Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may be in big trouble. In his first press conference in Islamabad last Monday since becoming PM, just hours after his return from an abortive Gulf peace mission, he cut a sorry figure under the relentless barrage of questions, each more pertinent than the other. And if Mian Sahib had even a single answer, he certainly didn’t provide it, preferring instead to sweat it out as bravely as he could.
The poor man could hardly have done otherwise. He was confronted with the most hard-hitting speech on the Gulf crisis to date by the COAS, Gen Aslam Beg, earlier in the day, in which the General’s crux seemed to fiercely undercut the current position of the civilian government in Islamabad.
Mian Sahib’s position is that Iraq must unconditionally withdraw from Kuwait as per the original UN Security Council Resolution. Mian Sahib has also told Pakistanis that Saddam Hussein has been no friend to Pakistan in the past while the Saudis have always stood by us through thick and thin. In other words, that Pakistan’s position is a principled and legitimate one. As for the grand Coalition built by the United States and what it is doing to Iraq, including the disastrous and far-reaching consequences of war imposed on the region, the PM’s silence has spoken volumes.
Not so, General Beg. The Western powers, he believes, provoked the Iraqi intervention in Kuwait, didn’t give peace a fair chance and have now unleashed a war not merely to vacate Kuwait as per the UN resolution but to destroy Iraq’s economic and military strength and impose an unstable solution to the myriad problems of the region, including South Asia. Further, that the war is undermining the unity of the Muslims and may end up re-enacting the tragedy of Karbala. No wonder, thunders Gen Beg, Saddam Hussein is now viewed by Muslims all over the world as a great defender of the Faith.
As opposed to the Prime Minister’s compulsory dirge, Gen Beg’s words must surely come as sweet music to the ears of most Pakistanis. Which prompts an urgent question: why has Gen Beg chosen to say what he has said, and why has he said it precisely a few hours before the Prime Minister’s scheduled press conference on the Gulf crisis?
When Mian Sahib was asked to confirm his approval of Gen Beg’s opinions, the PM dithered. And understandably so. Apart from not having any knowledge of the General’s utterances,and therefore lacking an appropriate brief, the PM could hardly have backed his Army Chief without overturning his government’s foreign policies in more ways than one. And if truth be retold, he couldn’t have openly disagreed either, such is the measure of Pakistan’s uncomfortable political realities.
All this was evident enough. But more to the point, the episode highlighted the object failure of the Prime Minister to articulate a Gulf policy in tune with the emotions and aspirations of the people of Pakistan, a matter which should no longer give at least General Beg any further sleepless nights.
In one fell swoop, General Beg has brilliantly distanced the armed forces from the civilian government’s unpopular Gulf policy without at the same time providing the concrete contours of a new, more popular, one. For nothing in General Beg’s speech suggests that there may indeed be a viable alternative at hand, for the moment at any rate.
As things stand, it might be well to remember that when the first troops were committed last August the armed forces assessed war as being highly improbable and risking Saudi displeasure as most undesirable. Subsequently, doubts crept in as the January deadline approached. But the new PM then went and committed a fresh batch of troops to Saudi Arabia and, knowing him, he couldn’t have done so without GHQ’s acquiescence. Now, of course, everyone is having serious second thoughts about it as public outcry and anguish acquire threatening proportions.
But the problem is that while the civilian government is stuck with these decisions the armed forces appear to be subtly extricating themselves from this mess. This is most unfortunate. Everyone knows where power lies. If Gen Beg genuinely wants to reverse or change the government’s policies, he should say as much in the proper quarters and help bring his political colleagues into conformity with public thinking on this issue. If he doesn’t, he might be advised to choose his words and audience with greater circumspection. His latest analysis, notwithstanding its strategic vision, has sadly only served to undermine the credibility of an elected government and sowed suspicions about his own, true, long-term intentions.