Owing to the recent events unfolding in the country in recent days, the topic of civilian supremacy has become in vogue and the question has arisen in the minds of the populace: “Is Pakistan a good example of the idea of civilian supremacy over the army or is it the other way around for us?” Whether or not you agree with the sentiment of the idea of civilian supremacy, it is still a valuable and much ascribed to idea within the socio-political spheres of thought. So within this article we strive to understand the nature of this idea and see whether our leaders actually fall true to its meaning.
The essence of civilian supremacy lies in the superiority of the population, in other words the state itself, over the armed forces. The military exists solely for the protection of the civilian population and as such they are subject to the authority of that same population. Quite straightforward and natural in theory yet we are not faced with such a simple situation in our case. We have heard alleged involvements of the military establishment in many matters of utmost importance, such as the selection of administrative representatives like the Prime Minister (quite famously the former PM Imran Khan) as well as his cadre of ministers.
The real reason this supremacy is needed is to allow the people and the administrative powers to legislate and control the armed forces so that the latter can do their job and not point the gun at the people they are supposed to protect. The military signifies the raw power of the State and as such have to be kept under surveillance and control or else they will end up controlling the very State machinery, the safety and sanctity of which is supposed to be their number one priority. Now we come upon the real question:
“Is Imran Khan’s current political motive truly a call for actual civilian supremacy or is he merely using this as a tool for regaining his previous position and reverting the control to the military establishment as alleged before?”
“Less charitable observers say that PTI’s current resentment and the anger of its supporters amount to a tantrum that is probably limited to the current military leadership. Such sceptics argue that there is no ideological opposition to the establishment’s extra-constitutional role in politics, and that if given the option, they would be more than happy to cede governing space to the military in exchange for being back in power — as was the case prior to this current phadda (fight).” (DAWN, June 27th, 2022).
This is a pretty straightforward analysis of the current situation it seems, even though most PTI followers would not find this digestible and will continue to refute any involvement of their leader with the military establishment. Rather they believe that the former PM now upholds a position of civilian supremacy and this is proven by his Haqeeqi Azadi March as well as the attempt upon his life. The contrary, however, seems more likely owing to the fact that the way in which the former PM came into power as well as some administrative decisions that he took as the former PM that didn’t quite sit right with the upper echelon of establishment and as such became the cause of his downfall and ultimate removal from office. These things, although are not clear-cut evidence, that point to the involvement of the military in both bringing Imran Khan into office and then removing him from that exact position,
“Regardless though, it is probably inaccurate to treat this as a moment of great constitutional awakening, this time being spearheaded by a new party. While being clear on who should call the shots in power is a major component of it, constitutionalism also involves a commitment to parliamentary supremacy, acceptance of the role of the opposition, and adherence to what’s actually written in the Constitution. All parties fail to uphold these to varying degrees, and the PTI proved itself to be no different.” (DAWN, June 27th, 2022).
Although it is somewhat unfair to put all of the blame on PTI as a political party in having military involvement or wrongfully using the motif of civilian supremacy to further their political agenda or merely as a tool of rhetoric as nearly every party in this country’s history has at some point given up to that very establishment the rights to rule the country and strike up negotiations at a moment’s notice whenever the opportunity has presented itself. So, the blame of that is not on any individual party’s head but rather the entire system that has created this sort of military dictatorship that runs the show from behind the curtains. The one thing that we must still understand, though, is that even if PTI is not the sole party that has fallen below their own standards and ideology, it still has failed to uphold the very motif that they have espoused in their campaign so far: that of being the voice of the people, a voice that will no longer bend to the will of the military, nor to the elite class that fully supports its involvement in the political sphere and the policies that they make in it. It has failed to stand true to the nature of civilian supremacy and has basically accepted that it is on its last legs and crying for help for one last deal so that the former PM can mend his ways and be part of the “Gentleman’s Club” again. So, the answer to that question we asked earlier is simple and straightforward. A hard “NO”. But the question we shall leave you with is this:
“Is there any way civilian supremacy may be established in the State of Pakistan? And if so, what are the steps that must be taken to make that a permanent state of being?”
The writer is currently studying at International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI).
