ISLAMABAD: Extensions sought by army chiefs compelled them to “play to the tune of political parties”, at least until the summary has been signed, a former military officer told participants at a seminar on Tuesday.

The session was part of a two-day forum ‘Pakistan Governance Forum 2023’, organised by the Planning Ministry. The event was attended by hundreds of prominent figures from diverse sectors, political leaders, experts and representatives from civil society who deliberated on a wide range of crucial aspects of governance.

Speaking at a session titled ‘Harmonising Civil-Military Relations’, Inaamul Haq, a retired general, cautioned that the military should also be careful about two things.

The first thing he pointed out is a martial law takeover, which he said led to distortions in political affairs, such as holding guided elections and the creation of favourable parties.

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The other issue is extensions of the army chiefs. “When they seek extensions, they play to the political tune, at least up to the time the summary is signed,” he said.

However, Mr Haq also presented a lengthy list of issues concerning politicians, insisting that those who criticised only the military must see the other side as well.

“This is a fact that no political party in the country has any policy or principles and the mainstream parties were into dynastic politics,” he said. “It’s a fact that money in politics was open and brazen, without any shame in it.”

“The country will be in turmoil if people ever listened to the requests politicians make to the DG (C) ISI,” he said, referring to the director general of counter-intelligence at the Inter-Services Intelligence.

In his remarks, PPP’s Farha­tullah Babar alleged that the army continued to expand its bases and its economy.

However, he pointed out that the power (of the military) had been defused, but added that it was not due to improvement in laws but because of media and public exposure “as nothing is secretive now”.

Mr Babar, whose party is a member of the ruling coalition, later tweeted: “No good governance in a hybrid regime in which the man on the wheel is not the actual driver. He doesn’t control vital levers but is responsible for accidents.”

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2023