AT PENPOINT
When DG ISPR Lt Gen Muhammad Sharif Chaudhry called Imran Khan a mental patient in his recent press conference, he indicating that the institution’s patience had run out with the name calling by PTI founder Imran Khan, and it was being replied to. Even between politicians, such an exchange is unheard of, let alone between a political leader and a permanent state official.
It is to the credit of Field Marshal Asim Munir that he has not replied in person. However, if state officials do not reply to being called anything, they are also not targets of such verbal attacks. It is all very well speaking of libel suits, or of prosecutions for criminal libel, but government servants are expected to avoid such actions. This has been respected by non-permanent officials, those who hold elective office, whether in government or opposition.
This they have done in the interest of neutrality. An opposition MPA anxious to tear into the local DC might find, as an MNA years later, selected for ministerial office, that officer now an additional secretary, with whom he is thrown into contact daily, quite frequently one-on-one.
Politicians have chewed out officials before, but it has never involved name-calling, such as Imran indulged in, and it has always been a face-to-face exercise, never a social-media post. It has also been ensured by politicians that they deliver their tirades to the right person. The Sindh Health Additional Secretary will be more surprised than anything else if the Punjab Agriculture Minister was to take him to task.
On both counts, Khan was out of line. He might resent the fact that Field Marshal Asim Munir was Chief of Army Staff, but he could only have expressed his resentment personally, but not over the social media. Besides, he lacked the locus standi, being an out-of-office politician. That he is a jailbird was no help.
Officials also try to avoid saying things that they might regret later. However, for the first time, an official replied. Usually, if a superior (not just a politician) goes overboard in that face-to-face encounter, the officer at the receiving end may reply in kind. If the chewing-out is in the form of a letter, the officer may reply in the same terms.
The DG ISPR was not personally targeted (not until after the press conference), so it must be seen as a sort of indirect reply. Since it came through the public relations branch of the institution, it should also be seen as a collective reply, which in turn means that the institution as a whole felt the need to respond. Imran’s posts were thus not seen as merely a personal attack, but as an attack on the institution.
The problem for the PTI is that it is falling apart at the seams, and no one seems willing to hold its hand. The PTI is often accused of lowering the level of public discourse. Now it seems that it done so for what was an understated and subtle politician-official dialogue.
To be fair to Imran, he probably had more experience dealing with officials who stood only for themselves. When a superior officer chews out a junior, it is not seen as something his institution should take as an attack on itself, especially in civilian institutions. When the KP Agriculture Secretary draws the ire of his minister, the whole department is not necessarily condemned.
However, the military works differently. The Chief of Army Staff is supposed to represent the whole institution. That creates a particularly insidious situation. The COAS may personally be inclined to forgive such a verbal assault, but cannot. One of the functions of a service chief is to carry along its personnel. If the institution is attacked, it does not matter if it is by an attack directly or on a symbol, there will be unrest which can only be stilled by taking some action.
Imran may remember from his playing days the fervent appeals by his own openers not to bowl short against the other side, especially if they had a couple of fast bowlers of their own. And then those same openers asking him to bowl some short stuff at the opposing openers after they had been on the receiving end in their own innings. He might in particular remember the tour of the West Indies in 1976-77, when they gave debuts to Colin Croft and Joel Garner, who would form perhaps the most formidable pace quartet ever when combined with Andy Roberts and Michael Holding, who missed the series because of injury.
One consequence of the press conference has been a renewal of calls for the PTI to be banned. The Punjab Assembly went so far as to pass a resolution making this call. The PML(N) seems more inclined to this course of action than its coalition partner, the PPP, because while the PML(N) President, the PM and Punjab CM had a meeting on this issue, the PPP has held no similar consultation.
It should be noted that if the PTI has not been banned so far, it is probably because of the PPP. The PPP should know. After all, its banning of the National Awami Party in 1975 had only temporary consequences. The party first returned almost immediately as the National Democratic Party, which merged into its present shape, the Awami National Party, in 1986. The lesser attempts to oust the PTI, such as denying the use of its symbol, have also not worked. Formation of such parties as the PTI Parliamentarians and the Istehkam Pakistan Party have not proven much of a dent, though they did provide a refuge of people who had left the PTI.
Imran is clearly unhappy that Field Marshal Munir has become Chief of Defence Forces, an appointment which is combined with that of Chief of Army Staff. That appointment is for five years, until November 2030. Initially appointed COAS in November 2022 for a three-year term. This became five years after an amendment to the Army Act, and with the new appointment this will continue until November 2030, giving him eight years as COAS.
Imran does not like Field Marshal Munir. He had him removed as DG ISI because he had reported his wife’s shenanigans to him. He then did his best to prevent him being appointed COAS. He knows that the next election will take place in 2029, with a year and a half to the next COAS/CDF to be appointed.
One factor that probably gives Imran pause is that the 9 May 2023 cases are still not over for him. They have led to convictions and disqualifications for several PTI leaders, and have caused a slew of by-elections. PML(N) wins in those by-elections have been interpreted by it as a receding of the PTI tide and the development of support for the PML(N).
Another proposal on the anvil is the imposition of Governor’s Rule, which would be imposed because the province is facing an incursion from the TTP, with the backing of the Taliban government of Afghanistan. The chances of making the Governor’s Rule stick will be better than in Punjab against the PML(N) government in 2009, when the purpose was to overthrow it. There is a link between the PTI and the Taliban, which seems to have backfired a bit. The aid from the Taliban has not helped, and the link has made the PTI fall on the side of the enemies of Pakistan. To make matters worse, Imran replaced a PTI hothead, Ali Amin Gandapur by an even hotter head, Sohail Afridi.
The problem for the PTI is that it is falling apart at the seams, and no one seems willing to hold its hand. The PTI is often accused of lowering the level of public discourse. Now it seems that it done so for what was an understated and subtle politician-official dialogue.
