan want the country’s most disciplined, organised and modern institution to continue playing its traditional role of ensuring stability in the country. In the modern world, defence is just one element of national security, which now also includes the economy, foreign relations and above all internal political stability. In this respect, the Pakistan Army should not hesitate in playing its traditional role, ignoring empty sloganeering of the tiny segment of liberals and some of the political and sub-nationalist parties, which have been trying to undermine and weaken the institution and limit its role for long.

The mainstream Pakistan knows the crucial role the army played in ensuring stability in Pakistan and protecting its core national interests. This should continue. On the hindsight, it is easy to blame the past military leaders for interfering in political matters, but the circumstances of those times justified those actions. Criticising them today shows that it is being done without any understanding of the country’s objective conditions, its evolution and history.

Therefore, rather than being apologetic about the past, the Pakistan Army should stand tall, as it has always done, and continue playing its role. The military and the civil leadership need to work together as it happens in all the other countries. Pakistan’s civil institutions are weak and flawed. They can only expand space for themselves in a gradual manner if they stick to reforms and are able to overcome corruption. Even then, on many issues of national importance, the contribution of the armed forces would always be there. The political parties and the military leadership rather than seeing one another as rivals, should learn to work together and in support of one another.