Pakistan’s army returns with more powers than before
- September 12, 2023
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Pakistan
Although not on paper, Pakistan’s new cabinet signals return to martial law, empowers army
It’s the dream cabinet of the decade. At least, so it must seem to Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, a strongman of Pakistan and human rights nightmare for everyone else. After a period of messy political manoeuvring and rumours galore, the new cabinet has been announced, with what everyone in India now knows, the wife of a convicted terrorist as a human rights minister. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so tragic because the announcement of the cabinet was preceded by a parliament session which energetically passed some 108 bills, even as it passed out of existence on 10 August. That legislation and the cabinet taken together, means that Pakistan is back under martial law, with a very thin democratic veil drawn across for the benefit of the beholder. And not just that. The “Naya’ Pakistan Army is even more powerful than before.
The prime minister has a full handADVERTISEMENT
First, the cabinet. Notice that the maximum number of portfolios have been retained by the Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar. That so far includes the National Security Division, the Inter-Provincial Coordination and Higher Education (by legislation earlier) and a few others. Kakar is the proverbial dark horse, with most politicians even unaware of who he was or his background. Kakar is from Quetta and founded the BAP (Balochistan Awami Party) together with veteran politician Saeed Hashmi in 2018. The fledgling party fought its first election that year and made it to the province. Not only that, it supported the then hot army favourite Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Equally obligingly, it later supported the ‘No confidence motion’ against Imran, bringing him to the dust.
RELATED ARTICLES
Pakistan court grants relief to Imran Khan in corruption caseImran Khan to remain in jail as court extends judicial remand in cypher case till 13 September
Recently, Pakistani media – which retains its excellence despite the worst attacks against it – reported that the BAP had first made some overtures to Asif Ali Zardari, and then quietly reached out to the Nawaz Sharif faction, who seem to have accepted Kakar’s appointment with quiescence. Even as Kakar very properly left the BAP, many of his erstwhile colleagues are set to join the PML(N). All of this has led to public disquiet among Baloch elders like Sardar Akhtar Mengal. It seems the usual games are afoot, which in turn means that the selection of a Baloch as prime minister is not aimed at all at assuaging the very real discontent in Balochistan. In fact, this ‘deep selection’ of a man – who once denied that there were any disappearances at all in Balochistan – is only going to make it worse.
A Malik comes to town
Going into the rest of the cabinet. The selection of Mushaal Hussein Mullick, wife of convicted terrorist Yasin Malik as ‘Special Assistant’ to the Prime Minister on Human Rights and Women’s Empowerment, is obvious what will catch the eye in Delhi. Enough has been said of Yasin, who has been handed life imprisonment in a money laundering case, but has a dozen other cases against him, including the kidnapping of Rubiya Saeed, daughter of then home minister Mufti Mohamad Saeed, crimes against Pandits and killing of four air force personnel among others. But the lady herself has shown little interest in her husband’s fate. Mullick, who married Yasin Malik in 2009, had applied for a visa in 2013 and travelled to India twice. She thereafter never applied again, despite her public statements of being denied a visa. She has little credibility in the valley (and perhaps none at all in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir since she never speaks of it), but the appointment is clearly made in response to the Indian government’s opening of fresh cases against Malik, and a desire to take a hand in any possible (and likely) protests should Yasin Malik get the ultimate penalty. Meanwhile, Mullick has already been talking about taking the Kashmir issue to the International Court of Justice for the release of prisoners etc. More of the same can be expected.You May LikeOnline Counseling Transformed My LifeHopeQureBook Now by Taboola Sponsored Links
A clutch of establishment men
Others in the cabinet include Sarfaraz Bugti, who hails from a family that was on the right side of General Zia-ul-Haq, and implacably opposed to Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and Baloch independence. Earlier home minister in Balochistan, he projected himself as more Pakistani than the Pakistanis, who during an election rally taking pictures of himself standing on an Indian Flag, and tweeting this vigorously. There are unsavoury charges of his kidnapping of a minor girl but nothing was heard of it thereafter. He is the caretaker Interior minister, which means the insurgents can expect a government even more willing to use force. Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jillani is an affable professional, and rumours had earlier slated him to be the prime minister. He will best be known to Delhi as having been declared persona non grata on charges of having provided a Kashmiri with some Rs 3 lakh. This happened during a particularly bad time, when the Indian High Commissioner was being regularly harassed in Islamabad, resulting in tit-for-tat actions that sent relations plummeting. Jilani is part of the Second Track dialogue circuit and is well known to the Indian establishment, and can be expected not to move an inch from the ‘Kashmir first’ position (i.e withdrawal of Article 370) unless he is given an absolute go-ahead from the army.
Then there’s Lt Gen(retd) Anwar Ali Haider, in charge of defence and earlier chairman of Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority, under the PTI government, and even earlier of the hugely profitable Army Welfare Trust. This is a man who turns up on the right side. The new Information Minister is Murtaza Solangi, a well-known journalist who was unceremoniously shown the door from Capital TV in the anti-Imran putsch, and was earlier head of Radio Pakistan. He was recently in New Delhi during Bilawal Bhutto’s visit to Goa and seems to have been ‘reinstated’ in official circles. As Information Minister, don’t expect much information.
All in all, the cabinet with not have much individual clout, but with some thorough professionals like Air Marshal (retd) Farhat Khan, also earlier posted in Delhi, and retired as Vice Chief. He heads the newest high profile think tank on the block and is in charge of a project to manufacture 6-seater aircraft in Pakistan. Then there’s Dr Umer Saif, another professional in the field of IT. All this is very well, provided they stay within the lines drawn for each. If not, each can expect the worst. That is seen in new legislation that was hastily put through by the outgoing Parliament.
The army rules
The intrepid Dawn reports that the parliament passed 108 bills as it went into history. That includes some interesting ones like the National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Authority, and yet another move to corporatise the Army’s National Logistics Cell (NLC). Regarding the first, remember that politicians have regularly been accused of money laundering with or without proof. Now there’s a whole department to get to work on it. By including the Financing of Terrorism in its remit, it gives Pakistan brownie points with the Financial Action Task Force. The legislation on NLC has a dark history. An army-run organisation, (that once ran drugs during the Afghan war) it has long been dipping its fingers into the financial pies, something which is against its original charter.
Responsible finance ministers like Abdul Hafeez Sheikh had tried without success to limit its power, especially after the NLC management was found to have been illegally engaged in trading on the Karachi Stock Exchange, in which activity it lost some Rs1.8 billion between 2004 and 2008. An inquiry was instituted against three retired generals and two civilians in 2011. But as is often the case, just a few weeks later, the NLC instead was allowed to bid for a state-owned company, further increasing its already formidable assets. In 2012, its net income alone was PKR 3.9 bn. Under the new watch, therefore, the NLC has become a full-fledged corporation and a massive asset. To all this add the fact that the army chief now sits on the board of the newly created SIFC (Special Investment Facilitation Council) that was set up with parliamentary approval in June. The question of why the army has to be part of an economic body has been questioned (politely) by nearly everyone. Now the cherry on the cake. The Official Secrets Amendment Bill (2023) gives sweeping powers to investigating agencies and intelligence. This not only broadens the definition of ‘enemy’ to include anyone engaged in activity against Pakistan. Additionally, the bill extends wartime punishments to peacetime and introduces penalties for inadvertent espionage.
All in all, this is the best it can get for the Pakistan Army. It has a cabinet and prime minister of it choice, additional immense powers to ruin almost anyone, and an economic stranglehold that ensures that the institution itself will never be short of resources. Now it seems that elections will be postponed due to the need to conduct a fresh delimitation of constituencies on the basis of a new census. That’s going to take time, – at least till December according to the Election Commission- which breaches the 3-month constitutional deadline. Once breached, anything goes. Not that it matters much. No new government however strong, can compete against the now all-powerful, ‘everywhere at once’ army, even if it wants to. Besides, they usually never want to. But here’s the bottom line. This is the army’s chance to arrest the steep economic slide that it has always blamed the politicians for. That it chose and then harassed the politicians is another matter. But this could be its ‘now or never’ situation. That’s interesting in itself. Another buck that can’t be passed. Meanwhile, it is Pakistan Army Zindabad.
The writer is a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi. She tweets @kartha_tara. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Published on: August 21, 2023 15:07:07 IST
TAGS: