Bravo, Raheel Sharif for
respecting the Constitution!
By Shakir Lakhani Published: January 26,
2016
I thought
everyone would be happy that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) announced that he will retire when his term ends and will
not seek an extension. This is what happens in practically every civilised
country in the world, so why should it surprise us that this highly
professional soldier has chosen to stick to the Constitution?
But the way some people in the media and on twitter have
reacted, one would think the country will collapse if the good general leaves
and hands over command to another general.
"I don't believe
in extension, will retire on due date": Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel
Sharif Why #COAS Why :( :)
#COAS Pakistan Needs your extension
Pakistan Need you Boss
for many years #COAS
There is a bearded media
anchor on TV who was almost in tears today (the day after the COAS’s announcement).
He invited his listeners and viewers to call and demand that the COAS take back
his decision and continue after his retirement date. He even said that the
National assembly and all the four provincial assemblies pass resolutions that
the COAS be asked to stay on and continue the war on terrorism. People like him
apparently think that this country still exists only because
General Raheel Sharif has been the Chief of the Army for the past over two
years.
Let’s go back in time.
In 1948, just over a year after
the country’s birth, Mr Jinnah passed away. At that time, most people thought
Pakistan wouldn’t be able to survive. After all, the country was still reeling
from the pangs of independence. Refugees were swarming all over the country, we
were embroiled in a war over Kashmir, and the government was still finding it
difficult to pay salaries to its employees. Yet the country managed to survive,
and no general dared to take over the country to “save” it.
Contrast this with what
happened 10 years later.
The country was placed under martial law by a general who was
hailed as “the saviour” of Pakistan. For 11 years Ayub Khan ruled the country with an iron hand. But when people came out on the streets, and
the time came for him to leave, he handed over power to another general, instead of Abdul Jabbar Khan, the Bengali
speaker of the national assembly, as required by the Constitution. There is no
doubt in my mind that if he had followed the Constitution, the country would
have remained united.
But, unfortunately, he had been brainwashed into believing that
only the army could manage the country, as a result of which we had to undergo
the trauma of Jinnah’s Pakistan being dismembered.
Why do our people
believe in one-man rule?
Is it inherent in our
genes?
General Raheel Sharif should be felicitated for not taking over
the country when Imran Khan’s“dharnas” paralysed the capital. He should be commended for sticking to
the Constitution and affirming that strengthening of institutions is what
ultimately counts, and that change at the top should not make any difference.
Our virtually illiterate
people (including sycophants like the media anchor shedding tears today) should
take note.
Shakir Lakhani
Engineer, teacher, industrialist,
associated with petroleum/chemical industries for many years. Loves writing,
and (in the opinion of most of those who know him), mentally unbalanced. He
tweets @shakirlakhani (twitter.com/shakirlakhani)
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