Time to learn lessons

The month of August witnessed some upheavals in our neighborhood. It was first in Bangladesh, where silent and sudden coup replaced the elected powerful prime minister, who was in power for the last eleven years.  And then an unheard and unprecedented move in the history of Pakistan, when a retired ISI chief was jailed, put on trial under martial law procedure.

These are not ordinary happenings. Its ramifications can be far and wide. No wonder King Suleiman has feared threat to his life in an outburst complain to US congressmen. These visible and invisible happenings, some comprehensible, some still under cover reveal how fragile is the world Order and how vulnerable humans are especially, persons in power.

Who could have imagined the charismatic Imran Khan, an achiever and unmatched national hero would be put in jail to face the uncertain verdict! His popularity in youth and women has divided judiciary, brought cracks in the army and put hybrid regime in Pakistan on test.

What does it show? It shows that world is connected. No one, howsoever powerful and popular, is not free to decide what he or she thinks about national priorities and personal interests? The globalism for the last three decades has unfolded the limitations of pre-modern way of governing and postmodern fallibility of institutions. The weak institutions generate powerful individuals and make collectivity dumb or silent, to populate the discourse that ‘the naked king is in precious clothes’.

Therefore, events in Pakistan and Bangladesh reveal no surprise, which a few years ago would have left maddening impact. The turn of events in Bangladesh has shown that vindictiveness and dictatorship, even if, it was civilian government could not go unwatched. It is precipitating in Pakistan as well.

The discourse is divided among Pakistani commentators. Those who are in the country see it a conspiracy hatched by Retired ISI chief with the jailed leader to oust the most powerful person in the army. It goes back to september 2021, when Imran Khan, then prime Minister of Pakistan, insisted to his army chief General Bajwa to retain General Faiz, as the ISI chief, for some more years giving the pretext of his functionality in Afghanistan, where Taliban had come to power. He was their man from Pakistan. General Bajwa not only ruled it out, but also became suspicious of their rapport.

General Faiz was thought to be a competent officer, but highly ambitious general. His efforts to woo General Bajwa did not work. Instead, General Bajwa lost his faith in Imran Khan and subsequently engineered the vote of no confidence against him to bring an interim government of his choice.  General Faiz could not push his ambitions to become the army chief. His maneuvering did not go well with the new army chief, General Asim Munir. Subsequently, his resignation from the active services and his closeness with PTI created a schism between him and Army chief Asim Munir.

This led new army chief apprehensive about General Faiz’s role in civil politics. His rapport with army ranks and communication with PTI remained under scrutiny. May 9^th upheaval in Pakistan unfolded these blurred redlines. The division in judiciary, the fault lines in the Pakistan army, rigged elections, disfiguring PTI and bringing up a hybrid regime did not lessen the popularity of Imran Khan and support for his political party. T

he social media awareness and its  criticism to the policies of the establishment were first time happening in the public discourse of Pakistan. The television talk shows about unpopularity of the present regime, especially in controlling price rise, about frequent electricity shutdowns, lawlessness and unrest in Baluchistan have made Imran Khan into a cult figure, a victim of the establishment.

They had no narrative against him to sell. Instead, the digital social media and Pakistani expatriate’s opinions put the army establishment on defensive mode. It accused it for weakening its democracy and for stealing the PTI mandate to rule. Once thought to be a sacred cow, the corruption of its generals is subject to question in electronic and print media. Nothing new to Paksitan, but it was not open in public discourse before.

The establishment would mitigate it with the conspiracy theories and sell it under anti-India narrative. Its history is full with such instances, from the ‘Rawalpindi conspiracy case, 1951 to Asif Munir’s rigged elections in 2024, but always legitimized with its own construed narrative, by creating the other, anti-India narrative. There seems no change in this narrative in immediate future.

What is new in it then? The surprise is that one of the most powerful ISI chiefs, who happened to be the Core Commander as well, has been imprisoned and put to media trial. The charges are filed, as per the army procedure, which looks normal and convincing to the common public. It is about his urban land corruption during his active services and after his retirement indulgence in mercurial politics of the country. This is an apron. Under it, the agenda is to finish pro Imran support structure. It is anti-Imran centric.

The stakes are high, not easy to bring shame to a highly valued officer, who was not only the custodian of top military secrets, but also spymaster of Taliban deal, a year ago. There never has been army scrutiny on the public accusations against the previous ISI chiefs and army generals, who had plundered public money or changed regimes without any reason. In the same line, stealing of the mandate of PTI was attributed to the national interest. Since PTI has questioned it openly and Imran had proximities with General Faiz, it has been brought to the hook. Behind it is the story of power struggle. Imran Khan, the most popular civil leader and the retired General Faiz influential army officer in the establishment among middle rung officers, both disgruntled with ruling establishment. The hunt is against it.

This is its defining line on patriotism, which makes civil regenerative politics hard to germinate. Here, Imran Khan is unyielding to pressure. He has refused to toe the line, beyond a limit. He is not corrupt and he is unbending to allurements. He has earned popularity and credibility, with each passing day. It has been against all the calculations of civil-military elite nexus to silence him in public perception. He could not be silenced. It is the same narrative that had erupted, when late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman dared the ruling General of Pakistan in 1968 to face the consequences. The recent upheaval in Bangladesh prompted such perception to re imagine.

The conditions and perceptions created by the disgruntled officers, rigged elections, non-deliverance of hybrid civil regime and rising popularity of Imran Khan with uncertainties around have led army to retain its whip and legitimize its hegemony with the crafted charges against its own powerful high valued retired officer. A severe message to the civil leaders and the middle rung officers, who were critical to the policies of the establishment.

The urgency was felt because of the pressure mounted from outside the country, in support of Imran Khan and emergent sudden coup in Bangladesh. Therefore, a new narrative of anti-nation has been created, a case of mutiny is in offing against the charge sheeted persons, civil or with army credentials. Hence, there is digital crackdown, internet disruption and tight media rules in Pakistan.

Pakistan is at cross roads. India needs to learn a lesson that our apolitical army should be left to its apolitical professional mode. The changes and transformations should come to it from within, not from the political engineering. Our founding leaders had well envisaged it with their wisdom and patriotism. We need not make new experiments with our established institutions. The different modes of production, diverse cultures and vibrant pluralism are the real sustaining fundamentals, and capital of our organic evolution. We need to value it.

Retired Emeritus professor in sociology at Banaras Hindu University