Shortly before his retirement, Gen Bajwa asked his colleagues why the public was not fully supporting him. There had been an unprecedented barrage of vitriol and criticism heaped at Gen Bajwa, spearheaded by supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, upset at losing their government earlier this year. The profane language used by the public on social media and retired army officials in WhatsApp groups was once unimaginable. Discussing the possible reasons for this, a senior official compared the situation to a fast-moving truck where the prime mover changes the direction abruptly but the loaded container moves on due to inertia, suggesting that Gen Bajwa and others never shared with the public, especially the serving and retired officers, as to how badly their project was failing. And due to utmost frustration, when the military leadership decided not to render further (“unconstitutional”) support to PTI’s non-performing regime, the wider audience was not on board. Imran readily crafted a popular, sellable narrative, which was lapped up by the public, unaware of the background.
The exchange illustrated the dilemma and the downturn Gen Bajwa faced in the twilight of his career as the army chief. For years, since becoming the army chief in 2016, he enjoyed unbridled power and greatly influenced the country’s domestic and foreign policy. Imran Khan, the former prime minister, showered lavish praise on Gen Bajwa, complimenting him for the support lent to his government since the 2018 elections. But once out of power, Imran and his supporters tried to portray Gen Bajwa as a pariah. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz saw Gen Bajwa in the same light but watered down its criticism only after the current coalition government was eased into power.
Gen Bajwa’s tenure as the chief started on an optimistic, ambitious note. The then prime minister Nawaz Sharif was hopeful that the general’s support for the civilian government during the 2014 protests by PTI and his vows for harmonious civil-military relations meant well for the future. But ‘Dawn Leaks’ fallout and Panama Leaks investigations were used to browbeat PML-N and dented the relationship to such an extent that by the end of 2017, Nawaz Sharif was not only out of power but subsequently jailed and battling for political survival. Those were heady days for Gen Bajwa and his core team. They tried to rearrange the political drawing board, winnowed the electoral field in favour of Imran’s party, and tried to chart a new political landscape of the country.
Much of it was well-intentioned, they stressed. Years of political and economic instability, and the hold of dynastic politicians on power, saw little progress for the country. Imran Khan was given a rare welcome at the GHQ in 2018 and the new government tried to make a grand new beginning, under the supervision of Gen Bajwa and handling by the former intelligence chief Lt Gen Faiz Hamid. I remember how a former senator used to breathlessly tell me about the future in which Imran’s rivals had no space anymore, the ‘looted wealth kept offshore’ was to be brought back to give the economy a jump-start, and how a presidential system was on the horizon.
In 2018, the army chief’s domestic and foreign policy agenda was made public as the ambitious “Bajwa Doctrine.” But such a policy shift needed the sustained support of the civilian government and, much to the dismay of Gen Bajwa and his team, ‘The Project Imran’ failed spectacularly. I have detailed how and why it happened in a write-up earlier in April, and interested readers can follow this link to read more (https://www.nation.com.pk/23-Apr-2022/the-spectacular-collapse-of-the-project).
The Imran government differed from Gen Bajwa on many counts, especially over governance, failed to revive the economy, and handled foreign policy in an amateur manner. The singular focus to target and jail the political opposition while ignoring the economy and governance polarised the country like never before — and deepened the differences between Imran and the army chief.
Gen Bajwa’s decision to take an extension in his term in 2019 made the matters worse. It bred resentment among the top brass. The flamboyance and discernibly public ambitions of Lt Gen Faiz to become the next army chief and Imran’s vows to help achieve these ambitions further emboldened the rivals, both political and in the security establishment.
Gen Bajwa was also confronted with the accruing residue of his long time in office. His plans to hand over military-run commercial enterprises, which were gradually running into losses, to civilians were met with disgruntlement and opposition by retired generals, who saw these posts as their post-retirement right and tried to cling on. Gen Bajwa oversaw several selection boards of the senior officers, and those left out of promotions started to grumble. Several retired generals, who were passed over to be the chief in 2016 or other coveted positions in recent years, and had political ambitions or saw Gen Bajwa ascension due to factors other than merit, coalesced around Imran and the former spy chief’s network within the system also created a parallel competing structure. The lack or absence of any action against the former spy chief, who allegedly provided an “insider’s view about establishment’s behavior dynamics” to Imran Khan, baffled many. Some felt that Gen Bajwa was compelled by some considerations, or even tacitly supported his protege. Others felt it was a sign of his weakened hold on power.
As Gen Bajwa confronted these internal challenges, he decided to withdraw support for Imran’s government by Feb 2021. Imran’s attempt to assert himself, without realising that he had little control over the actual levers of power, saw the relationship between him and Gen Bajwa fractured beyond repair in Oct 2021, especially over Lt Gen Faiz’s future. Imran’s government unravelled quickly, the lack of support from the Deep State becoming its Achilles Heels, which culminated in the success of the no-confidence in April this year.
Now, Gen Bajwa was no longer the benefactor, but a villain in the eyes of Imran and his supporters. Never before, an army chief has been bashed so openly and so insolently. Gen Bajwa exhibited restraint for several months, partly due to the changing environment in the country and partly because of temperament. He has an immense tolerance threshold. The general also has a habit of talking up a storm in private meetings and often expresses his views and opinions in a very frank, uninhibited manner.
While Gen Bajwa’s domestic ambitions about politics were dashed to the ground, his record on the military and foreign policy front proved to be relatively better. He managed to continue the successes of his predecessors against militancy, and terrorism was significantly reduced under his watch. He also managed to throw a ring around radical, militant groups and oversaw the successful delisting of Pakistan from the Financial Action Task Force grey list. Furthermore, he also oversaw much of the completion of the fencing of the Afghan and Iranian borders.
The military under Gen Bajwa saw success against India in the wake of the 2019 Pulwama crisis when both countries came close to the brink of a full-scale war. The capture of an Indian air force pilot tilted the balance in Pakistan’s favour, and his subsequent release was a noble gesture for peace by the army chief. But it’s also a fact that the real credit went to the Pakistan Air Force and its operational prowess. After the Balakot airforce showdown, PAF felt short-changed and subsequently expanded its own media directorate to showcase its accomplishments.
Gen Bajwa also personally oversaw the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor, which provides Sikh pilgrims easy access to Pakistan to visit their holy places. He also managed the successful implementation of a ceasefire on the Line Of Control, much to the relief of the Kashmiri population. Many in the country, however, felt that Pakistan’s response to India’s annexation of Kashmir in 2019 was lacking.
His plans for normalisation of ties with India and gradual opening of trade were scuttled by Imran’s cabinet, wary of domestic political compulsions. Moeed Yusuf, the former national security advisor, made a bumbling response about Imran Khan’s decision to first support and then withdraw plans for limited trade with India. It was because Imran made the decision to support as the commerce minister and backed off as the prime minister, Yusuf said (https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/04/03/imran-lifted-india-trade-ban-as-commerce-minister-put-off-as-pm-aide/) Such a decision-making process would bamboozle anyone.
Gen Bajwa tried to avoid a total breakdown of the country’s relationship with the United States but was undone by the Taliban takeover of Kabul. He also signaled his willingness to ally with the U.S. and Europe over the Ukraine crisis, a sign that the Pakistani security establishment did not want to cut its traditional alliance with the Americans.
But like several army chiefs in the past, Gen Bajwa also discovered the limits of power and the extent he could wield it. His bitter and public falling out with Imran is an instructive lesson. The ‘hybrid experiment’ could not deliver, and its collapse has cast a shadow over Gen Bajwa’s legacy. The questions about the burgeoning finances of his family have also raised eyebrows, though Gen Bajwa and his family deny any wrongdoing.
As Gen Bajwa doffed his uniform on Nov 29, 2022, some senior PTI politicians, who used to brown-nose and ingratiate themselves in their meetings when Gen Bajwa was the chief, quickly took to Twitter to denounce him. It was quite hypocritical but also indicative of the viciousness of politics. Gen Bajwa must have felt bitter and let down by the way his own proteges, both civil and non-civilian, turned on him. Gen Bajwa’s body language during the change of command ceremony in Rawalpindi bore testimony to what was echoing inside his heart and mind. Soldiers aspire for and cherish their image zealously but Gen Bajwa’s public image was destroyed by the same very people to whom he provided immense benefits.
It is a fate that he now has to contend with. Power, especially the one enjoyed by army chiefs in Pakistan, is intoxicating; can be equally crushing when it slips away.