The enormity of the nation’s tragic loss at the unexpected demise of Gen Asif Nawaz — a true son of the soil — is beyond description. His passing is deeply mourned by Pakistanis because they saw him as an upright, just and courageous man — virtues which are singularly lacking in our rulers today.
Under Gen Nawaz’ leadership the army, which was long out of step with the aspirations of Pakistanis, finally began to redeem its honour and uphold the laws of the land without fear or favour. Its morale went up, discipline was good, and unprecedented accountability became the watchword of the day. It was poised to confront the challenges of a new, post-cold war era.
Gen Asif Nawaz’ brief stint was significant in other ways too. The army gave up pipe dreams of conquering Kabul, it mended relations with the United States, it defanged the MQM and freed Sindh from the clutches of terrorists and dacoits. These are no mean achievements in only sixteen months.
President Ishaq Khan’s choice of the new army chief, Gen Abdul Waheed Kakar, is an interesting one. Gen Waheed, Quetta Corps Commander, was due to retire in June. He now supercedes 6 Generals, all of whom are also due to retire this year. Of these, one is a current Corps Commander (Gen Mohammad Ashraf) and three have commanded Corps in the past (Gen Rehamdil Bhatti, Gen Arif Bangash and Gen Farrukh Khan). Seniority clearly was of no significance to President Ishaq. But this is not unprecedented. Gen Yahya Khan superceded a couple of Generals and Gen Zia ul Haq upstaged many more. So the President cannot be faulted on that score.
As far as professionalism is concerned, the President’s choice is a good one. Gen Waheed Kakar has both command and administrative experience. Before commanding the Quetta Corps, he served as General Officer Commanding in Panu Aqil, which means he is a Sindh-hand like his predecessor Gen Asif Nawaz. He has been Adjutant-General too, which suggests he will be a strict disciplinarian. As an infantry man, he hails from the Frontier Force regiment, one of the three oldest regiments of the Pakistan army. These are impeccable military credentials.
The two front runners, Gen Mohammad Ashraf and Gen Farrukh Khan, were bypassed for obvious reasons. Gen Ashraf was thought to be close to the prime minister’s business friends in Lahore, so he must have been ruled out on that score by the President who surely wanted to preclude any future PM-COAS grid against him. As for Gen Farrukh, he was known to be Gen Asif Nawaz’ right-hand man and confidant, which probably disqualified him in the books of both the President and the Prime Minister. Since the PM was at loggerheads with Gen Asif over a number of issues, and the President too was becoming jealous of the late General’s rising popularity and impartial policies, Gen Farrukh could not be trusted to toe Islamabad’s political line unhesitatingly.
Of the others, two Generals were ruled out because they lacked command experience. Gen Javed Nasir, DG ISI, lacks it too; at any rate, he is too close to the PM for the President’s comfort. Which left Gen Rehamdil Bhatti, Gen Arif Bangash and Gen Abdul Waheed.
In the end, the Pathan President was bound to look upon the two Pathan Generals more favourably than upon the Punjabi. About time, too, he must have thought. Pakistan has had nine army chiefs to date, of whom the first two were British, Gen Ayub was a Hazarawalla, Gen Yahya was Persian-speaking, Gen Gul Hassan, Tikka Khan, Zia ul Haq and Asif Nawaz were Punjabis while Gen Beg was an Urdu-speaking mohajir. So it was “Eenie Meenie Mina Moe” between Gen Waheed and Gen Bangash.
President Ishaq must hope to get along famously well with his Pashtu-speaking compatriot in Army House. He must also hope the new COAS will be indebted to him and not question the wisdom of Presidential discretion in matters as diverse as the ‘Sindh problem’, the ‘Benazir Bhutto problem’ and the ‘Islamic Bomb’ problem. Naturally, too, President Ishaq will want the new chap to approve wholeheartedly of his bid for a second term.
All this may come to pass. President Ishaq may yet succeed in dumping the theory of the ‘troika’ into the dustbin and become All in All.
But we would like to strike a note of caution to all those who are secretly hoping to lead the new chief by his nose. Pakistan’s political history and the army’s centrality in it suggest that whosoever becomes COAS is eventually going to be no one’s “man” except his own. When you sit in Army House and know you can move half a million in arms by gesturing with your little finger, you have to be your own man. So let’s hope that instead of being the President’s “man” or the PM’s “man”, the new COAS will turn out to be as true a son of the soil as his predecessor.