Abdullah
Gul
WHY
did the Army undertake the extraordinary effort to make Zafrullah
Jamali look like a puppet prime minister, not even as genuine
as Mohammed Khan Junejo of 1985? Stooges looking taller than life
are no longer the Army’s choice to lead a puppet regime.
The last three months of the Nawaz Sharif government remain an
Army barrack nightmare. To stop its recurrence, though, was not
the only factor to pick as dummy a prime minister as Jamali may
seem to be. A non-campaigner in politics, who may not pose a problem
when the Army boots out the Assembly this time, is Jamali’s
only use. He was the one who advised dissolution of Balochistan
Assembly of 1990. Trouble is not far off: While taking Jamali
as a punching bag, the Opposition would like to send serious messages
to the Army GHQ.
"Additional
measures” taken through LFO to keep the new Assembly under
its thumb, the Army this time would not be able to keep its face
un-bruised behind this punching bag for long. Facts are coming
to light upon which the Opposition can build a movement, apart
from knocking down Jamali, Leghari, Chaudhris etc on the Floor.
It is not going to be Opposition vs the Army-launched PM this
time---it is going to be a decisive one, given the resolve, which
does not lack in speeches made by the PPP and MMA leaders so far.
Anti-GHQ campaigns launched on the Floor in the past remained
aborted both for lack of quality and quantity. The orchestra this
time sounds different, offering hope for a showdown of a deeper
nature.
The past is past, when the Opposition MNAs wanted to avert dissolution
of their House. This time it is different. The Opposition senses
entrenchment of historic nature for being the largest in numbers
since 1985. They have a stronger locus standi against a puppet
PM, his grandmasters.
Additional measures (LFO) for keeping the Opposition under threat
can work as an impetus to turn the Opposition’s energy ultra
operational. The Opposition leaders need their own additional
measures to either defeat the Army’s machinations for continuing
with a puppet prime minister, or an early dissolution of the Assembly.
Both ways the Army would be the loser and the Opposition the winner.
To achieve this crucial goal, the Opposition needs to get functional
for better performance than they showed in the past.
Here they need to learn more about themselves and the Army’s
political power. Against them is only one case of the Army: Corruption.
“Politics of permits and kickbacks” is the Army’s
sneer. Kickbacks in 'thekas' (contracts) of projects
“complete” on papers, offering no services to the
poor, is true history. Investigations and court cases against
politicians, however, are intended to make people conveniently
forget US $35 billion foreign aid received and gobbled up during
1950-2000. The money remains payable and the new Assembly would
be tasked by the Army to reduce the burden. But MNAs can ask:
Shall the new Assembly complete its five-year stint this time,
to perform and reduce this burden?
Of similar importance is the question: How does an MNA indulge
in corruption? Obviously, by grabbing a cabinet seat and getting
thekas tendered. Recently, the World Bank started putting
in place a system in Pakistan, which ensures screening of tenders
and indenting issued, and their implementation performance. It
is meant to prevent and detect corruption in tendering and technical
clearance of projects.
This method, however, deals only with Rs 100-130 billion social
sector projects. Not the Rs 135-200 billion directly and/or indirectly
allocated under defence spending. Frankly, no politician can be
held responsible for involvement in both these processes. Exclusively
the bureaucrats supervising the “works” conduct both.
Now the thing is clear: The MNA, the minister or the Prime Minister
goes for under-hand dealing with the thekedar (contractor).
And the bureaucracy acts accordingly, where it is asked to act.
The World Bank screening system fails here in detecting the real
crime—the underhand dealing, if any. And the Assembly gets
kicked out because the criminal cannot be caught, individually.
On conceiving, tendering, implementing and clearing of social
sector projects, the World Bank system of scanning is meant to
ensure transparency. The system stands a chance to put at least
a partial end to a long history of corruption in these aspects.
MNAs can ask the World Bank to apply this system to all spending
heads of the budget in Pakistan. They would not only be failing
in their duty if they do not ask for it, their reluctance would
expose their spinelessness and belie their resolve to oust the
Army and its stooges from politics.
To launch a campaign on these lines, they have to prepare their
case for the international scrutiny and the World Bank. Their
case can be strong enough, matching their numerical strength on
the Floor, if they build it on the following premises: As a sole
arbiter of political power in Pakistan, the Army does not and
cannot allow the Assembly to function in a democratic way. To
ensure this invalidation of the Assembly, the Army does not allow
the electoral process to produce representative results.
Army’s vital interests in politics are entrenched in its
vital economic interests, which form the basis for an institutional
interest. These two interests have not only deformed the economic
institutions of the country but the political, administrative,
judicial and technical institutions as well.
A look at the Army’s economic interests in this country
would prove that it has an institutional clash with democratic
institutions.
Here
is a list of these interests:
-
Largest economic investment group: Army Welfare Trust;
- Largest goods transport system: National Logistics Cell;
- Largest media managers: Inter Services Public Relations and
Askari Information Systems Limited;
- Largest bank-financing conductor and monitoring group: Askari
Bank/Financing Ltd
- Largest industrial network: defence production; cement; fertilisers;
textiles; footwear; engineering goods; power distribution network;
- Largest (strategic) petroleum and related products consumer,
storing manager, distributor and investor;
- Largest construction network (Frontier Works Organisation);
- Largest stocks-holder on stock exchanges on account of the above
plus share-buying network;
- Largest land-owner: every 15 kilometre a garrison; each large
town having a Defence Housing Society; all retired Army officers
holding agricultural land allotted on retirement;
- Largest education network: National Defence College, National
University of Science and Technology, 13 Cadet Colleges, numerous
Army Public Schools;
- Largest health marketing group: Combined Military Hospitals
system; Army Medical Corps;
- Largest research and development (R&D) investors/mangers;
- Largest employer (both in Army, AWT/FWO and Army’s economic
networks);
- Largest income-distributor;
- Largest lawgiver: Army’s legal (Jack) branch;
- Largest political network (ISI/MI/FIU);
- Largest electioneering group (retired Army officers and the
Club they manage);
- Largest serving bureaucracy group: 21 percent Army officers’
induction in civilian set up.
If
you analyse the above carefully, these conclusions are inevitable:
-
No taxation can take place without Army’s interest held
supreme;
- No legislation can be carried out without safeguarding Army’s
interest;
- No investment is safer than buying Army’s stocks;
- No investor can operate independent of Army’s “sensitive”
interests;
- No politicians can conceive policies against these vital interests;
- No civilian government can get elected or operate without Army’s
consent in all spheres;
The
Army thus personifies Pakistan. Pakistanis live complacent to
this fact. The multinationals have started feeling the sting of
Army’s economic, political, social, legal, financing and
tax-policy making tentacles.
IMF and World Bank officials receive frequent presentations from
the country managers of multi-national corporations in Pakistan.
These presentations mainly focus on hurdles which end up clashing
with interests of the Army. They now vociferously point out that
Pakistan Army is the largest economic group in the region in organisational,
expansion and social terms, paying the minimum-of-all tax money
as compared to other large groups.
It has now been revealed that in 1993 someone leaked a Policy
Framework Paper presented to the IMF by the Finance Ministry to
the Army GHQ. That document contained the following proposal for
release of IMF reform package money: "Defence budget should
be rationalised keeping in view the strategic requirements."
Benazir lost her government as a consequence of that leaked paper
(other marginal reasons apart), but that was the first solid attempt
to strike at the Army’s vitals. The subsequent attempts
were monitored, killed in the bud, inviting regrouping on the
part of multinationals which knew what was going on and felt bitter
when faced with failure.
The Opposition, giving itself a chance to learn what the Army’s
vitals are, how it antagonises international interests and how
organisations like the World Bank could be brought in line, has
a historical leverage on hand. It can push the Army into a tunnel
by first organising on these lines, and inviting co-operation
that can be accomplished at least for a bargain seeking
pressure instrument against those interests of the Army which
damage the national interests.
The
forces of civilian bureaucracy, business groups of Pakistan and
attached interest groups can be rallied around such a campaign,
to achieve revival of a democracy having teeth.
The
writer is a senior Islamabad journalist who has used a pen-name
for this article for obvious reasons.
