The PM at GHQ

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is quite articulate, but not as much as his actions and gestures tend to communicate. No wonder he lost no time and presented himself at army's General Headquarters, Rawalpindi, to lay a floral wreath at the Martyrs Monument, leaving the talking part of his government's position on Munawwar Hassan's unfortunate words to his information minister, Pervez Rasheed - who has stoutly rejected the Jamaat's standpoint that the ISPR media release is 'interference' in political affairs. This was Nawaz Sharif's first visit to the GHQ since he assumed helm for the third time, an action that more than adequately reflects his unequivocal support of military operations against terrorist outfits in tribal areas and elsewhere in the country and a big snub to the Jamaat leadership. "The Ghazis or Shaheeds who have sacrificed their today for ensuring a better tomorrow for our future generations are our benefactors," he declared. He said "the passion and high morale is the biggest strength of our forces," a reality that the Jamaat leadership's standpoint tends to undermine. Such a position as taken by the Jamaat also runs afoul of our law and constitution. What Pakistan faces today is not a political infighting scenario; it's an existential threat to our independence as a country and a people. Maybe, as some say, having little electoral support the Jamaat is in need of crutches of terrorists to capture power now that the military bandwagon is no longer willing to take it on board. The party no longer fits the psyche of the public. The overwhelming majority of people of Pakistan is supportive of the democratic process and the military too is on the same page. If at all there was any symbiotic umbilical cord linking the two it stands snapped in the wake of Munawwar Hassan's confused logic. The party better rethink its strategy to harmonise it with realities of the 21st century. Pity, it is so much out of tune with the time.
For a people to retain an independent presence among the comity of nations they should work to ensure healthy, frictionless coexistence of a strong defence and a stable democracy. The positive paradox is that at the moment when our country is caught in a huge hurricane of terror, most of it being foreign-patronised and funded, the political forces and the armed forces are on the same page - to utter the disappointment of the Jamaat as being run under its present leadership. But there are still some signs that all of it has not been lost for the party founded by Maulana Maududi. There are signs yet, given some early signs of retraction, with party secretary general now shifting the focus from the issue of 'who is, and who is not a shaheed'. According to Liaqat Baloch, 'there are no two opinions on the issue of martyrdom of military personnel'. What still irritates him is quintessentially peripheral to the main issue; in that he says when there was a political government the ISPR should not have issued an anti-Munawwar Hassan statement. The party has agitated this point in its letter that it sent to the Prime Minister yesterday as well. But why not - don't various government departments and organisations seek retractions/clarifications when they are wrongly projected. Forget about for a moment the question whether the ISPR was entitled to issue the press release or not; think of the subtle and sinister move of the Jamaat chief to undermine the morale of the armed forces. Think of the huge disservice he did to the cause of national security and how deeply he hurt the hearts of thousands of Pakistanis who lost their dear and near ones to the brutes being held so close to the chest by the Jamaat leaders. In spite of harbouring a faint hope of striking a peace deal with the Taliban the Prime Minister showed up at the GHQ to pay a tribute to the men and officers of the armed forces - that must have disappointed quite a few. Agreed, he is still deliberating who the next army chief should be, but he doesn't have to go to the GHQ to find out who should be the new army chief. But his first call on the GHQ was clearly focused on the issues other than postings and transfers. With threats to national security being unrelenting he wanted a clear picture on operational environment, spectrum of threat, national security issues and army support to civilian administration in law and order situation.