Intervention in Gov.

by Raheel
A History of Military Rule
Islamabad is no stranger to military rule; the army has actually been in charge for a
combined 33 years of Pakistan's 68-year history. In 1977, for example, Chief of Army
Staff Gen. Zia-ul-Haq capitalized on domestic political unrest and began an 11-year
tenure as president by overthrowing Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was
tried on charges of politically motivated murder and was hanged in April 1979. In
October 1999, when Sharif, the prime minister at the time, fired then-Chief of Army
Staff Gen. Pervez Musharraf for his role in the Kargil War against India, Musharraf
overthrew Sharif in a bloodless coup. He arrested Sharif, tried him in court and
banished him from politics until 2007, when he returned from exile in Saudi Arabia
Raheel as COAS
A professional soldier to the core, he did not like to indulge in past practice to
exploit situations for personal goals. To his credit, he hails from a decorated military
family having secured two top military medals in the past one by his martyred
elder brother, the other by his uncle.
Preserving his military family honor and reputation has always been top priority on
his agenda. The incumbent seems focused in transforming the Army and ISI into a
more disciplined, apolitical force to improve professional image of the institution.
Crux of the effort has been to disengage from unnecessary civil-military
confrontation controversies, and focus on real threats facing the country. Hence the
latest announcement, at least 10 months prior to the retirement date.
Official narrative suggests it was done to put to rest unnecessary speculation. As
some fear it weakens resolve of the top general in weeks and months ahead, others
predict more bravado fight against terrorist elements, focused large scale law and
order operations.
And to top it all, targeted operations against abettors and financiers of terrorism
an area that recently hit snags due to false flags of political victimisation raised by
PPPs government in Sindh province. Some of its former ministers and blue-eyed
bureaucrats were rounded up on serious charges of corruption linked to terror
financing.
Restoring normalcy to chaos hit Karachi countrys only mega polis, sea port and
financial hub through a resolute paramilitary operation was the most daunting
task after elections in mid-2013. Effort of the last two-and-a-half years suggest a
marked decline in sectarian killings and kidnappings for ransom.
Premier Sharif picked the incumbent general from amongst the top hopefuls in
November 2013, applying seniority cum professional standing criteria. In doing so,
recommendations of the then army chief General Ashfaq Kiyani were ignored. Both
the Sharifs, civilian and military, had daunting challenges of their own to meet in
days and months ahead.
A dwindling economy, law and order blues in countrys financial capital Karachi,
terror attacks across the country due to Pakistani Taliban led insurgency in tribal

Intervention in Gov. by Raheel

areas, and worst law and order situation in some parts of Baluchistan, were some
challenging tasks. Till date, almost half way into the task, Premier Sharif carries a
mix baggage of successes and failures.

Challenges for COAS

For general Sharif, the challenges were more hands-on and challenging in nature.
Streamlining military affairs, coupled with need to boost morale of the army was
equally daunting. Now, he has a new crop of qualified, like-minded generals at his
disposal.
It was in June 2014, exactly seven months into his new shoes, when the top Army
general launched a surprise military operation in North Waziristan, putting to end
efforts to engage Pakistani Taliban umbrella group in talks. The operation is at its
final stage, these days.
His score card seems more convincing in terms of delivering results. With 90 per
cent of the tribal areas, including North Waziristan, now cleared of insurgents, the
task at hand is to establish permanent peace. The task is daunting as it is directly
linked to peace in neighboring Afghanistan.
Baluchistan is settling through targeted military ops and background negotiations
with some insurgent groups; normalcy in Karachi is a marked success. The biggest
challenge at hand for the general before calling it a day, is to achieve his declared
goal to make 2016 the final year to root out terrorism.
Pak Foreign Policy and COAS role
Over at Foreign Policy, Michael Kugelman describes the transformation of the
Pakistan militarys reputation within Pakistan in some detail, noting the important
effect of current counterinsurgency operations in North Waziristan. Kugelman
additionally describes the current potential for Pakistans military to take dramatic
action to resolve the crisis:
With Islamabad increasingly on the defensive, the military is gaining an upper
hand. Consider Sharifs decision last week to make the armed forces responsible for
security of sensitive facilities in Islamabad during the protests. This can be
interpreted either as a sop to the military or as an acknowledgment that the
government cant protect its own people or itself. Additionally, Sharifs
Independence Day speech on Aug. 14, the first official day of the protests, was rife
with praise for Pakistans military. That such praise came from a civilian leader as
combative as Sharif is quite telling. Most significantly, on Aug. 19, as marchers
entered the Red Zone, the government ceded full security of the area to the
military. The government gave the military carte blanche to do what it so relishes:
serve as the nations protector and savior.
By the name of COAS

Intervention in Gov. by Raheel

One small solace might be that while Pakistan has had relatively politically adept
men in the position of CoAS in the past, the incumbent, General Raheel Sharif,
seems to have few political ambitions and is instead more of a battlefield tactician.
Furthermore, the militarys current preoccupation with Operation Zarb-e-Azb means
that an armed coup is unlikely. Historically, military coups in Pakistan have been
precipitated by the preeminence of a particularly politically skilled CoAS Ayub
Khan, Zia ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf certainly. The current Pakistani political
landscape seems to lack such an individual.

References:
1. Raheel, not Nawaz, Sharif Holds the Key to the India-Pakistan Peace Mystery
(Ayesha saqida jan,2016) retrieved online
(http://thewire.in/2016/01/17/raheel-not-nawaz-sharif-holds-the-key-to-theindia-pakistan-peace-mystery-19455/)
2. Not the Only Sharif in Town: Pakistans Civil-Military Relations (Kamal Alam,
Dec,2015) Retved online (https://rusi.org/commentary/not-only-sharif-townpakistans-civil-military-relations)
3. Behind the scenes, Pakistans military helped revive talks with India (The
Hindu on 27,Dec 2015) retrieved online
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/behind-the-scenes-pakistansmilitary-helped-revive-talks-with-india/article8034147.ece)
4. What Gen Raheel Sharif must do for Pakistan before hanging up his boots
( Faseeh Ur rehman, 28 Jan,2016) Retrieved online
(http://www.dailyo.in/politics/general-raheel-sharif-pakistan-army-nawazsharif-imran-khan-ppp-pti-peshawar-attack/story/1/8692.html).