Constitution, military and contemporary political stalemate
In addition, PDM succeeded to oust national government with the help of superior judiciary. They also succeeded to assign Chief Minister Portfolio to Hamza Shehbaz Sharif with the help of Lahore High Court.
The recent attack on Deputy Speaker and Pervez Elahi in Punjab Provincial Assembly made the house as pandemonium which ultimately led to call security personnel to restore peace in the House.
This is blot on the face of politicians who consider themselves as the custodian of democracy, peace, human rights, mutual respect, tolerance and Islamic principles.
History witnessed that political turmoil caused by politicians led to severe security threats to Pakistan; and such a crisis forced the military leadership in the country to hold the reign of the government and to restore peace in the country; and the politicians least bothered to internal and external security dynamics of the country.
In the current political stalemate, PDM and PTI are engaged to declare each other as traitors.
The PDM is also on the ventilator. In such uncertain political development, the military establishment observe restrain.
DG ISPR Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar in a Press Conference on 14 April 2022 categorically stated that ‘army should not be dragged into politics’.
It will be more apt to mention the ex-civil servant Riodad Khan’s interview to Dr Shahid Masood at News One 17 March 2017 wherein he revealed some facts from the past political history.
He said that Naseem Hasan Shah (NHS) asked him to request Ghulam Ishaq Khan to appoint him as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
The elder brother of NHS said that in case of a clash between the President and Prime Minister, NHS would support the former.
Later on, during clash between the President and PM, NHS supported MNS and restored Assemblies and declared an ultra vires presidential order of dissolution of assemblies.
Roidad Khan also unearthed the under carpet deal between Naseem Hasan Shah and Mian Nawaz Sharif (MNS) that MNS would make him President of Pakistan in lieu of former President Ghulam Ishaq Khan; however, the latter went back on his pledge.
NHS also tried to bring the military into politics by asking the then Army Chief, General Waheed Kakar, to tell him what to do during that clash?
Gen Kakar replied that the army had nothing to do with such political business (available on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRC6OvdQLeI).
The military in Pakistan and its role is pessimistically interpreted.It will be not sagacious to expect from any military to flourish democracy in any society because military personnel or soldiers are trained in academies for war and to kill and to die for ideological and territorial frontiers of the country.
It is the constitutional responsibility of Parliament and parliamentarians to flourish democratic culture in the country.
And they failed to flourish a true democratic culture based upon Islamic teachings in the country.
Article 5 of 1973 Constitution of Pakistan says that “Loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen”.
Military in Pakistan never compromised on the ideological and territorial integrity of Pakistan and showed loyalty to its motherland.
Any military personnel found the transgressor of loyalty to Pakistan was subjected to severe punishment according to its existing rules.
Article 8 (3)(A) of 1973 Constitution of Pakistan provided security to the ‘Members of the defence forces, or of the police or of such other forces as are charged with the maintenance of public order, for the purpose of ensuring the proper discharge of their duties or the maintenance of discipline among them’.
Today, the military establishment is being targeted and being dragged in current political development by various political parties and their hire-guns in social media which is the gross violation of Article 19 of 1973 Constitution of Pakistan.
In current political unpleasant development, the various political parties are intensely violating Article 19 of 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, which states: “Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, [commission of] or incitement to an offence.”
Defence forces in Pakistan – Army, Navy and Air Force – and their Chiefs have constitutional status under Article 245 of 1973 Constitution of Pakistan like Superior Judiciary and Parliament; and also enjoy constitutional immunity with respect to security of the country.
It is a misfortune of the people of Pakistan that Media Houses and Social Media Channels are involved in false propaganda against various political parties and their leadership and also Pakistan defence forces.
The Courts must take serious notice of the various Social Media Channels across the board rather than to victimise any specific political party, its workers, or its Social Media Personnel.
It is very alarming and thought provoking matter that political parties for political point scoring and camouflaging their inefficiency, incompetency, people unfriendly policies, malpractices, they target defence forces and their intelligence agencies.
The defence forces in Pakistan always tried to play its constitutional role whenever the politicians plunged the country into a security crisis.
It is the need of the hour that the people of Pakistan must stand with their defence forces to rebut any false propaganda against their defence forces and must avoid social media channels controlled by various political parties; otherwise God forbids; they will face the fate of Iraqis, Lebanese, and other nations who targeted their militaries.
They must give a shut-up call to their political leadership who rule this country by sucking the blood of the poor Pakistanis and having luxurious palaces in developed countries.
—Concluded.
—The writer is Chairman, Department of Political Science, ICP, & Member of Editorial Board of Journal of Wallacea, University of Western Australia.
