Pakistan military fear new chief will agree to curb army?s power | World | The Times & The Sunday Times (needs free resgistration)
Tensions have emerged within Pakistan’s military with officers concerned that their powerful army is losing its superiority and standing, threatening the supremacy of the 600,000-man strong institution which has dominated the country politically since its birth.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa, appointed as commander of the world’s sixth-largest army in November, received a grilling last week from junior officers unhappy at perceived efforts by Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister, to curb the military’s power. Many in the ranks are sceptical about closer ties with Mr Sharif’s government, which the general was expected to usher in with his pro-democracy credentials.
General Bajwa has been saddled with the reputation of being “Sharif’s man”, having superseded two officers to win the job. He has little counter-terror and counterinsurgency experience in Pakistan’s decade-long war against Islamist militants in its west and he now faces a battle to win over his forces while tackling the threat of Islamist militancy in Pakistan and tensions with neighbouring India.
The rift may alarm western allies for whom smoother relations between Pakistan’s government and military are a better guarantee of stability in a country possessing nuclear weapons and, despite its many contradictions and problems, still seen as a crucial bulwark against international terrorism.
At an army dinner, or darbar, where the floor is open to all, the new army chief faced unusually candid questioning at a barracks last week over government meddling.
Among a host of grievances aired, officers complained about a senior government minister attacking military courts – introduced in 2015 to allow the army to try terror suspects – and the recent dressing down of Pakistan’s former intelligence chief by Mr Sharif and his brother, that was leaked to the press.
Military sources said General Bajwa promised to address the concerns, telling the officers: “You do your job and let me do mine.” The exchange was itself leaked, however, underscoring the difficulties the new chief faces as he gets to grips with the new role.
Mr Sharif resisted enormous pressure to extend the term of General Bajwa’s popular predecessor, General Raheel Sharif, who led a brutally effective campaign against militants sheltering in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt after the Peshawar school massacre in 2014.
Security has improved markedly across Pakistan, although there have been a string of horrific mass casualty attacks by the Taliban, Isis and affiliates of al-Qaeda in the past year.
Determined to regain some ground in the constant tug of war between civil and military rule in Pakistan, Mr Sharif — who has been toppled from power twice before — ignored the calls. General Sharif stepped down in November, the first time a Pakistani military chief has departed as scheduled in more than 20 years.
It was a victory for the prime minister and should help ensure that Pakistan approaches a smooth transition of power at general elections in 2018. It would be just the second time this has happened in seven tumultuous decades in which democracies and dictatorships alike have been cut short by assassinations and martial law.
“If Pakistan is serious about being a great country, then her institutions will have to do what other great countries have done, which is to let the system prevail. Democracy must prevail,” Mr Sharif told The Times.
Many in the army were devoted to General Sharif and unhappy that his term was not extended. As for his replacement, General Bajwa was a surprise choice and did not have high-ranking relatives in the forces or enjoy the media hype and political connections of other contenders for the post. The expectation that he will smooth relations with the prime minister and shun the political power afforded by the post, makes him suspect in some eyes.
Since taking up the reins, General Bajwa has swiftly reshuffled the military old guard. Powerful officers have been moved on, including Lieutenant-General Rizwan Akhtar, the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s powerful spy agency. He was replaced by Lieutenant-General Naveed Mukhtar, a former head of the ISI’s counter-terror wing, but also a distant relative of the prime minister.
Crucially, General Bajwa brings vast experience from commands on the Indian border and in Kashmir at a time of fluctuating tensions between Islamabad and Delhi. As commander of the Force Command Northern Areas and the huge 200,000-man X Corps, he has served on the Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battleground that straddles the Indo-Pakistan border at almost 19,000 feet.