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Islamabad: Nothing creates so much political heat and media frenzy in coup-prone Pakistan as does the appointment of the Army chief, whose power flows not from the canon of any statute book but from the cannons of steel and fire.
Lately, this exercise in the nuclear-armed country has also attracted global attention due to the implications of the job performed by the head of the military.
The appointment of a successor to Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who is set to retire on November 29, is an administrative matter.
Under the law, the incumbent prime minister is empowered to select any one of the top three-star generals. But politically it means installing someone who may pull the strings and even determine the fate of the person who appointed him.
The power of the Army chief flows not from the canon of any statute book but from the cannons of steel and fire; this power is historical and not constitutional. Still, it is a real hard power.
The powerful Army, which has ruled the country for more than half of its 75-plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in matters of security and foreign policy.
agency chief Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum had to address a press conference to reject Khan’s allegations.
Among other issues, Khan demanded the next army chief should be appointed by the new government coming from the fresh election. He even proposed another extension for Gen Bajwa.
As the government refused to accept his demand for snap elections and delay the appointment of the new chief, he on a daily basis lashed at the government while reserving some of the sharpest arrows for the army leadership.
His critics allege that Khan was trying to make the high-profile appointment controversial at a time when the country needs a strong military leader to defeat the remnants of local militants, tackle the evolving situation in Afghanistan, build trustworthy ties with the US and ease tensions with India.
So far the former premier has remained undaunted and defiant despite an attempt on his life on November 3 in Punjab province when he dodged the assassin’s bullet by a narrow margin.
The government is in no hurry to announce the new chief who should be one of the top four or five generals. The delay has given birth to doubts and rumours. The government is planning to amend the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) of 1952 to make it easier to briefly extend the services of an Army officer.
Though General Bajwa has started paying farewell visits to various formations, a tradition kept by his predecessors, and the army announced that he would doff-off his uniform at the appointed hour, but delay in the announcement of the new appointment, unending criticism by Khan and tweaking the army law makes a lot of room for speculation.
The high drama around the key appointment has not gone unnoticed around the world as the Army chief of a nuclear-armed country, when it is also facing political turmoil and economic meltdown, is by no means an ordinary affair.
The delay in the appointment has created uncertainty and political confusion. Neither Pakistan nor the world can afford it. Luckily November 29 is not far away and the mist around who will be the new army chief of Pakistan will soon clear away.
