Army cannot Take Common Man for Granted Forever
By Samuel Baid
The general election in Pakistan may take place at the end of this year may be in November. But the main question is that can the victory of a party or of a conglomeration of parties like the present ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) stem the country’s drift towards chaos.
This will be a Herculean task in a country where politicians are not only nincompoops but also anti peace and where the national interest no more binds the Army. They have together taken the country to almost zero production. In one year, its GDP growth has fallen to 0.3 per cent. It is expected to fall further. With 38 per cent inflation, the common man is finding it difficult to survive. The country’s total indebtedness has gone up to Rs 58 trillion. And the civil military leadership does not seen keen on normalising relations with immediate neighbours.
The most debilitating fact about the current state of Pakistan is the loss of its people’s faith (rather blind faith) in their Army. This faith was so strong that the people identified the ideological and geographical integrity of Pakistan with it. The loss of east Pakistan in 1971 hardly damaged this faith.
What has brought Pakistan to this pass? It is Army machinations to keep the country’s political system and social life under its control. It knows in Pakistan peculiar system (neither Islamic nor democratic or anything else, thanks to the founder of the country) it (Army) will sustain by the very political system that it dominates.
There is a story of a man who tried to chop off a tree’s branch on which he himself was sitting. The Pakistan Army did the same foolish thing in 2017. It decided to finish all mainstream political parties in the country in favour of Islamist groups. Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) shared the ideology of the Islamist group’s and had nominal presence in Parliament.
Three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who headed a strong all Pakistan political party was disqualified by the Supreme Court to be a member of Parliament and lead his party. Thus, country’s main political party was thrown at sixes and seven. The second top party, the People’s Party of Pakistan (PPP) was already in leadership crisis. Nawaz Sharif and his family member’s were sent to jail. Now his party Muslim League (Nawaz) was rudderless. It’s members were encouraged to join the PTI. Those who joined the PTI were aware that the Army was behind it. The July 2018 elections proved that the Army can rig the election in favour of Imran Khan, no matter what the voters or the media says. The Army forced incompetent but braggart Imran Khan on the country as Prime Minister for almost four years. But the Army which ruled Pakistan for about 44 years, badly exposed itself in Imran’s incompetence, being on the same page with him in everything.
The Army chief Gen. Javed Bajwa’s pleading for a third extension as the Army Chief and Prime Minister Imran’s condition that he should first remove the cup of PDM’s no-confidence motion in front of him, make the two look very petty.
The no-confidence motion was successful, but the Army brought another nincompoop as Prime Minister (Shahbaz Sharif) who destroyed everything in less than two years but made Pakistan notorious all over the world for human rights violation. Whatever Shahbaz does goes to the account of the Army. Amid that, there are rumours that now the Army wants to make Bilawal Bhutto the Prime Minister.
If these rumours proved correct, the PDM will break up, leaving PTI without much challenge. But if the PDM breaks up, where will the Army go? It will have to rig the next elections to bring back PPP to power whose past enmity against the Army is well-known.
PDM’s disintegration or weakening and the sullen PTI which has been deserted by many of its heavyweight members, will make the next election a plaything for the Army. If it wants Bilawal to be the next Prime Minister, it will have no problem in lashing back all deserters in to the PPP. But is it the job of the Army in a country? The Army can split the political parties into as many pieces as it wants. But does it help the country?
There are reports that the Army may be spinning another conglomeration around sugar mafia chief Jahangir Tareen, who has influence in Punjab. If true, the coming elections will produce results that will make formation of a stable government impossible. In this case, friends of Pakistan as also the World Bank and the IMF may find a fifth military rule in the country a lesser Evil. The mob attack on military establishments on May 9 is a signal that the common man can no longer be taken for granted.
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinion of the author.