The civil-military chasm deepens in Pakistan

On October 6, Cyril Almeida, a senior Pakistani journalist, published an article in the English-language daily Dawn entitled “Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military.” The article narrated an intense scene of heated debate between the country’s top civil and military leaders, held a few days ago. So far, the Pakistani government has rejected the story three times by calling it “amalgamation of fiction and fabrication.” In addition to its rejections, the government has put Almeida’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL), barring him from foreign travel. Dawn, meanwhile, continues to defend the story by arguing that the published material was fact-checked and cross-checked with multiple sources to ensure its credibility. The vivid details reported in the story reflect a deepening division between the civil and military leadership that has further grown aggravated in the wake of the Kashmir crisis and growing international pressure on Pakistan for its inability to take on all terrorists after the Uri attacks. Moreover, the reported content in Dawn’s story and other events that have unfolded in the last few weeks also highlight the Pakistani civilian government’s efforts to push back against the military to gain some space in the country’s defence policy and foreign affairs. The story further points towards some of the military’s policies that run parallel to the civilian government: According to Dawn, the prime minister has instructed the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief that “fresh attempts be made to conclude the Pathankot investigation and restart the stalled Mumbai attacks-related trials in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court.” However, it’s unlikely that in the coming days and weeks there will be any credible action against India-focused militant groups. In fact, it’s already clear where the fallout of the civilian government’s push against the military is likely to go: the government’s multiple denials of Dawn’s report and a travel ban on the story’s author are not moves made by the Sharif’s government independently; rather, the reaction from the government suggests the military pushing the civilian government to do its biding.

The message is clear

The establishment may have tolerated the government’s questioning behind closed doors, but it has neither appreciated nor approved the disclosure of details that perhaps, according to the former, undermine its position and control. Since Dawn’s report became public, the international media has been trying to read into the story, which has clearly annoyed the military establishment. For the military, the government’s demand of “non-interference” in civilian law enforcement agencies work and action against certain militant groups means giving in to New Delhi’s pressure regardless of domestic implications. On the other hand, the government’s repeated attempts to reject Dawn’s story also reflect its weakened position vis-a-vis the military, where the government has been forced into taking swift action against the author of the report — a move that is by all means unjustified. Caught in the crosshairs is the country’s media, that has been made a scapegoat in this latest phase of the power struggle between Pakistan’s military and civilian forces.  [This is an excerpt of The Diplomat article, which can be found at http://bit.ly/2e8kBDf]