Pak Generals recalibrate
THE Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, joined the Director-General of Inter Services Press Relations (ISPR), Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar, in an extraordinary and unprecedented press conference on October 27 to refute the widely growing belief in Pakistan — being fanned by former PM Imran Khan — that the army was responsible for the murder of the well-known and anti-establishment Pakistani TV news anchor, Arshad Sharif, in Kenya on October 23. The Kenyan police have claimed that he was killed in a case of mistaken identity when his vehicle drove through a roadblock. Few Pakistanis believe this claim. The government has appointed a special investigation team led by the head of the Federal Investigation Agency to examine all the circumstances leading to Arshad’s death. The army and the ISI have kept themselves away from it.
Imran Khan is targeting not only his political opponents at public meetings and media interactions but also the army.
The press conference, during which the Generals revealed embarrassing information about Khan — without directly naming him — and raised suspicions about the role of those who wish to spread doubts about the army’s character among the people — again, a clear reference to Khan — shows that army chief Qamar Bajwa and his Generals have decided to take the battle against Khan to the people’s court. This has become necessary because of Khan’s popularity, as witnessed in his electoral successes in the byelections. Khan is not only targeting his political opponents during his public meetings and media interactions but also the Generals.
Addressing the Oxford University Union virtually on October 25, Khan asserted that as PM he sought to ensure the establishment of the rule of law in Pakistan. That meant that the powerful should be held accountable. However, the military’s view on the rule of law was different from his and corruption for them ‘was no big deal’. This was ironic, coming from a man who, during the same interaction, dismissed the Toshakhana case against him as ‘too ridiculous to explain it to you’. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has held Khan guilty of corruption for not following the specified rules on the gifts received by him from foreign dignitaries and making a great deal of money by selling some of them. The ECP has disqualified him from holding on to his current seat in the National Assembly. His actions in this matter have been disgraceful but do not seem to have dented his popularity. It appears that the people feel that his ‘corruption’ is small potatoes compared to that of other politicians. While this may be so, the fact is that he has shown the same sticky fingers as the rest of Pakistani politicians and, hence, his call for the rule of law rings hollow.
Indirectly, ISI and ISPR DGs accused Khan of wanting the army to go beyond its constitutional role to save his government. They repeatedly emphasised that the army, after extensive consultations among its leaders, including those officers who would potentially lead it in the next 10 to 15 years, had firmly decided to remain ‘apolitical’ and confine itself to its mandated role. DG (ISPR) asserted that the army had made ‘mistakes’ in the past but was washing them away through the blood it had shed over the past two decades.
They also accused Khan of meeting Bajwa at night to make requests, only to criticise him in the morning. DG (ISI) said he was personally present at a meeting in March, where Khan assured Bajwa of further extension in service. What was left unsaid was that this would be so if the army chief helped Khan to fend off the political challenges he was facing. Bajwa refused Khan’s offer.
DG (ISPR) also reiterated that there was no evidence to support PTI’s claims on a foreign conspiracy to oust Khan. He also said Bajwa had suo motu raised the cipher sent by the Pakistani ambassador in Washington of his conversation with US official Donald Lu but the PM had dismissed it as of no consequence.
The two Generals stressed that Arshad faced no threat in Pakistan and did not want to leave the country. They indicated that he was in touch with the agencies. They implied that though his criticism, which in the cipher matter was on the basis of the misinformation fed to him by the PTI, may not have been liked by the army, it held him in high esteem. They indicated that Arshad was persuaded to leave Pakistan for Dubai by the PTI leadership and that his employers, the ARY TV channel, had played a dubious role in the entire matter. They focused in particular on ARY CEO Salman Iqbal who, Iftikhar said, should be brought back to Pakistan for a probe. They also asked why Arshad was sent to Kenya from the UAE when there were over 30 countries which allowed Pakistanis visa-free entry.
Bajwa is now in open confrontation with the PTI, which has sought to deny the charges levelled against Khan during the press conference. A new army chief will be appointed within the coming days; hence, this conference was Bajwa’s attempt to set the record straight. It is difficult to forecast if his endeavours will chip away at Khan’s present popularity. What is clear, though, is that the incoming army chief will have to deal with an economy in tatters and a fractured polity and keep the army immune from the political situation. Even if it desires, it would not be easy for the army to shed its political role.
During the press conference, a correspondent asked if there could be any Indian involvement in Arshad’s murder. Iftikhar could not resist saying that the role of a third party or a ‘hostile agency’ cannot be ruled out.
The fact is that Pakistan is tearing itself apart through its own basic flaws. It would be a foolish ‘third party’ to intrude in a process that Pakistan is itself doing so successfully!
