Kiyani extension generates debate

t('articles.tweet')

* denotes required field.

• Your name *
• Email to *
• Comments *
• CAPTCHA *

Reset

ISLAMABAD- The Pakistani government’s decision to grant another full-term to Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani as Chief of the Army Staff has generated some heated debate in the country.

The reappointment marks the first time ever that a Chief of the Army Staff has been reappointed by an elected civilian government to a second term, and many political and security analysts said it was the right thing to do.

But others said it could ultimately hurt the military.

Success in war on terror praised

Supporters point to the prevailing state of affairs, Pakistan’s success in its continued war against insurgents in its western territories and Kiyani’s role in strengthening democracy.

“Kiyani keeps on sticking to his constitutional role during all these turbulent years,” defence analyst Imtiaz Gul told Central Asia Online.

Gul, who heads the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies, praised Kiyani for improving the army’s image and staying within the confines of his military role, rather than meddling in politics.

Pakistan’s military lost much of its lustre in the public’s eye under Gen Kiyani’s predecessor, Gen Pervez Musharraf.

“Kiyani has restored the morale of the soldiers,” Brig Mehmood Shah, a defence analyst, told Central Asia Online.

“Our soldiers had low self-esteem and had lost their fighting spirit when Kiyani took over the military command” in November 2007, Shah said. “His great success is restoring the confidence of military officers by leading them from the front in the war against terror.”

Decision called extraordinary, but necessary

Shah termed the extension extraordinary but necessary. “As Pakistan is going through an extraordinary situation, an extraordinary decision was the need of the time,” Shah said. Kiyani effectively used his forces against militants in the west, said Kamal Hyder, Islamabad-based bureau chief of Al-Jazeera English.

“He (Kiyani) is above controversy … steady, level-headed and a thoroughly professional solider … having no apparent political ambition,” Hyder said.

It is the first time, an elected prime minister has extended a military commander’s term.

“Kiyani’s extension in service proved that the parliament is now supreme in Pakistan,” Senator Rahim Mandokhel, the senior leader of the Pashtun nationalist Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party, told Central Asia Online.

Effect on morale criticised

But Afzal Shah Khamoosh, President of the Mazdoor Kisan Communist Party, said giving extension to the army chief indicates that the rest of generals in military are not capable of leading the army.

“The decision gave an impression that Kiyani is the only man in the military hierarchy capable of leading half a million soldiers,” Khamoosh told Central Asia Online. “This is tantamount to weakening of the military as an institution.”

Another political observer criticised how the decision was made.

“Nobody knows what were the real considerations on the basis of which the government has taken this decision,” said Athar Minallah Advocate, a leading lawyer and former minister.

Both Athar and Khamoosh said the decision could ultimately hurt the military because the government is ignoring the efforts of others to praise one man.

Criticism aside, The ongoing war against terror and geo-political circumstances were the main reasons for keeping Kiyani as top military commander, political and social activist and Afghan and tribal affairs observer Aimal Khattak said.

However, Aimal disagreed with a three-year extension. “It shouldn’t have been more than one year,” he argued.

He understood the criticism that such a long extension could weaken the military by slowing the careers of other officers, Aimal said.

Military is strong enough to overcome morale fears

Shah, though, saw no harm to the military in having Kiyani stay around.

“Kiyani is the most popular commander in the army … widely respected among both the military and civilians,” said Shah. “He has done a lot for building the (military) and making it a professional fighting force.”

Except the ultra-religious Jamaat-e-Islami, the majority of the political parties welcomed the decision.

“We have no objection to (Kiyani’s extension),” Maulana Fazal Rehman, leader of the largest religious political party, Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), said in a statement for media.

“Kiyani has contributed much to building and sustaining the present democratic system,” senior JUI leader and ex-Senator Maulana Rahat Hussian told Central Asia Online.

“He won the admiration of the political leadership when he stopped military intelligence agencies from interfering in the 2007 elections,” added Rahat.

“Hundreds of military officers inducted into the civilian administration during the Musharraf regime were called back by Kiyani,” said Rahat, adding that Kiyani’s extension had strengthened the civilian government and shored up the military’s confidence.