Pakistan: No end in sight to Army, Imran Khan confrontation

After December 16, 1971, no date is as traumatic for the Pakistan army as May 9, 2023. On the former day the pride of the men in khaki was humbled on the parade ground in Dhaka when Lt Gen AAK Niazi surrendered to Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Arora. On the latter, the supporters of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan rioted against the army in the streets and cantonments of the country. In the process they destroyed monuments dedicated to the army’s revered martyrs, pillaged corps commander Lahore’s house, which is named after the country’s founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and also attacked other army installations. By showing such utter disrespect the rioters outraged the army’s image of itself as the final protector of the people and the country and its foundational principles. No wonder some army generals cried out in anguish that what the ‘external’ enemy (obviously, meaning India) had not been able to accomplish had been done by the country’s internal foes.

The May 9 events set the army chief, Gen Asim Munir, squarely against Imran Khan. That their relations were fractured was one aspect of the issue. The other was the inroads that Khan had succeeded in making in the army by invoking the ‘gairat’ (pride) of some officers and other ranks by projecting that he was standing firm against the attempts of foreign countries, especially the United States, at interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs. The fact that some members of the armed forces had given their ear and more to Khan’s song was unacceptable to the majority of the force. This is because the ethos of the army demands that all officers and men must be loyal to the army chief and no one else

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Munir and his supporting generals and officers simply could not afford to overlook Khan’s inroads into the army, for it would have impaired the force’s discipline and professionalism. And, they could not allow a political leader, howsoever popular, to create splits in the force. Hence, Munir acted decisively against many in its own ranks, including the corps commander, Lahore. He had them court martialed and dismissed. He opened a second front against Khan through other political forces (the term ‘other political forces’ has been deliberately used for the Pakistan army is both a professional and a political force) and like-minded individuals in other institutions, including the judiciary, to ensure that Khan remained incarcerated and that the PTI was weakened. The aim was to get it defeated in the elections to the National Assembly and reduce Imran Khan’s challenge to a nullity.

Munir succeeded in these objectives but not fully. As Pakistan marked the anniversary of May 9, it became clear that the army and its fellow political travelers have not succeeded in entirely rooting out the Imran Khan challenge. The events of the last few days and Munir’s long statement of May 9 demonstrates this fact.

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On May 7 Director-General of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Ahmed Sharif addressed an over two-hour long press conference. He vehemently, and again and again condemned those responsible for the mayhem of May 9 last year. This was a clear reference to Imran Khan and the PTI though Sharif carefully avoided naming them. During his fulminations he slipped in the ‘message’ that a dialogue with the PTI was only possible if they apologised “publicly” to the “nation” for their actions and pledging to abandon their anarchical approaches adopted constructive political positions. It is not surprising that the Pakistani media underlined Sharif’s ‘message’ for Khan and the PTI.

Imran Khan’s response to this message was clear and direct. When asked by reporters, as he left a case hearing in a court on May 8, if he was willing to apologise for the May 9 events, Khan responded in the negative. According to media reports Khan stressed that he came to know of May 9, 2023 events only when he attended the court proceedings in the Pakistan Supreme Court on that day. He also emphasised that he had already condemned the violent incidents. PTI’s Omar Ayub Khan who is the current leader of the opposition in the Pakistan National Assembly went further to call the events of May 9 as a conspiracy against Khan.

On May 8 evening Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari said “May 9, 2023 will always be remembered as a dark day in Pakistan’s history…”. Media reports stated that he stressed that the events of that day had “tarnished” Pakistan and had only “served the interests” of the country’s enemies. Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif told a special meeting of the cabinet on May 9 morning that the aim of the May 9, 2023 events was to end democracy in Pakistan, bury the constitution and establish an individual’s dictatorship. While these reactions of the current political leaders were significant the most noteworthy statement came from army chief Asim Munir.

During a visit to the Lahore Garrison on May 9, Munir said that attempts were being made through digital platforms to create divisions between the army and the people. He characterised the riots of May 9, 2023 as “criminally orchestrated violence” and that its plotters were now trying to “twist the narrative”. However, he added, “there can be no compromise or deal with the planners and architects of this dark chapter in our history”. He then went on to say “the real leaders who present themselves as victims now will be held accountable for their actions, particularly when there is irrefutable evidence of their involvement and complicity in organized violence and sabotage”.

Significantly, Munir, who inaugurated a Jinnah Library at the Lahore Garrison, invoked the memory of the country’s founder. He said that “constructive forces have rekindled the memory of Quaid by building this public library over the ash and rubble created by the destructive forces”. This was a clear reference to the ransacking of Jinnah House which is the residence of the Lahore Corps Commander on May 9 last year.

Imran Khan’s defiance has continued. He met Omar Ayub Khan and former president Arif Alvi, among other PTI leaders, at the Adiala Jail on May 9. Coming out of the jail premises after meeting him these PTI leaders addressed a press conference. They said that Khan had instructed that cases should be filed in the courts for the production of CCTV footage of the May events. Omar Ayub Khan reported that Imran Khan had reiterated that the May 9 developments were part of the London Plan which was meant to oust his government. In the past Imran Khan has claimed that elements in the judiciary went along with that plan. The PTI leaders also recalled their party’s narrative that the people’s mandate it had received in the February 8 election had been stolen from them and that Imran Khan remained the most popular leader in Pakistan. For the time being, it is a fact that his popularity is substantial particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces.

The most significant element of the press conference which reinforced that the current Pakistani situation is, above all, is truly a fight between Imran Khan and Munir was when Omar Ayub Khan said that the PTI chief had said that March 9 was a ‘considered’ conspiracy as was that of March 11, 1971. On that day in 1971, according to Imran Khan, then president Gen. Yahya Khan had met Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and had fixed a date for calling the session of the National Assembly. However, after Yahya Khan returned to Rawalpindi the military operation was launched in East Pakistan. That had resulted in the break-up of Pakistan on 16th December, 1971. That was the ‘true black day’ for Pakistan. Omar Ayub Khan reported that Imran Khan had emphasized that the decisions and actions of Yahya Khan were his alone. They were not of the institution or that of the army or the armed forces. Similarly, the responsibility of the London Plan was of a single individual and not that of the institution or of the armed forces. The PTI signal is towards former army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa but its main beneficiary being the present chief Asim Munir.

Clearly, Imran Khan is trying to create a distance between Munir and his officers and men. This will be completely unacceptable to Munir and his supporting generals. They will interpret Imran Khan’s words as attempting to instigate a revolt in the army. The government is likely to go along with this interpretation.

It remains to be seen how Munir will respond to Khan’s incendiary words. The chances are that he will ensure a further crackdown on the PTI and enmesh Khan in new cases. Munir’s real problem though is how to credibly and decisively dent Khan’s popularity. He will try to do that but even if he cannot he simply cannot allow Khan to continue to attempt creating fissures in the army. Hence, Munir may be forced to think of ‘creative and forceful’ ways of dealing with Khan.

There is no early end to Pakistan’s fundamental problems in sight.

The writer is a former Indian diplomat who served as India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan and Myanmar, and as secretary, the Ministry of External Affairs. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.