Army-government relationship
There is no gainsaying the fact that the military has played a dominant role in our country’s politics. Therefore what is referred to as the civil-military relationship assumes extraordinary importance. In practice, it is the army-government relationship that determines the course of our politics. Given this history and facts, it comes as no surprise that Nawaz Sharif, without naming the military, said in his speech to the Multi-Party Conference (MPC) of the opposition on September 20, 2020 that there existed a ‘state above the state’. Nor should it surprise us that in its aftermath, a meeting on September 25, 2020 between Prime Minister Imran Khan and some journalists should have almost inevitably turned to the question of the state of relations between the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) government and the military. In his reply, Imran Khan too reiterated that there was unprecedented harmony between the government and the army. The latter, Imran Khan continued, does 100 percent what he asks of it and always lends its support whenever required. This statement should be juxtaposed with the repeated statements of Imran Khan that the army and the government were ‘on the same page’ and other almost daily utterances to this effect. We cannot say to what extent the military likes being drawn publicly into the political fray as a result. But given its extraordinary outsized role in our national affairs, this appears to have become inescapable. Even meetings of opposition leaders with COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa become fodder for the daily war of words between the government and the opposition. The revelation of these meetings lately by Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid has given rise to a storm in a teacup, with the irrepressible Sheikh threatening more revelations that may embarrass the opposition.
Perhaps it is in response to this mini-furore that Nawaz Sharif has now forbidden any meetings with the top military brass without the approval of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s leadership. Subsequent to this the prime minister too, through a letter issued by the cabinet division, banned the members of his cabinet and the bureaucrats from meeting military officials without his prior permission.
Another issue that reared its head before the MPC was whether Nawaz Sharif’s speech would be allowed to be broadcast by local TV channels. Initially, a host of PTI ministers fulminated that a convicted person could not be allowed to have his speech broadcast. Perhaps they had in mind the aftermath of Altaf Hussain’s incendiary speech, whose fallout was the ban on Altaf Hussain’s utterances on our TV channels and the break-up of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). There is also the negative precedent of Asif Ali Zardari’s interview on a TV channel being taken off the air in mid-sentence. However, these precedents do not make the case for suppression of speech or curtailment of the right of free expression. It goes therefore to the credit of Imran Khan that he overrode his ministers’ objections and decided that allowing the speech to be broadcast would be in the interests of free speech and in the event, the interests and image of the government. It is another matter that the speech has been castigated by Imran Khan and other ministers as music to India’s ears. From this, some have tried to construct once again the ‘patriotic card’ to castigate Nawaz Sharif for bringing grist to India’s propaganda mills. This dubbing of dissident opinion, almost in knee-jerk fashion, as ‘anti-national’ needs to be eschewed since any controversial happening or speech is pounced upon by the Indian media to do Pakistan down. Patriotism, to quote the classic saying, is often the last refuge of the scoundrel. Love of country should not be debased in this manner and through its overuse in our discourse. In a democracy, the rule of law is supreme. If the law does not generally permit stifling free speech, our political leaders should learn to curb their atavistic urges and follow the law in both word and spirit as Prime Minister Imran Khan did.
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