Civil-Military Relations in Pakistan

Background

The liaison between civilians -the people without arms- ,the society at large and the military-the people with arms is termed as Civil-Military Relation. The Civil-Military relations in Pakistan are considered inextricable and intact when there is civilian rule earned through vote and will of the people; democracy. When civilian rule or democracy is disrupted through Military coup and despotism, civil-military relations remain in shambles.

Since the inception of Pakistan  1947,the country has experienced more than 30 years of military rule. The ideological and ethnic division, crippled institutionalization, political and constitutional crisis between center and provinces paved the way for Military to maintain a superior position in power corridors.

The Era of Praetorianism started when General Ayub Khan  (1958-1971) justified the military coup to protect the country from chaos and financial debacle. Though GDP and other economic indicators soared, even industrialization got strength in his tenure, yet oligarchy surged.

The man on horseback General Zia (1977-1988) came into power to infuse Islamic doctrines into society. Pakistan for the first time had morphed into proxy state by joining Afghan war against Soviets in his rule.

Bonapartism revisited when General Pervaiz Musharaf (1999-2008) intruded into civil democratic structure to protect the country from internal and external threats posed to national security of Pakistan. Though telecom and IT industry ,Security and Planning Division, Nuclear security program saw apex during his tenure but it was unfortunate for Pakistan to join War on Terror after  9/11 incident in exchange for Foreign debt rescheduling and aid.

Democratic dispensation is a continuous process which demands cordial relationship between Military and civilian government defined under constitution for it's smooth execution. Unfortunately Military interventions greatly hurt democratic  setup. Historically, military has allegedly undermined the mandate of civilian government. The conflict of interest between the civilian leadership and military has dented Pakistan's image at global forums.

Military's role in Pakistani society:

Military has multiple roles to play for organization of a healthy society. The key roles are as under

1.  Readiness and response to natural disasters.
2. Counter-Insurgency or Counter-Terrorism Operations.
3. Contribution during crisis of any kind and maintaining law and order situation in the country where requested by Civil government.

Military Concerns:

Pakistan's military cannot compromise and allow civilian government to sabotage following at the helm of affairs.

1-Issues related to National Security and Kashmir Dispute

The principal concern of Military is related to National Security i.e Nuclear Program and Policy of Pakistan ,Foreign policy towards India and other neighboring countries. During Zia's era, the Military directly controlled nuclear policy. Nuclear Policy has remained their close preserve even under civilian rule. Benazir Bhutto  complained in September 1991 that she was denied information about highly sensitive aspects of country's nuclear program during her first term as Prime Minister.

Similarly, the Army maintains deep interest in policy towards India, including Kashmir. Civilians are accused of ignoring Kashmir issue. Therefore Military push civilian government to promulgate bold stance regarding Kashmir dispute. Likewise the foreign policy of Pakistan is vis-a-vis India as per whims of Military.

2-Military Influence over Foreign Policy

There has been relentless struggle between Military establishment and civilian leadership to dominate foreign policy decisions. Military is sensitive towards foreign policy of India, Afghanistan and US. Frequent foreign visits of COAS to these countries are a testimony to this claim.

3-Concern about socio-political Instability

Military expects civilian government to ensure socio-political stability throughout the country. Internal and external forces have been striving hard to break the socio-political fabric of the society ,that results in unrest in society and community at large. Foreign forces always hit ,religion ,ethnicity ,culture and sect people are sentimental about. Therefore Military needs to eliminate those elements which are toxic to society and sovereignty of state.

4-Opposition to Cut in Defense Budget

Pakistan's Military is accused of receiving 80% of total annual budget that is wrong. Military gets almost 18% of the total which includes salaries and pensions of all three forces. Pakistan invest  9000 USD  on one soldier annually which is comparatively less than India and other countries.

The military is opposed to any unilateral cut in defense budget by civilian leaders because it has to strengthen military arsenal to combat violent and volatile adversary India.

 Reasons of Tug of War between Civilians and Military :

 1-Incompetent Political Leadership

Quaid e Azam's demise after independence in 1948 and murder of Liaqat Ali Khan in 1951 created vacuum in leadership as there was no second row leadership in the country after the two legends. He had false coins in his pocket-father of nation asserted ,the saying is testimony to lack of leadership then.

Induction of people like A.M Malik, Ghulam Muhammad and Zafarullah Khan in Cabinet from bureaucracy and almost nine members of the cabinet who were chosen out of the Parliament including C-in-C General Muhammad Ayub Khan in 1954 spoiled democratic structure. There had been a delay in constitution making and Elections after independence. Hence despotism and authoritarianism prevailed.

2-Weak Political Forces

Constitutional and political system requires strong and well established political parties. Political parties in Pakistan have failed to develop strong national and political will. Pioneer Political Party was disorganized. Native Pakistani based politicians mostly belonged to feudal class, and some diplomats from elite class of society which was undemocratic in nature.

3-Crippled  Institutions

Pakistan inherited colonial legacy in Government institutions. India got her institutions intact while Pakistan had to start from the scratch. After independence institutions like Parliament, Civil Secretariat, Supreme Courts, Central Bank and armed forces were weak in Pakistan.

There was paucity of competent parliamentarians. Muslims in British Indian Army was almost 33% ,proportionately greater which resorted as major reason to establish Pakistan army as a strong institution in the beginning as compared to other institutions.

4-Civil Dependence on Military

Due to weak welfare and law enforcement  institutions- army remained involved in civil administration. In 1947-army served to establish civil secretariat in Karachi. Military was asked to vacate their barracks for the civil servants. Rehabilitation of the refugees and  their security was initially provided by Military. It has been called frequently on various occasions during natural disaster, emergencies and other civil functions like Election and Census.

During  law and order situation in the society-army is considered reliable and effective. Army and rangers played a pivotal role in Karachi, Sawat, Fata and Baluchistan to maintain peace ,even minute operations have been carried out by Pakistan Army instead of Police and other departments .Take instance of the incidents like Lal Masjid, Chotto Gang in Punjab,and Targeted operations in Rural Sindh and Hyderabad.

Similarly army veterans'  induction after retirement in the civilian departments like Education, WAPDA, Railway, PIA and Steel Mill has been the popular trend.

5-Rising Power of Civil-Military Bureaucracy

Lack of basic infrastructure paved way for feudal lords to dominate the rural society. The feudal lords were incompetent to build democratic institutions and they had to rely upon the bureaucratic elite and military to address socio-economic and political issues of far flung areas. The result was the bureaucratic elite became disproportionately agile and assertive ,steadily increasing their power at the expense of political elite.

For the first time Military was called in to protect civil strife in 1953 amid sectarian riots against Ahmadies. This was the first sectarian rift in the country. Martial Law was imposed in Lahore to control the situation. Later Governor General Ghulam Ahmed declared a state of emergency in 1954 and dismissed the government of Khwaja Nizam ud din, provincial and constituent  assemblies were dissolved.

After nine years of efforts. Pakistan remained successful to frame it's first constitution in 1956.The constitution was given by Chaudary Mohammad Ali that was later abrogated in 1958 by General Sikandar Mirza when PML President ,Qayyum Khan threatened direct action and Khan of Kalat declared his succession from Pakistan.

To control the situation General sikandar Mirza imposed Martial Law ,dismissed Central and Provincial Assemblies ,banned all political parties ,postponed general elections and appointed General Ayub Khan as Chief Marshal Administrator. General Ayub Khan removed Iskander Mirza on October 1958 and became president. Thus began the era of military-dominated governance.

Current State of Affairs

A US Congressional report released on 28th of August ,2019 reviewed Pakistan's decision making process concluded, "the military has retained a dominant influence over foreign and security policies in Pakistan. But COAS is a brief and non-political professional". The report was prepared for US lawmakers by the bi-partisan Congressional Research Service.

The PTI government ,however has a comfortable arrangement with the military. The civil-military relations of this government is strong and cohesive.

Conclusion:

The democracy in Pakistan is fragile. However ,returning of the country to democracy after every military coup indicates that the nation's faith in rule of law and representative governments has not yet diminished. Pakistan needs to evolve into a practicing democracy with a civilian supremacy in its civil military relations. The military rule has been a cosmetic arrangement for a temporary relief of problems. It is the civilian structure, the institutions which have to be built to combat all odds of the society and nation.