Army chief’s retirement
GEN Raheel Sharif will retire next week, the first army chief to do so on time and after a single, three-year term since Gen Waheed Kakar in 1996. Moreover, in the last 18 years, the Pakistan Army has been commanded by only three men — a dismal rate of turnover that had harmed the reputation of the institution and undermined much else. Now, a fourth general will assume command next week and hopefully he will build on the commendable example set by Gen Sharif and will abide by the institutional norm of a single three-year term for an army chief. Certainly, Gen Sharif will be a hard act to follow.
After the stasis of Gen Ashfaq Kayani’s second term, the army needed a jolt in the right direction on the anti-terror front. Gen Sharif was that jolt — an indefatigable traveller to the front lines and redirecting his institution for a relentless fight against the banned TTP and sundry anti-Pakistan and sectarian militant groups. Zarb-i-Azb and the Karachi operation are the two counter-insurgency and counterterrorism legacies respectively that Gen Sharif will be remembered for. While the PML-N belatedly embraced Operation Zarb-i-Azb, it remains the case that the North Waziristan action was originally the plan and vision of Gen Sharif. Once Prime Minister Sharif authorised the operation, it was Gen Sharif who worked tirelessly to sustain the morale of the troops on the front lines and, later, to try and accelerate the return of IDPs to various parts of Fata. The Karachi operation has been an altogether more controversial affair, especially since its scope widened beyond narrow counterterrorism goals. But the role played by Gen Sharif in stabilising the country’s largest city and pulling it back from the edge of the precipice is undeniable.
While some policy aspects and parts of the strategy and tactics used can be debated, it remains the case that the current army chief has played an important part in returning the country to a significantly more stable and secure place. In time, the full legacy and impact of Gen Sharif will be evaluated in the proper context. For now, however, it is necessary to acknowledge the precedent-setting decision to retire after three years in an era where old institutional norms appeared to have been abandoned. In January, Gen Sharif had announced he would retire at the end of his term this month. The subsequent 10 months have been some of the longest in recent memory. Urged by friends, allies, politicians and activists to reconsider his decision, the army chief did appear to waver. The Panama Papers, the PTI’s abortive Islamabad lockdown, plummeting ties with India — opportunity after opportunity came for public pressure to be put on the government to consider requesting Gen Sharif to continue his command. But good sense has prevailed in the end and a good officer can be given a fond and formal farewell this week.
PPP’s quest
THE truth is that nobody knows what the truth is. The topic, once again, is how to revive the PPP. The territory is Punjab, where the party was born almost five decades ago. The choice is between those who promise to bring in a few ‘electables’ and those who want to or who can revamp the party and turn it into a truly popular outfit. Both sides — the feudal and the awami — have taken turns to guide and manage the PPP. Both have failed because the image of the top leadership of the party remains tainted. For the moment, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is shown to be in charge of the latest push for the renewal of the party’s fortunes in the country’s biggest province. But the presence looming large over the proceedings is that of his father. Even if such a desire existed somewhere deep in the PPP’s consciousnesses it has been next to impossible to take out Asif Ali Zardari from the PPP. Indeed, he continues to form the nucleus.
In this case, the change that Mr Bhutto-Zardari is attempting, presumably with his father’s active guidance, can be seen as a positive one: Qamaruzzaman Kaira as PPP president for central Punjab and someone as promising as Nadeem Afzal Chan as his general secretary. That is as good a partnership as the party in a crisis could hope for. The two men enjoy some respect, not least because they have defied predictions of departing and have remained by their party’s side under dire conditions. There are expectations of them given the energy they have displayed in pursuing their choice of politics. The biggest asset at their command is perhaps their refusal to be embarrassed by the smear-and-taunt campaign the PPP has been targeted with. But as they prepare for the challenge, they have no previous model to bank on. In tackling the current crisis, there is no example from the past they could be inspired by since at no time during the last five decades was the PPP image as dark and gloomy in the province as it is today. It is a distant third contestant, trailing the PML-N and PTI by a long margin. That is how difficult it is and maybe the PPP’s cause will be helped by starting from zero, and by party leaders refraining from raising old slogans. The new PPP must try and find a new rallying slogan, or be doomed.
Punishing children
SEEN in educational institutions, madressahs, homes and workplaces, corporal punishment is one of the most pervasive forms of violence against children in Pakistan. Most cases go unreported because of tacit cultural approval of acts of violence against children for disciplinary purposes. The fact that such physical punishment has often resulted in serious injuries, and even death, means little to society at large. When 14-year-old Mohammad Ahmed Hussain, an eighth-grade student studying at Cadet College in Larkana, was severely thrashed, allegedly by a teacher in early August, he was left paralysed — unable to talk or walk. The fact that an FIR is yet to be registered against the perpetrators and the victim has not so far received medical care from the state is shameful, especially when the government is bound to protect the rights of children. Then, Cadet College is no ordinary educational institution, preparing students to serve and protect their country. Therefore, the preservation of human rights and dignity is integral to its ethos. Whatever behaviour is witnessed inside the college will serve as an example to graduating cadets.
Additionally, prohibiting the culture of corporal punishment requires the implementation of existing legislative protections such as the Sindh Children Act, 1955. The Larkana incident must serve as a catalyst for enacting the pending Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 2013. Indeed, Pakistan is obligated to do so under international covenants. Judging by the severity of ‘punishments’ reported in places of learning — whipping, beatings on the head and face, sexual abuse, etc — one is able to discern that such behaviour is traditionally sanctioned by parents and teachers as disciplinary measures. Unicef research in 2014 found that 81pc of children, from one to 14 years, in Punjab and Sindh were violently ‘disciplined’ through forms of psychological aggression and/or physical punishment. For that reason, public awareness about the harmful effects of corporal punishment is imperative with the objective of shifting attitudes towards promoting positive forms of child-rearing and education.
Published in Dawn November 22nd, 2016