Munir M Hasan, PhD
These days’ two issues are vehemently being discussed in the media by the politicians, anchors, various commentators and others. These relate to the positions of Chief Election Commissioner and the Chief of Army Staff who are not on friendly terms with the former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party, Pakistan, Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI). I don’t find much intelligence in these discussions. My views are as under. According to the article 213 of the Constitution of Pakistan, President of Pakistan appoints the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of Pakistan on the recommendation of the Prime Minister in consultation with the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly and a Parliamentary Committee.
The present CEC was appointed on 27 January 2020 during the tenure of the former Prime Minister, Imran Khan. As alleged by Imran Khan now, the name of the present CEC was proposed to Imran Khan by the Army Chief when Imran Khan’s relations with him were praiseful and Imran Khan could not refuse his recommendation. Surprisingly, this name of CEC was not opposed by the then Leader of Opposition who is now the Prime Minister. Imran Khan, at that time, may not be knowing his nominated CEC personally, and his political affiliation, but prompt approval of this name by the then Leader of Opposition speaks a lot of his affiliation.
If, according to PTI, the CEC is now working against their party, then Imran Khan himself is responsible for this because Imran Khan finalized his name without investigating the political background of his nominee. That was the past. Presently, it is hard to believe that the CEC will resign as he still has the backing of those who proposed him for CEC. Even if he resigns, or he is removed by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which is a remote possibility, the next CEC will be recommended to the President of Pakistan by the present National Assembly and the Prime Minister.
Under the prevailing circumstances how Imran Khan can be sure that the next CEC will be a man who is fair and unbiased, and the next general elections will be held fairly? In one of my previous articles, I have pointed out that, in Pakistan, elections do not represent the will of the masses. Out of many reasons for it, one of them is that people vote for a certain candidate and the result shows the win of a different candidate. It seems to be a magic, but people say that “angels” vote for the winning candidate. One of the many basic problems of Pakistan is that ALL the institutions which should remain unbiased and non-political have been completely politicized.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) is appointed by the President of Pakistan on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. So, the Prime Minister is the real authority to appoint COAS. The speculation in the media is going on who will be the next COAS. To me, it is a useless discussion and waste of time. For the appointment of a 3-star General, the selection is based on certain criteria which are same for all of them. So, all the 3-star Generals have the same mindset.
The speculation that a certain 3-star General may be close and loyal to a certain political party is fundamentally wrong. They all follow the established tradition and policies of COAS. So, it is immaterial which of the 3-star General, junior or senior, is appointed as COAS. The history has confirmed that all the Prime Ministers of Pakistan have been selecting a 3-star General of a certain seniority for the appointment as COAS, thinking that he will be helpful to him (the Prime Minister), but it always proved wrong, so much so that even he removed the Prime Minister who appointed him. So, to me, any discussion on who will be the next COAS is a useless discussion.
The writer is senior analyst and columnist.