OPINION: Pak army in a pessimistic state

The Pakistan Army is caught between a rock and a hard place when the country's governance is in crisis and the economy is shrinking.

Without mincing words, Pakistan's former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has warned that if the political and economic troubles continue an unconstitutional action by the Army could be inevitable. Abbasi criticised the Imran Khan government's failure and also the current PDM government's miserable performance that led to a failure of the constitutional, political, judicial and military establishment.

Today, the Pakistan Supreme Court's rulings have thrust Pakistan into the middle of the ongoing political crisis. Since last year, Pakistan's political parties have been squabbling over the holding of elections. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been pushing for elections to the National Assembly to be advanced and for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial Assembly elections to be held before general elections. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government prefers the elections to be held at the same time. Elections to the National Assembly are due later this year.

Pakistan is totally in a mess when the situation has reached a point of no return where the government has revolted against the Supreme Court orders over the elections. The State Bank of Pakistan has refused to obey the Chief Justice's order to allocate funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) without the parliament's approval. The Defence Ministry has made it clear that it cannot allocate security arrangements as they are engaged with military operations across the country. Meanwhile, the government has refused to enter into negotiations with PTI leadership under pressure from the Supreme Court.

On the other hand, the Pakistan Army is trying to restore its image which has been spoiled by former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. In a TV interview in 2021, he reportedly told two senior journalists Hamid Mir and Naseem Zehra that Pakistan lacked the ammunition and economic strength to fight against India. "This was the same lecture that he gave in front of 20-25 journalists once at General Headquarters too that Pakistan Army tanks were not capable of running and there was no diesel for the movement of troops," the journalist alleged.

Diverting the nation's attention from the crisis, as usual, the military establishment has been taking a strong position against India through statements. Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director-General (DG) of Pakistan Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), told the media if the "Indian propaganda against Pakistan" continues and a situation of confrontation arises, then "we can take this battle to the enemy's territory as well if required."

Against the backdrop of lifting its dented image, Pakistan has not been free of homegrown terrorism. Its Western borders have always been volatile including Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Terrorist attacks on security forces have not decreased. On April 25 as many as 15 people including eight policemen were killed and over 53 people including 3 civilians injured in a suspected suicide attack at a Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police station in Swat's Kabal.

DG-ISPR Chaudhry said that on April 25, 2023, the Pakistan Army along with civil and military intelligence agencies conducted over 70 Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs) on average across the country to stem out the recent wave of terrorism and resurgence.

He said the security forces have so far conducted about 8,269 IBOs since 2023 and apprehended 1,378 terrorists and killed 157 among them during the anti-terrorism operations. During the anti-terrorism operations since January 2023, 137 officers and soldiers were killed and 117 got injured. He added that for the past many months, the terrorist's activities were underway to destabilise peace in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

However, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch separatist organisations have been found behind the attacks. He admitted that the Peshawar attack was done by Jamaat ul Ahrar and the attackers were from Afghanistan. He added that the Peshawar attack facilitator was arrested who had trained the suicide attackers and received a sum of Rs7.5 million for facilitation and execution of the attack.

In Swat, the people have started feeling suffocated, first by the Taliban and later by the security forces. Since the Taliban returned to Afghanistan and took the reins of Kabul, the residents of Swat have been gripped by fears and suspicions. Obviously, the Pakistani Taliban or TTP, which oppresses the people of Swat, are considered the "brothers" of the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan's establishment negotiated with the TTP, when former ISI chief General Faiz was leading these negotiations, his one foot was in Kabul and the other in Peshawar.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and tribal elders were also involved in these talks. Then, all of a sudden, negotiations with the Pakistani Taliban failed. Acceleration in Taliban attacks, explosions, and terrorist attacks killed security and police personnel and many civilians. Now the operation against the Taliban is going on based on "intelligence". In this situation, the residents of Swat are in a state of shock. They fear if there will be hostile military operations, they might be forced to leave the valley.

Meanwhile, Awami National Party (ANP) provincial chief Aimal Wali Khan on April 20, filed a writ petition in the Peshawar High Court demanding a judicial commission against former prime minister Imran Khan, former Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed and others to probe as to how militants resettled and regrouped in the province in the last few years.

(R C Ganjoo is a senior journalist and columnist having more than 30 years experience of covering issues concerning national security, particularly Kashmir. He has worked with several prominent media groups and his articles have been published in many national and international publications.)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.