A Weakened Force-Field

JUST a couple of months after assuming office, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's relations with the military establishment are already showing signs of strain. Not that it has come as a surprise, but his decision to sack the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Mansoor ul Haq, has put the military top brass on edge. Sharif has always been a man in a hurry, and the popular joke doing the rounds in Islamabad's corridors of power is: "If he finishes sacking everyone by the end of the year, there will only be members of the Muslim League left during the next four years." Taken aback by the overwhelming mandate that the man from Lahore received in the February 3 national elections, called after President Farooq Leghari sacked Benazir Bhutto's government, the armed forces reckoned they would have to take a backseat. Hence, they have been watching the developments with crossed fingers. They had pinned their hopes on Sharif having to concentrate on the stupendous task at hand, to steer the country out of the economic mess it is in.

However, Sharif's first priority after assuming office was to take advantage of his huge mandate to get the 13th amendment, which defanged an all-powerful presidency, passed. The army headquarters remained a silent spectator to this historic change, which did away with the president's discretionary powers to sack an elected government. The army top brass merely made polite noises about having no problems if this gave the prime minister a free hand to govern.

And if as part of Sharif's endeavour to enforce the much-hyped accountability, bureaucrats were being hauled up and suspended, some without legal chargesheets, there was no reaction from the military top brass. In fact, even as speculation about Sharif abolishing the infamous Council for Defence and National Security (CDNS) gained ground, there was not even the hint of a protest as the military establishment had already recoiled from the aggressive media reaction to the council's formation by the pro-presidency caretaker government.

The only time when Chief of Army Staff Jehangir Karamat voiced concern was when an enthusiastic Sharif sent a team for secretary-level talks to New Delhi. He made it very clear that there would be no demilitarisation of the Siachen glacier, despite comments from Sharif's foreign office to the effect that it was one option they were seriously considering.

THEN came Sharif's decision to sack the naval chief, Admiral Haq, replacing him with Fasih Bokhari. It created history of sorts because he became the first service chief to be sacked on corruption charges. (During Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's time, the army and air force chiefs were given marching orders for political reasons.)

Haq was the most senior four-star commander in all three services. He had also been accused of turning prime naval land in Karachi into a polo ground for Benazir's husband, Asif Zardari. But the reason for his sacking: his alleged involvement in the controversial French submarines deal and the procurement of the Exocet missiles system for the Pakistan navy.

Haq, in turn, blames Pakistani intelligence agencies: "I plead not guilty. The intelligence agencies of the armed forces have the full record of those involved and, irrespective of the fact that they are retired or serving, they must be thrown out of office to restore the integrity and morale of the Pakistan navy. These were the people who planted stories against me in the media. I have no complaint about the prime minister who asked me to resign to save the office from controversies." Sharif's offensive is not restricted to the naval chief. Karamat had barely returned from the US when

Sharif in a cabinet meeting came down strongly on senior Pakistan Air Force officers involved in heroin smuggling. "The prime minister did not spare anyone for the lapse in customs clearance, where both the civil and military agencies are involved. Yet a consignment of heroin was smuggled out," confided one minister.

This was more than what Karamat could stomach and the usual whipping boy, the popular media, was blamed while sending signals to the prime minister's house. "A line must be drawn somewhere at some point so that national interest is not jeopardised or compromised," he commented at a social function at the British High  Commissioner's residence. "Even today the Pakistan Air Force is functioning with utmost and unblemished professionalism. These media trials must cease and no one should go to town with tales."

But even the army chief hastened to qualify his statement by adding that a free press was imperative in a democratic society and the armed forces were not beyond the pale of accountability.

"But how can this accountability actually take place?" asks Mohammad Malick, executive editor of The Muslim, against which the Pakistan Air Force has sent complaints to the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors for two cartoons that the Islamabad-based paper printed. "Even the national parliament is impotent when it comes to checking the spending habits of the armed forces. The nation is told to place its faith in the unquestionable leadership of just three individuals entrusted with the task of utilising almost 49 per cent of the national budget. But when anything seriously wrong takes place in any institution the top man has never been known to assume full responsibility and resign," says Malick.

Karamat's statement was a clear signal to Sharif that if his government had any intention to send Pakistan Air Force Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak flying home, it would not have the backing of the military establishment. So far there has been no reaction to the general's remarks from the government which (with the support of the common man, who also feels that when it comes to corruption there should be no holy cows) remained silent.

The first response came just a few days later and Sharif showed no signs of backing down. "The CDNS has lost its utility and I do not see it existing anymore. Though low on our priority, the cabinet will decide its fate in one of the meetings," he told senior editors after a long meeting with Karamat, in which all these issues reportedly came up for discussion.

Though it is widely believed that Sharif will allow the air chief to retire gracefully in about six months, there is pressure on him to take action against a former ISI chief, who, according to an affidavit submitted in court, paid billions of rupees to six politicians and two well-known journalists.

Meanwhile, it is believed that when the sacked naval chief went to make a farewell call on President Farooq Leghari, he took along documents to prove his innocence. Later an official from the President House said Leghari also maintained, like the chief of army staff, that the government should proceed against the top functionaries without causing damage to the prestigious state institutions. The matter (the sacking of the naval chief) should have been handled in a more graceful manner, rather than going in for media trials, he added.

For the first time in years the presidency and the military are on the same wavelength and are speaking with one voice. Sharif, as the most powerful prime minister in Pakistani history, appears to be adjusting to the new realities of a democratic order. The chief of army staff is nearing the end of his three-year tenure. The post of chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, is falling vacant and it is the army's turn to occupy this post. Since extensions for top military officials have become a thing of the past, will Sharif appoint Karamat chairman? Karamat does not seem interested: "It (elevation of an army chief before expiration of his term) has never happened before." As the game of musical chairs continues, it remains to be seen whether Sharif will manage to rein in the military establishment or end up provoking a backlash, which has been the bane of Pakistani polity. On that outcome depends the future of the country's fragile democracy.