Pakistan: Day of appointments

This past Wednesday, November 27, will be remembered as a 'day of key appointments' made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif whose skills in performing tasks such as selections to the country's top-notch military positions had been subject to warranted dispute and doubt. Though, objectively speaking, times have changed and his extra caution was perhaps not warranted given not to be easily circumvented traditions and precedents set in stone by the outgoing Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Pervaz Kayani. That appointment of Lieutenant-General Rashad Mahmood as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee could have been made earlier but was held up till this day is the only plausible reason; the same thinking. Maybe also, having won a heavy electoral mandate and his experience-based perceptions Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would like to present himself as a 'master of the show' of all things big happening in Pakistan. Not only this, he appointed a new defence minister by offloading this charge apparently more as a move to avoid his appearance before the Supreme Court and account for the missing persons. The post of the CJSC has been kept with the Army and not rotated in accordance with the widely held perception that it stands for collective leadership of all three services. The argument in support of Prime Minister's decision is that with nuclear capability that has acquired a central role in national defence, being part of the army, the said position has gone to the GHQ. Is it a profound argument? With all this happening on the day of appointments no wonder the notification of Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani as the next Chief Justice of Pakistan was also issued. Until the passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment the appointment of army chief was the exclusive right of the President, who would only 'consult' the Prime Minister, but make his independent decision. Now it is to be done on the 'advice' of the Prime Minister, who, in turn, receives a list of four or five three-star generals eligible to be appointed to lead the 600,000-strong Army. If the army chief were to be appointed on the basis of seniority alone then Article 243, under which this appointment is made, would have said so. But that's not the case; the new army chief had to be the Prime Minister's choice, though he is to be from the list provided by the GHQ. All the men who make to the position of Lieutenants-General are equally eligible to occupy the top slot, leaving the choice to be made by the Prime Minister as the deciding factor. Given General Kayani's path-breaking role in weaning the army high command off the smell of taking over civilian governance there should not be such secretiveness as exercised by Nawaz Sharif. Possessed with identical secretiveness President Ghulam Ishaq Khan had gone to the other extreme - he announced appointment of General Mirza Aslam Beg's replacement months ahead of the due date, thus neutralising the apprehension of the COAS extending his own tenure. But given the fact of humongous challenges - both, internal and external and the reality that over the last decade or so a variety of new power centres have emerged, the military is no longer biting the bait of taking over civilian control. The generals are profoundly conscious of the imperative to have the people at their back as they confront security-related challenges, a thinking largely inspired by Kayani and his colleagues. Then there are these vibrant media, proactive judiciary and highly motivated civil society who are no more willing to acquiesce military interventions in civilian affairs. A kind of balance of power and perspectives has been obtained between the military and the civilian stakeholders, indeed a positive development that must persevere in the larger national interest. That said, a word of caution is due; the ball is now in the civilians' court to show maturity by rising above petty political considerations. The armed forces, judiciary, media and civil society can only provide an effective, work-oriented ambience. To deliver is the civilian rulers' responsibility. Unfortunately, however, they haven't so far. Coming to the point, Nawaz Sharif should feel fully safe and secure after these appointments have been made. If he felt handicapped thus far that is no more the case. His government must deliver now.