The military leadership has made it clear that it has no role in the country’s political matters, election reforms and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI) Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed met parliamentary leaders last week and discussed administrative affairs of Gilgit-Baltistan.
During the meeting, the military leadership said that the army will continue to help civil administration, whenever it is needed and stressed to keep the army away from political matters.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had categorically said that the government will not bow down before any blackmailing tactics.
This he stated while expressing his views with the Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan, who called on him at his office in Islamabad.
Speaking on the occasion, PM Khan said that all the state institutions are on the same page and added that nation stands firmly united with its institutions.
It may be noted that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in his speech in the All Parties Conference, yesterday, had raised allegations over state institutions.
Even though the military establishment has a history of directly governing the nation for 24 of the 50 years of the country’s existence, they currently favor “remote” control through a number of active and former military officers who occupy influential positions. This would suggest that although the military brass, who make the real decisions, are powerful, they have opted to put a “politico-administrative” class of rulers between themselves and the people and avoid being involved in decision-making.
Unlike previous “hard” takeovers, the military leadership of Pakistan has sought a “soft” takeover since March 1998. Maybe the generals have realized that, since privileges come with responsibilities, the direct forms of governance they previously practiced can prove to be troublesome.
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