Our security disorder

Published July 29, 2014
The writer is an Islamabad-based journalist.
The writer is an Islamabad-based journalist.

THE battle to secure control of militant sanctuaries across North Waziristan was meant to proceed without distractions for the Pakistan Army. But the choice by the government to invoke Article 245 of the Constitution facilitating the handing over of Islamabad to the army, has thrown up a wider question over the future of Pakistan’s civil-military ties at a critical juncture in the country’s history.

Notwithstanding the PPP’s swift rejection of the move, the ruling structure in Islamabad has chosen to defend the choice as necessary to block a coming militant blowback following the North Waziristan campaign.

Yet, the dangerous possibility of the army being drawn into an unnecessary political wrangle involving Imran Khan’s Aug 14 protest in Islamabad, raises compelling questions over Pakistan’s already fragmented security narrative.


Article 245 should not have been invoked without consultation.


Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was conspicuous by his absence from Pakistan, when the interior ministry revealed the decision. This detail was hardly surprising for a leader who has earned a well-known reputation for having little appetite either for fine detail or the determination to push a robust debate within and outside parliament on Pakistan’s most pressing challenges.

Enacting Article 245 of the Constitution promises to further deepen widespread popular anxiety over the ruling structure’s failure to begin tackling the worst breakdown of security across Pakistan. In brief, the eventual reliance on the army for Islamabad’s security, highlights the cumulative failure to begin reforming civil institutions responsible for Pakistan’s internal security.

Meanwhile, the implications of invoking Article 245 is no mean affair. It carries possible consequences for the future of Pakistan’s internal environment and possibly civil liberties.

In the words of Farhatullah Babar who spoke out on the PPP’s behalf, “The decision [to impose Article 245 in Islamabad] is pregnant with serious consequences for the people and the country, as it means not only failure of the civil administration but also total suspension of the jurisdiction of the high courts”.

The choice is clearly out of sync with Pakistan’s all too familiar challenges. Months have passed since Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan publicly disclosed the presence of up to 26 agencies responsible for intelligence-gathering across Pakistan, without across-the-board coordination among them.

For anyone looking at Pakistan’s emerging future, it is clear that key challenges will remain unaddressed unless internal security conditions improve dramatically. That conclusion is all the more vital, not only in the face of a continuing militant onslaught but also in view of the advances made by the army in North Waziristan.

With the battle likely to lead to an on-the-ground victory at some stage, the next compelling question is additionally vital. Will the threat to the Pakistani state begin to recede in the foreseeable future? The obvious answer to that question must only be in the non-affirmative. It is clear that an on-the-ground victory in North Waziristan needs to be reinforced with at least three equally important steps.

First, a battlefield victory runs the risk of remaining half-baked, unless immediately followed by a comprehensive push to back it up with an unwavering political consensus. This must involve enlarging a political debate within and outside parliament, to craft a broad understanding on the framework for a national security policy. In contrast, the decision to hand over Islamabad to the army under Article 245 of the Constitution without prior consultation with other political stakeholders, is exactly the kind of move that needs to be avoided.

Second, alongside the military push, the significance of tackling issues related to widespread disempowerment, deprivation and Pakistan’s prevailing crisis of governance cannot be overlooked. In a country where up to half the population is believed to live either in abject poverty or within very limited means, there is plenty of scope for militant outfits to recruit unemployed young men to join their bloody cause.

The broad direction of Pakistan’s official economic policy only suggests that it is not in sync with the country’s most important priorities, given the official obsession to build infrastructure projects while public services such as schools and hospitals remain widely neglected.

Finally, Sharif needs to move quickly and decisively to mend fences with the army. In contrast to the oft-repeated official mantra claiming all is well between Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the reality may well be starkly different.

The ruling structure’s ill-advised decision to wrap retired Gen Pervez Musharraf in a controversial prosecution appears to have disrupted the chemistry between elected politicians and the army. But even with this matter on the mend, the overall tenor of civil-military ties is unlikely to improve. This is largely the consequence of Sharif’s regime having done little to begin impressing the average Pakistani with long overdue reforms. Eventually, it is difficult to see the prevailing security disorder beginning to turn for the better.

The writer is an Islamabad-based journalist.

farhanbokhari@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2014

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