- The Opposition wants more time
The Opposition intends to allow the government the legislation, mandated by the Supreme Court, which it needs to allow the COAS an extension in service, but it appears intent on doing so according to its own timetable rather than that of the government. The government had planned to have the National Assembly and Senate Standing Committees on Defence meet on Monday, so that passage could be accomplished through Parliament on Wednesday. However, at Sunday’s meeting of the committees, meeting as the parliamentary committee on defence, the opposition asked for the passage to be put forward by a week, to Wednesday 15.
The purpose of this delay may well be to allow more time for the quelling of the rebellions within the opposition parties against the decision to support the government. The result of the support extended to the government is not being seen by party cadres as a gesture of support towards the armed forces at a time of unprecedented external threats to the country, but as a craven surrender before the might of the armed forces, even though that is something the parties had set out to rectify. The failure of the party leaderships to extract any establishment of civilian supremacy over the armed forces from the current imbroglio has led to the ranks and file of the respective parties dissatisfied. While the establishment has achieved the salvation of the opposition though the release of such leaders as the PML-N’s Nawaz Sharif and Maryum Nawaz, and the PPP’s Asif Zardari and Faryal Talpur, the real achievement has been the fracturing of opposition unity, with all and sundry blaming Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif for not taking all parties on board, with the JUI-F declaring that they would not support the bill, and would either abstain or oppose.
The entire episode has shown that there will be no assertion of parliamentary supremacy over the military. It is not to be expected of the present government, but the opposition parties have been ousted in the past by the military, yet now show a willingness to act as a rubberstamp for the government. While the struggle for civilian supremacy will have to wait for another time, there are the NAB Ordinance amendments coming up. The opposition might want extra time over the Army Act to dicker over NABO changes, so that they are more in its favour.
