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ODDLY, the two institutions that bang the accountability drum the loudest are the very ones that won’t submit to oversight themselves.
The higher judiciary has used the threat of contempt of court laws to pre-empt any criticism. The security establishment relies on its muscle and its close connections with sections of the media to win immunity from public criticism.
Doubters only have to glance through the report produced by the commission set up to investigate Saleem Shahzad’s murder. Even though the crime corresponded to the pattern of earlier allegedly officially inspired kidnappings and beatings suffered by journalists, the commission hardly noticed the parallel. The report effectively let our notorious intelligence agencies off the hook.
And when the defence establishment was clearly responsible for the entire Osama bin Laden fiasco last May, the media promptly zeroed in on the civilian government, even though it had nothing to do with the matter. Imran Khan went so far as to demand Asif Zardari’s resignation.
Accountability is not just about corruption: those in positions of authority also need to accept responsibility — and possible punishment — for acts of omission and commission which have resulted in setbacks to the country. For example, every war with India was initiated — and lost — by our army. Which general has ever resigned or been punished for his incompetence?
It does not take a military historian to conclude that while our junior officers and jawans fought valiantly, they have invariably been let down by their high command. These same generals have been pampered more than any other officer corps, and yet have lost battle after battle with monotonous regularity. Needless to say, no uniformed head has ever rolled.
Or take our entire defence policy and posture: dictated entirely by the military establishment, it was never debated; and our occasional and powerless civilian leaders have hardly any input in it.
Nevertheless, we are forced to contribute to strategies that have dragged us ever deeper into insecurity rather than making us safer. Our Afghan and Kashmir policies are examples of repeated failure to evaluate threats intelligently. And yet we continue to plod along on the course chosen by GHQ, bleeding lives and treasure as a result. Who has even been
questioned for these repeated failures?
The Supreme Court, for its part, has validated military coups time and again, thereby distorting the course of Pakistan’s political development. Which judge has ever been pilloried for any of these self-serving judgments?
Now we have the ‘memogate’ scandal. For weeks, the country was gripped by a drama scripted by mysterious agencies, and propelled by the judiciary, the military and the media.
The civilian government was destabilised. One ambassador resigned, while the defence secretary was sacked.
But when the audience was getting impatient, and the curtain about to open, one of the two principal actors got cold feet and refused to emerge on the stage. The fact that somebody with the kind of shady reputation Mansoor Ijaz has acquired was allowed to shake the foundations of the state, thanks to the patronage and support he is perceived to have received
from the establishment, shows what a banana republic we really are.
Here’s a character who has consistently lambasted the military and the ISI in the foreign media. That he is apparently being used as a pawn against an elected government is an indication of the immaturity and cynicism of those involved in this entire murky episode. But who actually used who is something we will probably never learn.
Meanwhile, spare a thought for the commission set up by the Supreme Court to look into ‘memogate’. The American businessman, having had his moment in the limelight, no longer has the time to come to Pakistan. Presumably, the honourable members of the commission can now return to their main job of dispensing justice to a hard-pressed people. Maybe
they will even find the time to clean up the mess in the lower courts under them.
But who has accepted responsibility for causing this needless furore in the first place? Who among the media, the judiciary or the military has raised his hand to say he was wrong? On the contrary, the farce grinds on, long after the bored audience has left.
Nobody has ever accused the security establishment of being over-endowed in terms of IQ. But surely even our generals must realise that a country destabilised by their shenanigans is bound to suffer in a variety of ways. At the end of the day, a sound economy is essential to support our bloated armed forces. A government that is under constant threat of being
toppled unconstitutionally simply cannot provide good governance, even if it had the political will and the competence to do so.
Now that the prime minister has been summoned to face contempt of court proceedings, lesser mortals are well advised to keep their opinions about our higher judiciary to themselves. Leaving the court premises after a recent hearing, the PM’s lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, asked rhetorically: “Why are only civilian prime ministers always being cited for
contempt of court? Why not army generals?”
Foreigners are amazed at the endless stresses and strains our bewigged and uniformed chieftains put the system through. In the US, the UK and in Sri Lanka, I was constantly asked to explain why Pakistan is in such a constant state of turmoil.
I cannot repeat my response to these well-meaning friends here for fear that it might fall under the purview of our wide-ranging and freely interpreted contempt of court laws.
The writer is the author of Fatal Faultlines: Pakistan, Islam and the West.
irfan.husain@gmail.com
great article Irfan saheb.
Typical pro-PPP mindset that the author can not come out of. If the PM does not obey court orders, he is guilty of contempt…. that is very simple. Do not try to put a spin on it Mr. Irfan Hussain.
A common person can understand the high handedness of Military because of their past history. But most puzzling thing to the world community is the biased role of Judiciary. It looks like that Chief Justice and other justices are just trying to score their personal grudges which is totally against the fair name of Judiciary. They seem to have no interest of their country. Only God can help this country in this situation.
It is not the army that has brought Pakistan to its sorry state. It's the corrupt and incompetent politicians who have plundered the country and created crises time and again.
The army has always come to the Country's rescue in time of crisis. Do you remember when the TTP almost took Islamabad? It was the soldiers who were asked t sort out the mess!
Thanks Irfan. Very valid and logical arguments.
Well done Irfan. A soul searching article for all to see why we are trailing behind and are being repeatedly mentioned universally as a "failed state". Somebody mentioned Nawaz as "democrat"!!! If he knew the abc of democracy even in the Opposition he would have tried to strengthen it rather than rocking the boat still in its infacy. When will we learn?
Excellent article!!! As long as we Pakistani's place our generals on the pedestal to worship things are not going to change. The general mindset in Pakistan has to change.
General, politician, bureaucrat. The need of the hour is honesty. And the desire to educate our new generation. Be honest and impart education to our children. Unfortunately too few control too much destiny of this nation.
What Irfan is askng is,"when are the military heads to be asked to explain themselves before a Parliamentary committee?"
Very well said that accountability is not just about corruption: those in positions of authority also need to accept responsibility — and possible punishment — for acts of omission and commission which have resulted in setbacks to the country. Indepth analysis reveal a mindset of all the segments of Pakistani soceity and above comment support the presence of such mindset in the society. Hardly one can hear loud and strong voices for the acoountability of other than politicians though these others have also caused set backs to the country. The moment fair accountability process will start engulfing other power players also the country qibla will automatically set in right direction.
What a hard hitting piece from my pal Irfan Husain.
In the hammam of the crimes of "contempt of the court" all three have been naked twice thrice or four times — but only the civilians are dragged into the docks.
there is nothing wrong in your thought provoking article to comment on,sir plz keep it doing
The best article from Irfan.Wish every Pakistani read it, and judge for himself or herself what is good for Pakistan.
As long as the establishment and our armed forces continue to belong to mainly one province, there is no solution to these problems. I remember that in Brunei Darussalam, one retired lieutenant General took the charge as our ambassador. BSB the capital being a small place all Pakistanis were invited to the embassy for an introduction with him and he placed emphasis on belonging to the Martial race.
No doubt there have been short-comings and misadventures on the part of the military but now it has become a fashion and an urge for higher ratings to castigate army every now and then. Army assumed such a dominant role only due to the ineptness of the Pakistani politians. Indian army, also trained, tutored and mentored by the same British, never ventured into the civil arena just because of their politicians. Moreover, the learned author has forgot to mention that it was the Great Democrat, Nawaz, who brought the Memo case before the Judiciary and not the ISI>
Because army has never allowed to nurture civilian government, how would you have learned if someone would have taken your all pencils when you were a child.
As always, an excellent article by Mr Irfan. He has hit the nail on the head.