Two armies, two destinies

THE Partition divided the British army into two armies, which are now on divergent paths. The 27th constitutional amendment in Pakistan has cemented the malevolent template for its armed forces. The army chief has usurped the newly created post of chief of defence staff, thereby relegating the air force and navy and taking away even their notional parity. Ironically, it comes at a time when the Pak Air Force has been touting its performance during Operation Sindoor.

On the other hand, after Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force articulated a review of theatre command reforms and desire to retain operational autonomy. Without going into the merits, from the same operation, the two forces seem to have learnt the opposite lessons. The Pak army chief grabbed the Field Marshal rank, while the Indian Army has been guarded about its success, even when it accounted for seven of the nine targets in the opening barrage.

The Pak army chief has also given himself the authority to appoint the Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Forces Command. Hence, civilian control on strategic weapons has become marginal. It negates the wisdom that "war is too serious a matter to entrust to military men." The corollary is — can the trigger of politico-strategic weapons be entrusted to radicalised generals?

Munir has orchestrated a constitutional coup to ensure lifelong privileges for himself and enshrine military supremacy by taking the army out of the Supreme Court's jurisdiction. Now, only a specially constituted federal constitutional court can exercise judicial over-watch. It bears reiteration that even in a dysfunctional system, the Pak judiciary initially declared Yahya's martial law unconstitutional. In May 2023, it also first ruled against the trial of civilians in military courts till the verdict was overturned by a larger Bench.

India, on a more sensible track, opted for civilian supremacy in constitutional democracy. The first sign was the taking over of the Commander-in-Chief's (C-in-C) house and, later, the progressive downgrading of military ranks, in the warrant of precedence. India discarded the C-in-C's appointment in April 1955, whereas Pakistan persisted till a serious debacle in the 1971 war led to a public outcry for reining in the army.

There has been a school of thought that Indian agencies have hyped the coup threat to create a bureaucratic layer of control and additional vetting for senior appointments. The story of Raisina Hill being spooked by a possible coup hit the headlines in 2012. Even the Supreme Court advised the Chief to show flexibility, nudging him to withdraw his petition. Notwithstanding the odd aberrations, the system has worked well. It is a shining example in a coup-ridden neighbourhood, with the armies in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar grabbing power much beyond their constitutional responsibilities.

No discussion on the Pak army chief can be complete without reference to the Army House in Rawalpindi and military foundations. When Islamabad was made capital in 1967, the army chose to retain presence in Rawalpindi cantt, taking over all coveted properties. Pakistan has had four Generals — Ayub, Yahya, Zia and Musharraf — taking over the government.

These double-hatters refused to move out of Army House. Musharraf didn't allow Kayani to move into the house. In a system, where loyalties are transitory, Kayani had to move Musharraf's baggage to Officers Mess, nine months after Musharraf demitted all appointments, while he was abroad on a lecture tour. This resulted in an ugly spat. Former PM Nawaz Sharif, was known to hoist 'apna banda' (my man) even if it required supersession. But generals Kakkar, Musharraf, Raheel and Bajwa, all Sharif appointees, ditched him at critical times.

Ayesha Siddiqua's book Crossed Swords discusses the cornering of profit-making assets by foundations like Fauji, Shaheen, Baharia and real estate by the Defence Housing Society. The biggest shock was when Chinese gave Pak Economic Corridor contracts to the Frontier Works Organisation, Special Communications Organisation and even installed Lt Gen Aseem Bajwa as head, only to realise that nobody can beat the khaki generals in siphoning off funds. I am reminded of my encounter with a retired Pakistan general, wherein he boasted of his long list of properties. He even berated the Indian heirarchy for not taking care of themselves. Separated by the Radcliffe Line, we are two different armies and with Munir's machinations, now on divergent planets.