Col J P Singh, Retd
Currently Pakistan is passing through critical times of its history. When the country was making sincere efforts to strengthen itself economically, socially and democratically and wanting to improve relations with India, the democratically elected govt was held to ransom. When hopes thrive in Pakistan something unusual happens making way for the army to stage a military coup d’etat.
There have been three successful and three unsuccessful military coups in Pakistan since its independence. The first coup attempt, though unsuccessful, was by Maj Gen Akbar Khan in 1949 against the govt of Liaquat Ali Khan, the first prime minister of Pakistan. The second was in 1958, when the first President of Pakistan, Maj Gen Mirza Iskander Khan dismissed Pak Constituent Assembly and the govt of prime minister Feroz Khan Noon and appointed Gen Ayub Khan as Chief Martial Law Administrator. 13 days later Mirza Iskander Khan was deposed by Gen Ayub Khan who himself became the President. He and his successor Gen Yaha Khan ruled till 1971. Gen Zia ul Haq was the next army chief to stage a third coup in Pakistan against Z A Bhutto. On the mid night of 4 July 1977, he ordered Bhutto’s arrest, dissolved National and Provincial Assemblies and suspended the Constitution. He ruled till 1988. The fourth and another unsuccessful plot was hatched by Maj Gen Tajammul Hussain Malik to assassinate Gen Zia ul Haq on the Pakistan Day on 23 March 1980. This plot was exposed and thwarted. In 1995 fifth coup attempt was made by Maj Gen Zahir Islam Abassi against Ms Benazir Bhutto. This attempt was supported by Islamic extremists but failed. The sixth successful attempt was made by senior officers loyal to Gen Pravez Musharraf in which they arrested Mian Nawaz Sharif and all his ministers after thwarting Nawaz Sharif’s attempt to dismiss Gen Musharraf. Musharraf ruled Pakistan till 2008. In its 67 years of independence Pakistan has been ruled by four military dictators for 35 years.
Mian Nawaz Sharif’s visit to India in May 2014 created a hope for lasting peace. Soon after his visit ceasefire violations and infiltration increased phenomenally. Pak started targeting civilian areas deep into Indian territory. India still fixed Foreign Secretary’s meet but Pak Envoy pre-empted the dialogue by meeting Hurriyat leaders even when India made it clear that Pakistan has to chose between the two. Since Pak Envoy ignored Indian concern, India cancelled the talks stating that killings of innocent civilians and peace initiatives can’t go together. Soon thereafter a Canada based Cleric Taheer-ul-Qdri and Cricketer turned politician Imran Khan launched anti govt protests in Pakistan creating conditions that the fears of military coup looked imminent. Initially the protests appeared to be turning into a civil war of the kind seen further West of Pakistan facilitating military coup d’état. Even though Nawaz Sharif has survived the crisis, the political turmoil has weakened him considerably and empowered Gen Rahil Sharif, the army chief, exponentially. Acting cautiously, Gen Rahil agreed to be neutral on the condition that govt concedes him considerable political space and leaves the foreign and the defence affairs with the army. Later he met the two protesting leaders. For the intervention he has exacted a price from Mian Sharif. Earlier having been deposed by Gen Musharraf, once again Gen Rahil has shown him who is the boss. Even if we don’t give much credence to the rumours, the unprecedented firing and infiltration in J&K draws parallels to Mian Nawaz Sharif’s India visit and army’s annoyance. For the rest of his term Nawaz Sharif will be a puppet prime minister. The world will not take him seriously. Thus, as of now, a silent military coup has already taken place in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, it is the Army which calls the shots. Army does not allow the democracy to flourish. A widespread belief in Pakistan is that army stoked the protests to destablise the govt because it was not happy with Nawaz Sharif attending premier Modi’s swearing in ceremony and handling of Gen Musharraf’s treason case. It was on army’s instigation that Imran Khan and Qadri started the agitation. Their demand that Nawaz Sharif should resign, a national govt be formed and elections held under the army supervision supports the logic of army’s tacit support. All the internal and external problems facing Pakistan today and in the past are due to its army. Bifurcation of Pakistan in 1971 was due to its army. What Pak army did to suppress civil unrest in East Pakistan in 1970 -71 and their cruelties are too shameful to be described. The army which surrendered to Indian Army should have been tried for war crimes. This disgraceful army should have been hounded out of Pakistan. Pak Army is ruthlessly killing civilians in North Wazirstan where it continued its massacre during the holy month of Ramzan. It has thrown lakhs of people out of their homes in NWFP. Over 5 lakh have been put in camps. Army atrocities on civilians and its treachery against own govt have been exposed by human rights activists and former US Ambassador Husain Haqanni who has narrated in his book ‘Incerdible Illusions’ how army generals have been manipulating American administration to over ride elected govts. Empowered position of Pak army is accepted by the people of Pakistan as fait accompli. I have neither seen nor heard anything good about Pak Army during my two tenures on the LOC. Hence Pak Army is a villain in Indo-Pak peace process. Knowing that it can’t succeed in a conventional war, it is carrying out a proxy war in Kashmir. It creates conditions such as Imran-Qadri protests. It drugs civilian youths and makes them criminals. It exports terrorism. It promotes drug mafia and helps in drugs trafficking. It pushes terrorists across the borders to spread mayhem in India, China and Afghanistan. It is nurturing terrorist organizations, training militants and using them as strategic assets. Pak connections with 9 / 11, sheltering Osama-bin-Laden in military cantonment in Rawalpindi, sending recruits in the service of recently declared Islamic Caliphate in Iraq are clear indications of its involvement in global terror. It makes lives of its own people on the LOC miserable by frequently resorting to firing and inviting retaliation.
Pakistan as a nation is against military rule as seen in their faith in democracy. In every election they elect a popular govt which somehow the army highjacks. Pak army does not respect democracy. It does not tolerate civilian control. Invariably we hear our great strategists suggesting govt to open channels of communications with Pak Army. But how can India dialogue with a rogue army. India should talk to the elected govts irrespective of the Army’s control over foreign policy of Pakistan. Instead India should expose treachery of Pak Army. It is the Pak army which is promoting terrorism in the sub continent which is effecting sub continental development and economic growth.
Our issues with Pakistan are complicated beyond imagination. On top of that Pakistan is a complicated problem for the entire sub-continent. Can India sort out problems with Pakistan. My take is No unless India first sorts out Pakistan. There is hardly anything Narendra Modi can do except to resume dialogue. After November 2008 Mumbai attack, India snapped diplomatic ties with Pakistan despite which Dr Manmohan Singh met President Zardari in June 2009 in Shinghai on the sidelines of Shinghai Cooperation Council and a month later Dr Singh met his Pak counterpart in Sherm-el-Sheikh on the sidelines of NAM. Yet the talks remained suspended. It will please the critiques if two Prime Ministers meet at the sidelines of UN General Assembly later this month for which Mango diplomacy of Nawaz Sharif is a welcome gesture. Lasting peace with Pakistan will remain our dream unless the following happens. (i) US, China and the SAARC exert coercive pressure on Pak military collectively to let the democracy prevail. (ii) Pak polity exerts coercive pressure on military to remain confined to the barracks. (iii) India exposes sectarian conflicts in Pakistan and gets involved in her internal affairs as she does in ours. (iv) The monster created by it consumes it and (v) There is another division of Pakistan. Till that happens Pak will keep bleeding India with its thousand cuts.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel