The Generals in Pakistan have realised that it is better to control an elected government than rule the country directly
File image of ousted Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan. AFP
Pakistan’s democracy has been in turmoil ever since it was carved out of undivided India in August 1947. Unlike India, whose biggest asset has been a vibrant functioning democracy, Pakistan has been under army rule for almost half the period of its existence since Partition.
Ayub Khan, the first Army General to become head of state in 1958, ruled Pakistan till demonstrations and labour strikes supported by protests in East Pakistan led to his resignation on 25 March 1969. He was succeeded by Yahya Khan, another general in the Pakistan Army who served as president of Pakistan from 25 March 1969 until his country’s defeat in 1971 war with India that resulted in the creation of Bangladesh from erstwhile East Pakistan.
After a short period of civilian rule, in 1977, Gen Zia-ul-Haq overthrew the elected government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who was later executed in 1979. Gen Zia ruled Pakistan from 1977 to 1988 till he died mysteriously in a helicopter crash.
The next Army chief to take over the reins of Pakistan was Gen Parvez Musharraf, who was president of that country from 1999 to 2008. It is ironic that Gen Zia was appointed as the chief of the Pakistan Army by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto whom he overthrew, and likewise Musharraf was selected by then prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was later arrested by Musharraf and forced into exile.
Even during the period when an elected government ruled Pakistan, the army played a pivotal role in the affairs of the state, especially defence and foreign policy.
In fact, the Generals in Pakistan have evolved politically and are smarter than Pakistani politicians; they mostly facilitate the election process and government formation under their preferred leader and thereafter nudge him to govern the country their way for obvious commercial reasons. The army runs 50 commercial entities. The Fauji Foundation grew by 78 per cent between 2011 and 2015 with an annual income of $1.5 billion.
The United Nations has ranked Pakistan 150 out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), with one-third of the population living below the poverty line. To evade accountability, the Generals have realised that it is better to control an elected government than rule the country directly.
It is evident from the above that while all countries have armies to defend their territorial integrity and core values, the Pakistan Army has a ‘country’ that defends the personal interests and the wealth of the army’s hierarchy. The army keeps its continued relevance and disproportionate budget allocation from the national budget by continuously harping on threats from India.
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No political leader can survive as the Pakistan prime minister unless she/he is on the right side of the ‘establishment’ (Pakistan Army) and Imran Khan is no exception. No political manoeuvring can take place without the knowledge and tacit approval of the army. It is no secret that Imran Khan was hand-picked and backed by the army during the last elections in 2018 and facilitated to form the government. He sanctioned three years’ extension of military service to Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa as the Chief of Army Staff, probably to return the latter’s favour of supporting him to become the prime minister.
Pakistanis had immense expectations from Imran Khan. People expected the economy to do better and thought their quality of life would improve substantially, something which he had promised in the run-up to the elections. Unfortunately, due to rising fundamentalism and rampant corruption, Pakistan’s economy and internal security were in such a mess that no one including Imran Khan could have set them right so easily. Due to the growing discontent of the people with the Imran Khan government, the stage was set for the Opposition unity.
Increasing Opposition pressure, the unhappiness of the army and the poor state of the country’s economy made the situation untenable for the Imran Khan government. However, it goes to the credit of Imran Khan that there have been no allegations of corruption against him, something which is rare for a political leader in Pakistan. This explains why Imran Khan remained immensely popular despite making hardly any changes in the state of Pakistani affairs. Part of his popularity also has something to do with his uncompromising anti-Americanism, which appeals to the people of Pakistan, especially the youth.
Differences with the army on issues like the appointment of the ISI chief only added fuel to the fire. It appears that the all-powerful army allowed the political forces in the Opposition to take the initiative of ousting Imran Khan. It is a known fact that Shehbaz Sharif, a seasoned politician who has been three-time chief minister of Pakistani Punjab, is acceptable to the ‘establishment’. Coming together of the traditional rivals — Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the People’s Party of Pakistan (PPP) — is something that could never have been imagined and reflects how opportunistic political parties can be to come to power. Imran played ‘the last ball’ as he had declared earlier but ultimately, he had to give up the chair of prime minister to Shehbaz Sharif of the PML (N). To further deepen the crisis Imran Khan and 100 lawmakers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have resigned from the National Assembly; Imran Khan stated that he didn’t want to share space in the parliament with the thieves. Time will tell whether this mass resignation gets converted into a sympathy vote for the PTI.
In the current situation, first, a stable government is not only essential for Pakistan but for India and the region as well. Second, Pakistan needs to restrain its army and keep it confined to non-civilian spheres if democracy is to deepen in the country. Third, corruption needs to be curbed to revive the economy. Finally, if Pakistan aspires to be a truly modern nation, religious fundamentalism and radicalisation must be curbed.
The author was head of the Army Service Corps. He is a distinguished fellow at the United Service Institution of India and a motivational and leadership speaker. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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