CSS Forums - Essay: The Future of Civil-Military Relations of Pakistan

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[B][U][SIZE="4"]The Future of Civil-Military Relations of Pakistan[/SIZE].[/U][/B]

[SIZE="3"]Outlines:[/SIZE]
[B]1. Introduction.[/B]
[B]2. Brief History of Civil-Military relations.[/B]
a. First and second martial law
b. Third martial law
c. Fourth martial law
[B]3. Events which shown improved civil-military relations.[/B]
a. 2008 and 2013 general elections
b. Operation Zarb-e-Azab and National Action Plan
c. Memogate scandal
d. 2014 and 2017 sit-ins and military role
e. Dawn Leaks
[B]4. Recommendations to improve further relations.[/B]
a. Public awareness about democracy.
b. Supremacy of the constitution
c. Harmony between civil and military leadership
d. Independence of Judiciary
[B]5. Conclusions[/B]

The relations between military and civil government is improving and gradually leading towards bright future in Pakistan. Although, the relation in the past- since its inception- was very much hard. In the last decade, since the martial is lifted, many times Pakistan faced deteriorated situations but the civil-military relations not only remain stable but also both leadership united and decided various key matters pertaining to the country national security. This shows a positive sign for the future.

To analyze the past, civil-military relations were very much deteriorated. In 1951 a Major-General tried to remove the civilian government- Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case. In 1953 Lahore Martial Law was declared when the situation became out of control of the civilian government. Later on in 1954, the Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army was invited to join the government which he did. As a result first martial law was imposed on 27th October 1958. After the 1965 war political leaders aroused people against Chief Martial Law Administrator. The public started protests for the resignation of President of Pakistan. In 1969 he resigned but instead of handing over the charge to a civilian government, he appointed another Commander-in-Chief as President of Pakistan. The president hold the 1970 elections which lead to the Tug of War between East Pakistan and West Pakistan. As a result, East Pakistan was separated from West Pakistan. The second martial law was ended on 20th December 1971.
In 1972 the President of Pakistan removed the last Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army in light of the Hamood ur Rehamn Commission Report. This report accused the military for the atrocities committed in the East Pakistan. After the 1977 general election, political instability occurred in the country. On 5th July 1977 third martial law was imposed and the Prime Minister of Pakistan and his federal cabinet members were arrested. Later on the arrested Prime Minister was executed, in a murder case of a political party member, on 4th April 1979. The government remained in the control of military till 1988.

In 1988, after the death of President of Pakistan in a plane crash, the general elections were scheduled. The military intervened in the electoral process by reducing the edge of a political party popularity. The relations between civil and military always remain tottered till 1999. The President thrice used his power under the Article 58 (2) b, for the removal of the Prime Minster with the consent of military and the military captured the important government buildings and offices. In 1998, Prime Minister removed Chief of Army Staff. Later on, in 1999, when Prime Minister removed Chief of Army Staff, when he was on a visit to Sri Lanka, the army took control of the government which lasted till 2008.

After the end of martial law in 2008, the civil-military relation shown a positive sign. The general election of 2008 were held without the intervention of the military, as they used to do in the past. The civilian government completed its constitutional term for the first time in the history of Pakistan. In addition to this, 2013 election was held. The military supported the election by providing security to the electoral process. Despite some unpleasant situation in the last decade, the civil military relations not only remain in their constitutional role but also did some major decisions unanimously for the protection of national security.

Operation Zarb-e-Azab was started on 15th June 2014, with the consent of both civil and military leadership, after the failure of peace talks with Taliban. The civil government and all the political parties supported the operation. After the success of operation, both the political and military leadership took several steps to rehabilitate the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

In retaliation to the operation Zarb-e-Azab, seven terrorists of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan entered the Army Public School Peshawar on 16th December 2016, and killed 145 people, most of them were students and wounded more than 200 people. In response to the attack, the civil government and military agreed to form military courts in the All Parties Conference through 21st constitutional amendment which was passed by the National Assembly unanimously. In addition, National Action Plan was formed; both civil and military leadership committed to work according to the National Action Plan. These unanimous decisions shown the sign of stability and harmony in the civil military relations.

In 2014, two political parties started protest against civil government on alleged rigging in the electoral process. The political conditions of the country was very horrified. The military not only remain in their constitutional role but also did the mediator job in order to settle the matter, when asked by the government to perform the job of mediator. Furthermore, in November 2017, the people started protest and sit-in in Faizabad Islamabad demanded resignation of the Law Minister due to the alteration in the Finish of Prophethood article in the constitution 24th amendment. Later on when the government used the violence to end the protest, the protest started in the other parts of the country. The country was leading to a civil war but the military played the mediator role and saved the country and the civilian government also.

Many times the civil-military relations was so much deteriorated in the last decade that it was generally believed that the martial law would be imposed but every time the matter was solved peacefully. In 2011, after the Abbottabad operation, a letter was written to the American high Authorities that the military is unhappy and want to take over the government. Although it did not happened. This scandal is known as Memogate scandal. The relation between civil and military became very tense. The military did not took control of the government rather than the matter was decided by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Another breach of civil-military relation was seen in the shape of Dawn Leaks. In October 2016, a secret meeting was held between the civil and military leadership to discuss the further course of action due to international pressure to take action against terrorists or face isolation- the civil government told the military leadership. However, this news was reported in the daily Dawn newspaper which the army termed as a breach of national security. The government formed an Enquiry Commission to probe the matter and find out the culprit for the leak of the news. In light of the Enquiry Commission report the government removed Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed and Specail Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatmi. The military, however, rejected the Commission report in a tweet. The matter was then settled peacefully and the ISPR DG took the tweet back.

As the civil-military relations are heading towards better with the passage of time, however, certain steps are necessary to strengthen the relation better in the long term. The people must be aware about the democracy and the constitutional role of military in the country. The supremacy of the constitution should be made possible. All the problems and matters pertaining to the country should be solved in the light of the constitution. The military should work in their boundaries and the environment for complete harmony between civil and military leadership should be maintained. The Judiciary should be made more independent and empower to decide matter relating to civil-military issues in order to avoid conflicts between civil and military leadership.

To sum up, despite some hard time in civil-military relation in the last decade such as the Memogate Scandle and Dawn Leaks, yet the civil-military relations remain stable as compared to the past. Besides the mediator role in the sit-ins, the unanimous decisions regarding military courts, National Action Plan and Operation Zarb-e-Azab proved that the civil and military relations are going towards a bright future.