IN 1976, when the then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto created the office of the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), with a powerless four-star general heading it, the underlying object was to secure the premier’s office from forcible takeover by the army chief.The plan envisaged, under the ostensible cover of service requirement, that the three service chiefs -– army, navy, air force -– who wielded power because of means of power under their command, would be controlled and kept under check by the chairman, JCSC, who would be a liaison between the prime minister and the three service chiefs.

The latter would pose no threat to Mr Bhutto because the chairman, JCSC, had no troops under command and on his own could not take over Islamabad. The experiment did not work.

The de facto power remained in the hands of the army chief, with a 0.6 million-strong army under the command, and this fact was amply demonstrated through bloodless coups by Gen Ziaul Haq in 1977 and Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999.

Today, Imran Khan demands the inclusion of the Chief of the Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and not the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne, in a proposed high-powered tripartite meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Imran himself to end terrorism in the country.

During the span of past three decades it has been amply established that the JCSC slot has become highly ceremonious in a country with a shoe-string budget.

If the post is abolished, the amount so saved could be used to raise at least two fighting formations of divisional strength to augment the forces fighting against the terrorists.

The term of office of the present JCSC chairman will wrap up in October this year. This provides an ideal opportunity for Nawaz Sharif to announce annulment of this ceremonial post.

G.B. SHAH BOKHARI
Peshawar