Larger military role
IN the fight against militancy, the military has and will have an important role to play given that counter-insurgencies still need to be conducted across swathes of territory in Fata and the movement of militants across the Pak-Afghan border in both direction needs to be curbed. Beyond that, however, an expansive role for the military would represent a renewed militarisation of security policy that will have far-reaching, hard-to-reverse consequences. Consider the call by Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan yesterday for Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh to not only keep army personnel already deployed in those provinces on security duties but to extend the cover of Article 245 to army operations inside those provinces. It is striking that while the interior minister flatly claimed that the police forces of the country were not trained or equipped to deal with counterterrorism problems, his request to the provinces outside Punjab indicated a belief that somehow the military is trained and equipped to deal with counterterrorism operations. But is that necessarily the case? While the military has introduced training for counter-insurgency environments, has it really both the resources and the training to deal with terrorist networks in urban environments? No one appears to have thought to ask that question.
Far too often, when the civilian side of the state is known or believed to not have the required capacity to deal with a particular problem, the military is automatically assumed to already possess those capabilities. Sometimes that leads to truly alarming decisions, such as the one taken by parliamentary leaders yesterday that military courts be instituted across the country to try terror suspects.
While the country is facing an unprecedented threat, is the impulse to draw the military further into the fabric of urban, and even rural, administration a remotely good idea? Military courts have different standards of proof, offer fewer protections to the accused and when its relatively abrupt systems are applied to a civilian environment can lead to gross miscarriages of justice. The country has already seen in the case of missing persons that simply because the military believes someone to be a militant or terrorist, the individual is not necessarily proved to be one.
Does it make sense to bypass altogether a well-developed, civilian-led judicial system simply because that system’s implementation may be flawed? Would it not be far better to urgently consult the judicial and legal community and draw up a list of measures that can be taken to make way for a more responsive criminal justice system that ensures terrorists are convicted without sacrificing the principles of a civilian-led democratic polity, no matter if that polity is dealing with a fundamental threat to its existence? In such matters, doing the right thing is often harder than simply bowing to the logic of expediency. But the country should not give up its democratic core to fight the enemy.
A new resolve
HAD they had the wisdom years ago to do what they seem to have resolved finally to do now, Pakistan and Afghanistan would have been much better off in terms of their ability to crush a common enemy. The fact that Isaf commander Gen John Campbell and Afghan army chief Sher Mohammad Karimi should have come together to meet army chief Gen Raheel Sharif shows the realisation, albeit late, that only a joint strategy and coordinated action undertaken with sincerity can produce results and eliminate the safe havens which enable the Taliban on both sides of the Durand Line to spread death and destruction. Tuesday’s meeting between the three generals comes in the wake of several high-level sessions held to chart out a new course at a time the stakeholders consider ideal to undo the follies of the past. The first of these was Afghan President Ashraf Ghani`s visit to Islamabad and his meetings with the Pakistani political and military leaderships; then we saw American Secretary of State John Kerry`s meeting with Gen Sharif in the US, and lately, the latter`s dash to Kabul in the wake of the massacre at the Army Public School in Peshawar. The last visit was especially significant because Gen Sharif reportedly shared with Kabul incriminating evidence Pakistan had obtained about the involvement of the Afghanistan-based TTP leadership in the Dec 16 carnage. An even more significant development was the Afghan National Army`s operation earlier this week against the Taliban militants in the Dangam district of the Kunar province bordering Pakistan.
By any standards this is a good beginning, which needs to be built upon. While the world had legitimate concerns regarding the presence of militant sanctuaries on Pakistani soil, Islamabad’s protestations that there were safe havens on the other side, too, seldom evoked a sympathetic response. With Hamid Karzai gone, there are reasons to believe that President Ghani is sensitive to Pakistan’s concerns and realises that the common enemy cannot be neutralised without wholehearted cooperation at the political and military levels. The latter breaks down into details that include operational matters and intelligence sharing. Afghanistan is in transition in more ways than one, so it would be naive to believe that there is going to be total harmony between Islamabad and Kabul on the shape of things to come.
But elements that have the frightening potential to divide them are less pervasive than the multiplicity of common interests uniting them.
Afridi's retirement
SEASONED all-rounder Shahid Afridi`s decision to retire from One-Day International cricket after the ICC World Cup 2015 is widely seen as a timely one by his critics while it has left a large number of his fans disappointed. The dashing player who is known for his exhilarating brand of cricket be it his batting, leg spinners or his breathtaking catches has enthralled cricket fans all over since his debut in 1996. However, the cricketer says he wants to leave the game while he is still on top and would prefer to concentrate on the T20 format until the 2016 ICC World T20 in India where he will be leading the Pakistan team. One of the most experienced players on the international circuit today, Afridi’s exploits over the past decade and a half have propelled him into the ranks of the finest all-rounders the game has ever seen.
With a number of records already under his belt, he is now eyeing the feat of completing 8,000 runs and 400 wickets during the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand before bidding farewell to the 50-over format. Though Afridi has been in the spotlight for the past year and a half owing to his chequered performances, he recently overcame a bad patch when he turned in a solid all-round show in the five-match series against New Zealand, which has ensured him a place in the squad for next year`s extravaganza. Having led Pakistan a number of times including during the 2011 World Cup, Afridi has had his share of controversies.
And yet, one must give him credit for surviving it all on the dint of his abilities and fervour that have allowed him to make a comeback each time the critics wrote him off. The game of cricket today needs personalities like Afridi; unfortunately, with hardly a suitable replacement in sight on the domestic front, Pakistan cricket will be poorer without a player of Shahid Afridi`s calibre and charisma.