THE remarks made by Army Chief General Asim Munir, during the in-camera session of the National Assembly, have widely been acclaimed by people of Pakistan as these reflect deep attachment and commitment to the motherland and its core causes. Reiterating the declared policy of his institution to remain apolitical, he said on Friday that the elected representatives of the people should determine the country’s destiny and the Army will fully support them in the journey towards development and success of Pakistan. In the backdrop of political slogans of ‘Naya’ (New) and ‘Purana’ (Old) Pakistan, the General gave a new term ‘Our Pakistan’, which not only received thunderous applause from the elected representatives but also reflected the sentiments of the majority of the people.
The in-camera briefing itself was a welcome initiative as it was held in the backdrop of the decision of the National Security Committee (NSC) to re-launch anti-terror operation in view of resurgence of terrorist activities in different parts of the country during the last few months and reservations being expressed by some politicians/parliamentarians, especially those hailing from the KP. The Army Chief and his aides including DG, ISI and DG, MI gave an in-depth briefing to the lawmakers on different aspects of the operation and responded satisfactorily to the points agitating the minds of some people. The COAS frankly admitted that talking to the TTP was a mistake as the process was misused by the terror outfit to regroup and re-launch its nefarious activities. In fact, failure of the talks played a dominant role in arriving at a decision that there was no option but to re-launch a well-coordinated operation to weed out the threat once for all. Those harbouring fears about the operation and its fall out for local people need to understand that people would suffer more and for an indefinite period if the terror threat was not eliminated. The relative calm that people of Pakistan in general and those of KP, Balochistan and Karachi in particular are witnessing is because of the immense sacrifices offered by the defence forces and other forces. Allowing terrorists any space would mean compromising sacrifices of more than eighty thousand lives and leaving people at the mercy of circumstances. Gen Asim explained that the current campaign against terrorists was part of the already approved and ongoing strategy of the State of Pakistan. This campaign will include all the necessary components of government like legal, economic, social and foreign besides security institutions. He also clarified that was not a new operation but a whole of nation approach that reflected the unwavering confidence of the people, and which included all elements of the state. As the Army Chief has reposed full confidence in parliament, we hope the input the parliamentarians have received during the in-camera briefing would enable them to understand the nature and magnitude of the challenge, the rationale for a stepped up operation and prepare an overall framework to ward off threats to the security of the country and its people. It may be mentioned that previously too parliament played a leading role in this regard as it evolved a comprehensive National Action Plan (NA) against terrorism after a thorough debate. We have also been emphasizing in these columns that while the defence forces and other security forces played their part well in fighting the menace of terrorism, both the federal and provincial governments could not take required measures to sustain achievements of our forces. It is perfectly because of this reason that the terrorists are once again posing a serious threat and that too at a time when the country already has a fragile economy and political instability. We hope parliament would take stock of this aspect and give necessary guidelines to the federal and provincial governments on the kind of strategies and plans that need to be implemented to restore peace on a sustainable basis. We have also been emphasizing in these columns that the political issues facing the country can be addressed effectively if all organs of the state commit themselves to the supremacy of parliament and sanctity of the Constitution. General Asim Munir has done so by stating unequivocally that the centre of power is the people of Pakistan, the Constitution of Pakistan and Parliament is the reflection of the people’s will. It is time other institutions too should accept this reality and politicians/parliamentarians should adopt the slogan of ‘Our Pakistan’ as it offers the way out of the existing messy situation.
