On Rawalpindi’s struggle to end Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party – OpEd – Eurasia Review

Less than two weeks after the May 9 protests in which military assets and installations in Pakistan were attacked by angry mobs, the Pakistan Army’s media wing, Inter Services Public Relations [ISPR] issued a press release stating that Army Chief Syed Asim Munir said, “Legal proceedings of the The trial of the planners, instigators, accomplices and perpetrators of the May 9 tragedy has begun under the Pakistan Army Act [PAA] and the Official Secrets Act in accordance with existing and established legal procedures arising out of the Constitution of Pakistan.”

Despite public outrage over the army’s arbitrary decision to try civilians under the PPA, Pakistan’s National Assembly dutifully defended Rawalpindi’s controversial decision, stressing: “Worldwide, the right to investigate persons involved in incidents such as attacks on military installations lies with the army.” This claim is controversial in itself and amounts to the victim acting as both juror and judge in the trial of the accused, thus representing a blatant violation of the fundamental principle of natural justice.

The statement that “It is alarming that the Pakistani army has declared its intention to prosecute civilians under military law, possibly before military courts,” Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International [AI] Dinushika Dissanayake rightly pointed out that “The trial of civilians in military courts is a violation of international law.” [Emphasis added]In October 2023, a five-member panel of Pakistan's Supreme Court declared the trial of civilians in military courts unconstitutional.

Rawalpindi is still going strong and there is no doubt that it will prevail in the end, whatever happens!

ISPR has sent the foreign hand Narrative by suggesting that the May 9 riots were orchestrated by New Delhi and that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf participated in them. [PTI] Supporters had betrayed the nation. It is no secret that in Pakistan, anti-India rhetoric is the most effective and sustainable strategy to mobilise public opinion and therefore many agree with the army's logic that since the May 9 insurgents had humiliated the Pakistani army, a harsh retaliation for this unprecedented act was necessary to bring down Rawalpindi's 'I eat' [honour].

However, the Pakistan Army's concern for maintaining its honour and image is very selective. In November 2023, the Supreme Court of Pakistan in its written order on a complaint of extortion and intimidation by the owner of a private housing project against former intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed stated: “The allegations are of an extremely serious nature and, if true, would undoubtedly damage the reputation of the Federal Government, the Armed Forces, the ISI and the Pakistan Rangers. Therefore, they cannot be ignored.”

The alleged involvement of a serving three-star general in an extortion case is indeed a very serious matter as it does not reflect the already tarnished image of the Pakistan Army. Therefore, one would have expected that like in the case of the May 9 riots, Rawalpindi would insist that this case should be investigated by the army and brought to justice. However, for unknown reasons, the army hesitated and, according to its own statements, did not initiate an investigation against the former ISI chief until after the Supreme Court's explicit direction in November 2023.

Even more surprising, however, is what finally emerged.

The Rawalpindi investigations have revealed that the allegations of extortion and intimidation against Lt. General Hameed have been proven to be true. “Appropriate disciplinary action has been initiated against Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed. [Retd]under the provisions of the Pakistan Army Act”, ISPR has also shown that “In addition, several cases of violations of Pakistan Army Act after retirement have been identified.”

The “several cases of violations of Pakistani Army Law” of the former intelligence chief evading the Pakistan Army's esteemed intelligence agency ISI is difficult to digest. Who would have ever believed that the numerous PPA violations committed by the former ISI chief would have gone unnoticed had the Pakistan Army not been directed by the Supreme Court to investigate extortion and other related allegations against him?

Although details of these violations were not disclosed, given the former ISI chief's proximity to Khan, what ISPR means by this is clear. The timing of this revelation alone raises strong suspicions that Rawalpindi has cleverly used the Supreme Court's orders to investigate corruption allegations against the former ISI chief to further its own motivated agenda against the cricketer-turned-politician, thereby linking Lt Gen Hameed's misdeeds to the PTI chief and his party.

But despite having cornered the former ISI chief, Rawalpindi will think twice before taking strict action against him because it knows that doing so could well cause trouble. Lt. Gen. Hameed was directly involved in several covert army deals, such as the Rawalpindi-backed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan in 2017. [TLP] Sit-in in Faizabad against the anti-Nawaz Sharif government.

The former ISI chief is also privy to the Pakistani army's secret talks with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP] and reasons for undue concessions made by this terror group, such as unconditional release of its convicted fighters and secretly allowing TTP cadres to make a systematic comeback in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [KP].

As the first foreign official to visit Kabul, just days after the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and even before the formation of the Taliban interim government, Lt. Gen. Hameed clearly supported former US President Donald Trump’s 2018 statement that “She [Pakistan government and army] Give safe haven to the terrorists we are hunting in Afghanistan.”

Amazingly, despite the inopportune timing of his visit and his highly publicised tea party, which caused great embarrassment to both Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the Pakistani army took no disciplinary action against him. And who knows why!

Despite Rawalpindi's multi-pronged attack, its efforts to make former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the PTI politically irrelevant were not entirely successful. Whoever gave General Munir the idea of ​​using Lt. Gen. Hameed as a weapon for the implementation of the Coup de grace Those who have influence over Khan's political existence may not have realized that the former ISI chief is no weakling and that, just like Khan, he will not go down without a fight.

Rawalpindi's ongoing struggle to politically finish off Khan will only further exacerbate political instability in Pakistan, and so General Munir's only option is to sheathe his sword and negotiate with Khan. But that is easier said than done, because in Pakistan, where the military “elects” the prime minister, an army chief negotiating with a politician is not only blasphemous, but also an unacceptable blow to Rawalpindi's fiercely defended 'I eat'!