More army/ISI bashing by Nawaz Sharif
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LAHORE - Former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif has always been in favour of an all-powerful parliament and a civil government. On Saturday, he addressed a news conference and highlighted the role he had played in the preparation of a 'potent' resolution which was passed by a joint session of the parliament. On the same occasion, he demanded that the defence budget as well as the budget for the intelligence agencies should be debated and approved by parliament.
Then he criticised the role the intelligence agencies have been playing in bringing about change of governments and running foreign policy of the country. The PML-N chief, out of power for the past 12 years, devoted a good deal of time on explaining that it's the elected government's prerogative to decide what kind of ties Pakistan should have with countries like India, Afghanistan and the United States. In a democratic setup where the integrity of political leadership is above board, the powers Mr Sharif wants the government to be equipped with cannot be disputed. But whether the recipe should be tried immediately (when the reputation of the rulers is too well known) or it should be deferred for some better times, is a question that needs a serious consideration.
Also, it should be examined very carefully as to what could be the likely consequences of giving all powers to the political government, depriving the Army and the intelligence agencies of the 'undesirable' role they are playing at present.
Nobody would dispute it that power should be given only to those who can use it judiciously and honestly to benefit the country, not personal gains. And in case it is established that somebody is using his powers more to serve his own interests or that of his cronies, then there will be little justification for the PML-N chief to press his point.
Not long ago, President Zardari, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, had said that India poses no threat to Pakistan. He further stated that in every Pakistani there's a small Indian, and vice versa.
On the other hand, the Armed Forces regard India as their enemy number 1. They are so focused on India that most of their defence preparations are aimed at meeting any eventuality or challenges to be created by the eastern neighbour.
The military leadership's assertion that despite the fact that US commandos had carried out the "Kill Osama" operation in Abbottabad without being noticed by Pakistani system, a similar attempt by India would not be tolerated should be sufficient to manifest the thinking of the defenders of Pakistan.
The wide gulf between the thinking of the Supreme Commander and the Armed Forces is very clear.
If it is left to the political government to decide what kind of relations Pakistan should have with India, is it difficult to imagine what that policy would be?
The present government has not done anything for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute and is not much enthusiastic to do anything on this front even in future. It will be very happy if the dispute is sent to the cold storage, leaving it to posterity to deal with it.
The freedom movement in Occupied Kashmir, which was once taken notice of at the international level because of the sacrifices rendered by the Kashmiri people, seems to have lost momentum. Nothing is being done by the present rulers to get the Kashmiris their right to self-determination. So disenchanted are the people of Occupied Kashmir that it is being said in private conversations that in case Pakistan did nothing for their rights for some more time, they may prefer to have an independent state rather than go for accession with the Islamic Republic.
The PML-N chief must bear in mind that Wullar Barrage controversy was there even in the eighties when he was the chief minister. There has been no progress as yet towards the solution of this problem. An Indian delegation that visited Pakistan only a few days ago is reported to have agreed to change the design of the controversial project. Whether the two countries will really reach some agreement, and if so, when is as unclear as it was a couple of decades ago.
Now let's see what kind of ties Pakistan has with Washington.
Many say that Pakistan's ambassador to US is a man who is in fact "US ambassador to Washington". His statements serve the US interests more than they serve Pakistan's.
It is also now a common knowledge as to who is responsible for the establishment of a CIA network in Pakistan.
Under instruction from President Zardari, Pakistan's embassy in Washington issued visas to a large number of US citizens, without any scrutiny by the ISI.
All decisions are taken by the president, who is also the co-chairman of the ruling party. The prime minister is just an obedient servant of the president. Soon he will have to follow the instructions of Bilawal, who is due to assume political role in September.
The integrity of the present political leadership is known to everyone. The president faces corruption charges, but instead of facing them he argues that he enjoys constitutional immunity from prosecution. Never ever has he said that he gives up immunity to prove himself innocent.
Media reports that ISI chief told the joint session of parliament that Raymond Davis had been handed over to the US under instructions from the president and the prime minister should expose the 'truthfulness' of the two leaders.
The prime minister has consistently been telling the nation that Raymond was released in accordance with the court order.
This shows that for the time being it will not be wise to give all powers to the civil government. Instead, some checks should be introduced to ensure that the top government functionaries don't misuse their powers. Political and military leaders together can take better decisions that can ward off what Mr Sharif called 'existential threat' to the country.