ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has been asked to order conferring the title of field marshal on Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif for rendering services to protect national security and safeguarding the frontiers of Pakistan by successfully launching Operation Zarb-i-Azb against militants.

The petition is an appeal moved by Sardar Adnan Saleem Khan Mazari — an executive member of the District Bar Association Rawalpindi — against the Oct 18 judgement of the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench which had rejected the same plea.

According to the appeal, the high court’s judgement was “unlawful and unconstitutional as it was rendered without taking into consideration the merit of the post which was globally recognised and Pakistan was no exception among the comity of nations”.

In the appeal, Sardar Mazari traced the history of field marshals and stated that the late President Muhammad Ayub Khan had also served at the same post, which showed that such posts existed in Pakistan.

The federal government through the cabinet division, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the defence ministry were named as respondents in the petition.

Sardar Mazari pleaded that Gen Raheel had “demonstrated visionary leadership to the people of Pakistan as well as the security forces by setting an example as a trailblazer and role model for others by giving new direction and hope for the nation in consonance with the constitutional frontiers of Pakistan”.

He contended that Operation Zarb-i-Azb had countered extremist designs of terrorist organisations with a proactive and prudent approach but was still going on and had yet to be completed.

Moreover, “the initiation and formulation of the National Action Plan (NAP) to safeguard the frontiers of Pakistan and geographical boundaries of Pakistan and the China-Pakistan corridor project was also in progress and negatives forces were creating hurdles for such projects — an instant threat to our beloved country”.

He contended that Gen Raheel’s exemplary, outstanding and professional performance during “peace and war with dedication and devotion by attaining the highest standards and mastery in battlefield suggested the army chief should be appreciated nationally by awarding and recognising his services”.

“It is a universal and divine law that whosoever rendered his services for the nation and humanity at a larger scale in an extraordinary, exemplary and selfless manner should be elevated to the highest level of military hierarchy,” the appeal said.

Thus, the high court’s order was arbitrary, misconceived against the law and principle of good governance, Sardar Mazari argued.

He also highlighted the ‘Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2016’ report which stated that Pakistan recorded a substantial decrease in terrorist activities last year, with 45 per cent fewer attacks and 38pc fewer deaths reported.

This is the second consecutive year in which Pakistan has seen reduction in terrorist activities. Terrorism in the country is now at its lowest level since 2006, stated the report which was released by the US-based Institute for Economics and Peace, an independent think-tank.

Similarly the GTI report, based on data from the Global Terrorism Database which was collated by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, a department of the Homeland Security Centre of Excellence led by the University of Maryland, also stated that Pakistan had the third largest decline in deaths.

There were 677 fewer deaths in Pakistan. As a result, Pakistan had the lowest number of deaths from terrorism since 2008, the report said.

The petition argued that the reduction in deaths from terrorism was in part explained by Zarb-i-Azb being carried out by the Pakistan Army. The operation, it said, focused on removing militants’ safe havens in North Waziristan.

Sardar Mazari’s petition said that Pakistan continued to see a decline in its levels of terrorism due to infighting within the largest active group, the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, as well as to the operations of the army in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2016