ARMY IN DRIVER’S SEAT IN PAKISTAN

The resignation of Pakistan’s Law Minister Zahid Hamid on Monday is yet another blow to the democratically-elected government. It is further proof, if any were needed, that the so-called controlled democracy in Pakistan is under the vice-like control of the Pakistan Army. For nearly three weeks, as a few thousand members of the army-propped Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah laid siege to the main arteries of Rawalpindi-Islamabad twin township, and a few other urban centres, the stop-gap Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal fumbled, not knowing how to clear the roads as per the orders of the higher judiciary which took a grim view of the public inconvenience caused by the blockage of main roads. The extremist Sunni-group with close links to the jihadi outfits and their controllers in the army refused to leave the main thoroughfares. The effort to clear them through the use of water cannons and tear gas shells resulted in casualties on both sides, with six people dying in clashes and nearly 200 injured. Private news channels were ordered shut while certain social media sites too were blocked. Yet, there was no let-up in the siege of Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, etc. Feeling clueless, the civilian government appealed to the army for help. The Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa pointedly declined to use force, saying that the army would protect key buildings and installations in Islamabad but would not use force to evict the protesters. Emboldened further, the protesters dug in, insisting that they would not leave unless Hamid resigned. The Law Minister was targeted by the religious zealots following an amendment to the Peoples’ Representation Act in early October. The protesters assumed that the proposed amendment sought to whittle down the official commitment to the finality of the Prophet and was aimed at providing succour to the Ahmadiyyas who, in any case, are treated as non-Muslims by the Pakistani State and the majority Sunni Muslims. Though the proposed amendment was dropped, the TLU insisted on the Law Minister’s ouster for having piloted what they called a blasphemous move. The stand-off brought Pakistan to the brink of chaos. But instead of persuading the few thousand protesters who had laid siege to the main road in Islamabad to park themselves somewhere less obtrusive, the army upon being invited by the civilian government to help, only ended up forcing the Law Minister to quit.

It is another humiliation for the government which was still trying to find its feet after the army-judiciary nexus forced Nawaz Sharif to resign on as yet unproven corruption charges. With a fresh election due next May, the internal turmoil in the ruling PML (Sharif), and the army belatedly propping up various jihadi groups to enter the electoral fray, the only thing that looks a certainty is that a further fragmented political class will instigate the army to take charge in a more frontal manner. Significantly, the TYL had contested the recent byelection caused by the resignation of Sharif. Against Sharif ’s wife, Kulsoom, who won the seat, the TYL candidate came third, polling a decent 7000-plus vote. The surrender to the army-TYL combine by the civilian government was couched in very humiliating terms. The official statement expressed gratitude to General Bajwa for brokering peace, and, further, it agreed to free all those who were held for acts of vandalism and violence during the three-week-long protests. It was a win-win for the enemies of the civilian government. The future of even a ‘controlled democracy’ is bleak in Pakistan. The Rawalpindi GHQ, which had hitherto called the shots from behind the scenes is now openly and publicly dictating to the Government. A weak and, now, leaderless civilian government is easily tamed by the army, using corruption and religious zealots as its tools for subduing the politicians. India should be prepared to deal with a more bellicose Pakistan in the coming days and months.