09 May 2023 will undoubtedly be remembered in Pakistan
for the manner in which military installations including Jinnah House in Lahore,
the residence of the Corps Commander in Lahore and the GHQ in Rawalpindi were
attacked by enraged supporters of Imran Khan following his arrest. Imran Khan was arrested at the Islamabad High
Court in an operation which was carried out by the Pakistan Rangers, when he was
undergoing a biometric process at the Court. The Rangers broke open the glass
window and arrested him after beating lawyers and his security staff. He has
been facing a large number of cases since his ouster through a no-trust vote in
April 2022, but has said that these cases are political victimisation by the
ruling alliance.
While the former Prime Minister has lashed out at the
Army, this is only one part of the conflict between the principal power centres
in Pakistan- the Army, Political Parties and the Judiciary. The only actors who
were not added to the heady cocktail are the religious fundamentalists.
The battle between Imran Khan and the security
establishment is only one part of the chain of events. The other part features
the ruling coalition which is up in arms against the top judiciary and is
vowing to remove the Chief Justice, who they allege is favouring the former Prime
Minister. The Supreme Court’s order to release Imran Khan within a day of his
arrest and provide him with protection from further action has intensified the
conflict. Parliament has passed a resolution calling to file a reference against
the Chief Justice.[i]
Incidentally, both (Imran Khan and Chief Justice) are
alumni of Aitchison College, Lahore which is considered one of Pakistan’s best
schools named after the then Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab, Sir Charles
Aitchison, who, while addressing the students in 1888, said: “Much, very much,
is expected of you. I trust you will use well the opportunities here afforded
of you both for your education and for the formation of your character”.[ii]
The ruling coalition also decided to demonstrate its
street power. Thousands of supporters gathered outside the Supreme Court
demanding that the Chief Justice step down. The protesters may have dispersed
peacefully, with no act of violence reported, but it has brought the battle
between the government and the top judiciary to a head. [iii]
The military struck back in
a different manner, alarmed by the fissures within, they have decided to try
the perpetrators of the 09 May attacks on military installations. This decision
was taken in an extraordinary Corps Commanders meeting which condemned the ‘politically
motivated and instigated incidents against military installations and
public/private properties’ and not by the civilian government.[iv]
The Cabinet has now
rubber-stamped the decision. But it will be hard for the Supreme Court to
validate the move to try civilians under the Army Act and the Official Secrets
Act. The proposed establishment of military courts and deployment of the Army
in major cities would further lengthen the institution’s shadow, which has
mostly eclipsed the civilian government. Such a situation could only worsen
matters.[v]
The use of the Army Act
against political activists will have serious implications, and intensify
anti-establishment sentiments. Such actions would further erode the democratic
process in the country. Naturally, Imran Khan fears that he could be tried for
sedition and sentenced to several years in jail.[vi]
While the modalities of such
an endeavour have not been made public yet, there has been much debate over the
Military Courts’ jurisdiction to try civilians ever since they were allowed to
do so in 2015. In a move described by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s Senator
Raza Rabbani as the “the last breath taken by Parliament”, Pakistan legalised
military court trials of terror suspects for a period of two years in January
2015 during Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)(PML-N)’s tenure, less than a month
after terrorists killed 144 people, mostly children, at an Army Public School
(APS) in Peshawar. Ironically, today the PPP is part of the ruling
dispensation.[vii]
The ‘military jurisdiction
over civilians was accomplished through the 21st Amendment to Pakistan’s
Constitution and amendments to the Pakistan Army Act (PAA), 1952, but is viewed
by most as a “glaring surrender of human rights and fundamental freedoms’.[viii]
In fact, the Punjab
caretaker government has already granted approval for taking action against
individuals who were involved in the vandalism of public and private
properties, as well as military installations, in accordance with the Pakistan
Army Act.[ix]
This, too, is against the
provisions of the amendments made to the Pakistan Army Act in 2015, which
mandated the military courts to seek prior sanction from the federal government
before putting a civilian to trial. Most observers feel the move would ‘undermine
civilian courts and threaten all institutions, not just the judiciary’. Meanwhile Imran Khan has stated that “There
can be no military courts in Pakistan. They lapsed in 2019, they can’t be
established.”
The Army Chief, General Asim
Munir, has stated that, “All those responsible for bringing shame to the nation
on the Black Day of 09 May will be brought to justice and that such ‘orchestrated
tragic incidents’ would never be allowed again at any cost”.[x]
According to an Inter-Services Public
Relations (ISPR) statement after his visit to Peshawar where he addressed the
officers of the Corps and emphasised the evolving threats to national security.
He said; “We shall continue with our endeavours of peace and stability and
there will be no room for spoilers of the process”. He also “sensitised about
challenges of information warfare and efforts to create misperceptions. He
highlighted that a concerted effort is being made maliciously by inimical
elements to target the Armed Forces”.[xi]
The other issue that needs
to be examined is how sensitive military installations were vandalised with
impunity. Under normal circumstances, the crowd would not have dared to enter
such a high-security zone. Videos circulating on social media suggest that the
Corps Commander and his family were inside the residence when the crowd entered
the premises.
The area around the Corps
Commander’s residence in Lahore has always been ultra-security conscious. Apparently, every road that approaches the
residence had obstacles to deter the unwelcome, and within its compound, at
least 50 to 60 soldiers remain permanently on security duties.
How could a crowd of several
hundred reach it without being detected or stopped? There are, of course, views
circulating regarding the riots being stage managed and of the divisions
existing within the Army. There are also certain inputs to suggest that
Lieutenant General Salman Fayyaz Ghani was pro Imran and that is the reason he
was quickly removed from command in order to ensure that the institutional
cohesion of the Army remains intact.
The authority of the most powerful
institution has been vilified, its trust eroded, the reservoir of respect, in
the eyes of the public, has depleted rapidly.
While the images of the
gates to GHQ being forced open, monuments being defaced army vehicles being
pelted with stones, and the burning down of a Corps Commander’s residence will
not be easy to delete from public memory but trials under the Army Act points
to vindictiveness over political leanings of citizens. The action is now shifted to the Zaman Park
area of Lahore which is where Imran Khan resides and, in a statement, he has
said; “What will never be forgotten is the brutality of our security forces and
the shameless way they went out of their way to abuse, hurt and humiliate our
women.” Hundreds are languishing in jail in terrible conditions. This too won’t
be forgotten”.[xii]
No doubt this is a major
challenge for the establishment of constitutional democracy, governance and
civil liberties in Pakistan. Normally, this is a near impossibility given the
veto power of the Army and the personalised nature of hereditary family
parties. In this instance, the Army is propping up an unpopular civil
government against whom public anger is boiling. By extension this is spilling
over against the military.
Obviously, elections cannot
be held without banning Imran Khan’s party as they are likely to sweep them. In
the short term, they can stifle him but what later? Sustaining the present lot
as proxies and shields may yield diminishing returns. If the Army takes over it
will inherit all the economic and political problems which will only get worse.
The President who is a
member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and the judiciary seem to have
broken ranks with the Army and ruling coalition and are siding with Imran Khan.
The trial of Imran Khan under the Army Act will no doubt ensure that the
judiciary will no longer be able to play a role as the proceedings will be out
of their jurisdiction. Or as Ashraf Jehangir Qazi has written;
“Constitutionally superior bodies subordinate to a constitutionally subordinate
body”!
Muhammad Ali Jinnah's motto in Urdu, is ‘Iman,
Ittehad, Nazm-o-Zabt’ which translated as ‘Faith, Unity, Discipline’ are
intended as the guiding principles for Pakistan. Unfortunately, Pakistan is
being wrecked by the opposite of two of these principles, unity and discipline.
As said; “the ship of state has drifted far from its moorings”.
Soaring inflation with the Rupee touching 300
to the $, polarised politics, a weaponised society, poverty, religious
fundamentalism, are all part of Pakistan’s problems but, till date, there was
no ability in the public to touch the sacred cow the untouchable institution.
Despite promises of change, things have only deteriorated.
US diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad
when asked if Pakistan can come out of this crisis unharmed, said: “I think it
remains possible, but only if key persons and institutions start to put the
national interest above their personal ambitions, grudges, and manoeuvrings” he
went on to say that, “it now looks utterly dysfunctional, untrustworthy, and
volatile, and economic activity is stalled”.[xiii]
At a time when the focus
should be on economic reforms and development Pakistan is literally at the
cross roads. It’s a free-for-all and a volatile situation. An opposition pitted against the all-powerful security
establishment and a government at loggerheads with the Apex Court gives a
dangerous twist to the power game, exposing the country’s many layers of
institutional discord which is only getting compounded.
Confrontation between
institutions have the potential to wreck the foundations of society.
Endnotes
[i] Zahid
Hussain, Creeping military rule? The
Dawn May 17, 2023 https://www.dawn.com/news/1753755/creeping-military-rule
[ii]Aitchison's
History https://www.aitchison.edu.pk/school/history
[iii] Zahid
Hussain, Creeping military rule?, The
Dawn May 17, 2023 https://www.dawn.com/news/1753755/creeping-military-rule
[iv] Zahid
Hussain, Creeping military rule?, The
Dawn May 17, 2023 https://www.dawn.com/news/1753755/creeping-military-rule
[v] Pakistan:
Riots instead of reforms, The Financial Express, May 20 2023 https://www.financialexpress.com/business/defence-pakistan-riots-instead-of-reforms-3094884/
[vi] Ibid
[vii] Shahzeb
Ahmed, Can Pakistan’s military dispense justice? May 25, 2023, Asia News
Network, https://asianews.network/can-pakistans-military-dispense-justice/
[viii]
Pakistan: Riots instead of reforms, The Financial Express, May 20 2023 https://www.financialexpress.com/business/defence-pakistan-riots-instead-of-reforms-3094884/
[ix] ibid
[x] Ibid
[xi] Iftikhar
Shirazi, Army warns against further attempt to vandalise security installations,
the Dawn, May 13, 2023
[xii] The Dangerous Designs, The Dawn , 17
May 2023,
[xiii]
Anwar Iqbal , Instability in Pakistan can destabilise entire region, warns
Khalilzad, The Dawn, May 19, 2023 https://www.dawn.com/news/1754294
Major General Jagatbir Singh, VSM (Retd) is a Distinguished Fellow at the USI of India. Commissioned in 1981 into the 18 Cavalry, he has held various important command and Staff appointments including command of an Armoured Division.
Uploaded on 19-5-2023
Disclaimer : The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the organisation that he/she belongs to or of the USI of India.