‘Doing okay’ | Translate into Urdu IDAWN Article 20-08-2024|

THERE have been few instances in Pakistan’s history where an army chief has bowed out without generating controversy. This might not be surprising in a country where the military has for the most part been deeply involved in political power games. Retired Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa may have been among the most controversial army chiefs, but whatever is happening now is no less scandalous.

Gen Bajwa has been held responsible by both sides of the political divide for the fall of their respective governments. Both accuse him of deceit. While he retired almost two years ago after serving two terms as army chief, the controversy surrounding his contentious tenure refuses to die down. The recent arrest of his protégé and former ISI chief, retired Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed, who is now facing field court martial, has put Gen Bajwa back in the spotlight.

New revelations have emerged about his alleged political manoeuvring that saw the fall of two prime ministers and regime change. While former prime minister Nawaz Sharif accused him and his now disgraced ISI chief of plotting his removal from office in 2017 and his subsequent conviction in a litany of criminal cases, his nemesis Imran Khan, too, blames the general for his government’s downfall.

Interestingly, it was Gen Bajwa who has been credited for installing the former cricket captain in power through an engineered election in 2018. He was also seen as the architect of the hybrid dispensation that propped up the fledgling political set-up before the Khan-Bajwa partnership fell apart, clearing the way for the return of the PML-N-led government. A dejected Khan shouted betrayal as the establishment pulled the rug from under his feet.

New revelations have emerged about the retired army chief’s alleged political manoeuvres.

In a series of interviews on private TV channels, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has made some startling revelations about the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring that led to changing political alliances. It was not merely the declaration of neutrality by the military leadership that led to the collapse of the three-and-a-half-year-long hybrid arrangement; in fact, there was active engagement between the then opposition and the establishment, as revealed by Khawaja Asif, that changed the game.

But most interesting is the story of how Gen Bajwa was chosen for the coveted post by the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif, despite being much lower on the seniority list. It was on the assurance of retired Maj-Gen Ijaz Amjad, his father-in-law, that Gen Bajwa was appointed.

It was apparent that merit and seniority did not matter in the appointment of the army chief. Sharif was already embroiled in the Panama case and his ties with the then military leadership had soured. He needed a trusted person in a critical position. Gen Bajwa was indeed a political choice. But as a retired general said, once in this powerful position, an army chief is not expected to be loyal to anyone but his own institution. And that is exactly what happened.

Some months later, Sharif was ousted via the Supreme Court. There was little doubt that the action against the three-time prime minister had the full backing of the security establishment. I remember a press briefing by Gen Bajwa months after his taking charge. The apex court was expected to deliver its ruling on the Sharif case and it seemed certain that he would be convicted. A journalist asked the general what he thought would happen if the prime minister was removed. “Nothing will happen,” he responded curtly. “Nothing happened even when we hanged Bhutto.” One could see the arrogance of power.

It didn’t take much time for the new incumbent to show that he was in charge. Gen Bajwa was fond of holding forth for hours on end on national and international issues, though he had no clear understating of any of the complex challenges the country faced. Then came the 2018 elections. The security institution had already decided that Nawaz Sharif would not be allowed to return to power.

Gen Bajwa later told me that it was the view of the institution that Imran Khan should be supported. A new hybrid system came into being after the 2018 elections with the formation of the PTI government that had the total backing of the security establishment. But there were some inherent contradictions in the system that started emerging, with the new prime minister trying to assert his position and taking some decisions which came into conflict with the establishment’s views.

A long meeting with Gen Bajwa in October 2021 gave me some insight into the widening cleavage between the establishment and the PTI government. The change in the ISI command had certainly widened the trust gap though there was no sign of a complete rupture then. He told me that the prime minister had become completely dependent on Faiz Hameed. But it was the appointment of Usman Buzdar as Punjab chief minister and Khan’s blind confidence in him that remained the main sticking point. The general was also unhappy with Khan over what he described as his lacklustre approach to foreign policy issues. He seemed upset with Khan’s reluctance to visit the UK and some other countries important to Pakistan’s interests.

By then, it seemed that the general had already opened a channel with the PML-N leadership, as also confirmed by Khawaja Asif. He told me about his frequent meetings with Shehbaz Sharif for whom he had developed a strong liking. However, at the same time, the general would appear highly contemptuous while talking about his meeting with him and other opposition leaders. He told me that when he asked Shehbaz Sharif about the money-laundering case against him and members of his family, the latter replied that his children had made a ‘mistake’.

He also narrated a story about his meeting with Maulana Fazlur Rehman. According to the general, the only request made by the JUI-F chief was that he remove the Khan government. There was no doubt about the general’s grand ambitions but these were never fulfilled. The general may have exited the scene but the involvement of the establishment in political power games has continued. There has only been a change of command.