Raheel Sharif’s statement regarding his opinions towards the terrorists finally sheds light on the direction he intends to take the Army going forward. The fact that he intends to pay them back ‘in the same coin’ shows that he is not willing to take the onslaught lying down. The offer of talks has seemed to fall on deaf ears and the government’s master plan to bring peace to the country has a spanner in the works. However, just because the initiative is not working, does not mean that one institution has a right to supersede decisions.
The process of talks does not seem to be making any headway, but our government still remains in charge. Their orders the army must obey, whether or not they see it as the best step going forward. The entire idea of a democratic government is centered on the idea of representing the voice of the people. What the state wants is supposed to reflect what the people want. The army remains a subordinate, to be deployed only when the regime sees it fit to do so. The fact that our COAS is making statements that are in direct contradiction to the words of our leaders is troubling, especially the fact that we live in a country that has had a vibrant relationship with previous army chiefs. His statement also included that the government’s priorities would be kept in mind, but that seems unlikely given the fact that an operation against the militants is not likely to convince them to come to the table.
Where does the government stand through all of this? Did they give the go-ahead to COAS Raheel Sharif to issue a no-tolerance statement to all militants? If they did, why do we hear nothing from the PM? Remaining silent on an issue such as this is doing the regime no favors and they should be reminded about the consequences of taking an army chief too lightly. The army rightly sees itself in charge of defending the lives of citizens. But this is not a unilateral decision, that can be taken by the army itself. All of this has happened before, and can easily happen again. COAS Sharif’s actions seem to be isolated from indication of the direction the government has given. The government would do well to ensure that they clarify who’s incharge.