Tightening grip

Two recent developments in Pakistan are extremely important for understanding how the Army Chief General Asim Munir has further consolidated his grip on power. These developments do not bode well for Imran Khan or his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). They also have some ramifications for India.

The Pakistan Army Act of 1952 had stipulated that the term of the Army Chief would be three years. It had also capped the Army Chief's age at 64 years. On November 4, the Pakistan Parliament passed a law that has extended the term of the Army Chief from three years to five years. Under the new law, General Munir, who took office in November 2022 with a timeline to retire in 2025, will serve until 2027, irrespective of a retirement age of 64 for a general.

Why has the Pakistan Parliament passed such a law? Simply because the Army Chief wanted it. Pakistan is not a democracy where the elected government rules. Rather, Pakistan is ruled by a Deep State, and the Deep State is the army. The Army Chief has the last word on everything that matters. Civilian authority has been systematically humiliated and crushed in Pakistan. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto tried to exercise his sway as Prime Minister but he was overthrown and later hanged by General Zia ul Haq. Nawaz Sharif stood up to General Musharraf but he was overthrown in a military coup and placed under arrest. Later on, he had to go into exile. More recently, Imran Khan tried to stand up to the Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa but he was summarily overthrown and is still languishing in prison.

Earlier too, some army chiefs, who were appointed for three year terms, had managed to get extensions for themselves. The previous Army Chief General Bajwa was appointed in November 2016 and his term was ending in November 2019, but he got himself a three year extension and stayed on as Army Chief till November 2022. General Ashfaq Kayani became Army Chief in November 2007 and his three year term was to end in November 2010 but he got a three year extension and stayed on as Army Chief till November 2013.

Of course, General Musharraf was Army Chief for nine years from October 6, 1998 – November 29, 2007 . Moreover, since the post of Army Chief was not good enough for him, Musharraf had also deposed the elected government of Nawaz Sharif on October 12, 1999 and became the Chief Executive of Pakistan! Later, on June 20, 2001, Musharraf formally appointed himself as President.

By getting a law enacted which extends his term to five years, General Asim Munir has ensured that he will not have to relinquish his post at the end of the regular three year term and that, unlike some of the earlier Army Chiefs, he will not have to go about managing an extension. This development is undoubtedly a blow to Imran Khan and his party. It may be recalled that Imran Khan has alleged that General Munir is preventing his return to power. “I haven’t done anything to antagonise the army chief, but there is something he has against me which I don’t know,” Imran Khan had said.

The other and perhaps even more consequential development took place when the 26th amendment to the 1973 Constitution was passed by the National Assembly in an all-night session on October 21. It altered the mechanism for appointing the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The amendment was designed to ensure that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, who would have been the country’s Chief Justice, would be superseded.

There is an established practice in Pakistan that the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court is appointed the Chief Justice. Why did the Pakistan Government take this extreme step of amending the Constitution in order to prevent Justice Mansoor Ali Shah from becoming the Chief Justice? It did so because he is considered a serious danger to the present regime as he believes in the independence of the judiciary and has, in the past, delivered some verdicts against the Government. Justice Shah was among those who had restored reserved seats in the National Assembly to Imran Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

Under Pakistani law, the National Assembly has 336 seats. 266 National Assembly members are elected in the General Election while 70 additional reserved seats (60 for women and 10 for religious minorities) are distributed to political parties based on their election performance. The PTI, led by Khan, who has been in jail since August due to criminal cases filed against him, was denied the right by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to contest the elections under its electoral symbol, a cricket bat, due to electoral law violations.

Consequently, PTI candidates had to run as independents, yet they surprised observers by winning 93 seats in the National Assembly – more than any other party. The Supreme Court bench of which Justice Mansoor Ali Shah was a member recognised the PTI as a political party and affirmed that not having an election symbol does not affect a party’s legal rights to field candidates. The court directed that the PTI was eligible to get a share of the reserved seats. Thus the Shahbaz Sharif government as well as the Army Chief became opposed to Justice Mansoor Ali Shah becoming the Chief Justice as he would have become a thorn in their side.

The 26th Amendment was rushed through and passed on October 21 as the incumbent Chief Justice, Qazi Faez Isa, was retiring on October 25. After President Asif Ali Zardari signed the amendment into law, a special parliamentary committee, dominated by members of the ruling coalition, recommended Justice Yahya Afridi, the third-ranking judge in the Supreme Court, as the next Chief Justice. He became Chief Justice on October 26, superseding Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.

The 26th amendment also creates a new category of “Constitution Bench Judges”. In essence, this plan is aimed at excluding existing Supreme Court judges from hearing constitutional matters, as their verdicts might not align with the ruling coalition’s interests. The Constitution Bench judges are to be appointed by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) which has been reconstituted under the 26th Amendment and is now packed with parliamentarians from the ruling coalition. The senior-most among these new judges would serve as the presiding judge. The Judicial Commission of Pakistan has appointed Justice Aminuddin Khan as head of the seven-judge constitutional bench. Justice Amin¬uddin, who ranks fourth in seniority among Supreme Court judges, will lead the bench.

Thus, at the dead of night on October 21, Pakistan shackled its judiciary. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif described the 26th amendment as 'a historical achievement', but it does not bode well for the political system as also for the rights of the common citizen. Recently some judges from the Islamabad High Court have complained of interference by the tri-service intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The Karachi Bar Association has criticised the 26th amendment to the constitution. “We see these provisions as a grave threat to the independence of the judiciary and a subversion of access to justice for all citizens,” it said. Pakistan's leading daily newspaper Dawn said in an editorial that "the independence of the judiciary is enshrined as one of the core tenets of the Constitution, and any move by the government to punish judges for holding independent views will not sit well in these fraught times". Reacting to the constitutional changes, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) stated that "these amendments erode the judiciary’s capacity to independently and effectively function as a check against excess by other branches of the State and protect human rights".

Not surprisingly, the 26th Amendment has received full backing from the Army Chief General Asim Munir. This amendment shows that in its quest to direct or dominate the country’s politics, he will use every stratagem to manipulate both the executive and judiciary. Weakening the judiciary also serves the Pakistani Army’s broader interest of maintaining its supremacy in Pakistan's political power play.

Known as ‘Mullah General’ for his ability to recite the Quran extempore, General Asim Munir had earlier donned the mantle of the Chief of the ISI which is notorious for spreading terror in India. Since becoming Army Chief on 29th November, 2022, he has repeatedly made anti-India statements. On August 14, 2023, speaking at an event held to celebrate Pakistan's Independence Day, General Asim Munir described India as a threat to regional peace as he sought international community's action against New Delhi over Jammu and Kashmir. On Jan 25, 2024, virtually ruling out peace with India, he said that since New Delhi has not reconciled with the concept of Pakistan, "then how can we reconcile with it". Again, on May 3, 2024, terming India as its “arch-rival”, General Asim Munir promised Islamabad’s continued “moral, political and diplomatic support” to Kashmiri separatists. Thus, the increasingly strong grip of General Asim Munir over Pakistan's polity does not bode well for its relations with India.

The writer is a retired Indian diplomat and had previously served as Consul General in New York. Views expressed are personal