Munir’s quest for absolute control risks pushing Pakistan deeper into unrest
New Delhi, June 5 : Pakistan is a democracy, but only technically. After Asim Munir took over as the chief of the Pakistan Army, he has managed to get almost all institutions under his control. While major agencies such as the ISI are under the control of the Pakistan Army, Field Marshal Asim Munir now proposes to get all the police forces under him.
An official said that the proposal is to have a single command and every major institution relating to security would under the control of the Pakistan Army.
Munir has become the all-important man in Pakistan and today even has a say over the country’s budget.
The Pakistan budget, which is the need of the hour for the people owing to a collapsed economy, has been facing delays due to unwarranted demands by the Army.
Munir wants the defence spending to increase multi-fold, a demand that the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif government has been resisting. Both sides have not been on the same page and the Sharif government feels that defence allocation has to be lower and more has to be spent for the people.
Officials say that Munir does not care about Sharif’s point of view and hence has been sparring over defence spending. Munir’s demand is that defence spending should be increased by 25 per cent which the government feels is unreasonable.
Munir has been linking all his decisions to the failure on the part of the security forces to rein in the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
He feels that if all the security forces work under one command there would be better coordination and enhanced Intelligence sharing.
While Munir cites militancy as the reason, the fact is that he wants absolute control of the country. He feels that he could rein in the BLA and TTP if all forces come under one command and do not remain under state control.
The army chief wants to take away the distinction between the civilian law enforcement agencies and the external defence forces.
If he manages to enforce this, then he has complete control over the provincial governments as well, an official explained.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that all this has a lot to do with Munir’s failure as an army chief. He has failed the people by taking over the political class. He has not managed to rein in the TTP or BLA. Ties with the Afghan Taliban have vanished under his watch. And yes, there was 'Operation Sindoor', which left him exposed, the official added.
Another official said that Munir is once again being blind to the real problems. Such a decision would have a disastrous effect on the already troubled regions of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The people are already distressed and in regions such as Balochistan and KP, the people are in an all out war against the Pakistan establishment.
The official said that the people here are distressed by the lack of development in the region. They have been complaining that all their rich resources are being taken away and diverted to cities such as Islamabad, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
Even the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Project (CPEC) is being opposed in Balochistan as they feel that they would benefit nothing out of it.
This explains the large number of attacks by the BLA on this project, which has left Beijing fuming.
Pakistan watchers and experts say that Munir feels controlling the security forces of these regions would have him and his army in control. It may work, but very briefly and eventually the anger of the already distressed people will take over.
The regions which are already witnessing large scale violence will only witness an increase in the number of attacks, the experts say. They also add that the Pakistan army chief is flirting with danger and his bid to have complete control over everything will eventually backfire badly.
An official said that the proposal is to have a single command and every major institution relating to security would under the control of the Pakistan Army.
Munir has become the all-important man in Pakistan and today even has a say over the country’s budget.
The Pakistan budget, which is the need of the hour for the people owing to a collapsed economy, has been facing delays due to unwarranted demands by the Army.
Munir wants the defence spending to increase multi-fold, a demand that the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif government has been resisting. Both sides have not been on the same page and the Sharif government feels that defence allocation has to be lower and more has to be spent for the people.
Officials say that Munir does not care about Sharif’s point of view and hence has been sparring over defence spending. Munir’s demand is that defence spending should be increased by 25 per cent which the government feels is unreasonable.
Munir has been linking all his decisions to the failure on the part of the security forces to rein in the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
He feels that if all the security forces work under one command there would be better coordination and enhanced Intelligence sharing.
While Munir cites militancy as the reason, the fact is that he wants absolute control of the country. He feels that he could rein in the BLA and TTP if all forces come under one command and do not remain under state control.
The army chief wants to take away the distinction between the civilian law enforcement agencies and the external defence forces.
If he manages to enforce this, then he has complete control over the provincial governments as well, an official explained.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that all this has a lot to do with Munir’s failure as an army chief. He has failed the people by taking over the political class. He has not managed to rein in the TTP or BLA. Ties with the Afghan Taliban have vanished under his watch. And yes, there was 'Operation Sindoor', which left him exposed, the official added.
Another official said that Munir is once again being blind to the real problems. Such a decision would have a disastrous effect on the already troubled regions of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The people are already distressed and in regions such as Balochistan and KP, the people are in an all out war against the Pakistan establishment.
The official said that the people here are distressed by the lack of development in the region. They have been complaining that all their rich resources are being taken away and diverted to cities such as Islamabad, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
Even the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Project (CPEC) is being opposed in Balochistan as they feel that they would benefit nothing out of it.
This explains the large number of attacks by the BLA on this project, which has left Beijing fuming.
Pakistan watchers and experts say that Munir feels controlling the security forces of these regions would have him and his army in control. It may work, but very briefly and eventually the anger of the already distressed people will take over.
The regions which are already witnessing large scale violence will only witness an increase in the number of attacks, the experts say. They also add that the Pakistan army chief is flirting with danger and his bid to have complete control over everything will eventually backfire badly.
