How does PM Nawaz select his army chief?

ISLAMABAD: When it comes to the most sensitive appointment of the new Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), Nawaz Sharif, the third-time prime minister, has learnt to keep his cards close to chest until the final moment. So he is following what he has learnt during the last three-and-half decades in politics. Probably this is the lesson number 1 due to his bitter experiences.

“We have given all the input but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has not yet shown his tilt towards any candidate for the slot; however, it is clear that he would announce the new name at the last minute,” a close aide of PM divulged to The News.

The capital is abuzz and anxiously waiting for the selection of new army chief. Who in the power palaces is either in the guess game or some are silently campaigning for their favourites.

Due to the weak democratic history and long uninterrupted tenures of four military dictators, this slot has become very important, particularly because of the civil military imbalance in the country. Nawaz Sharif is trying silently but with very tiny steps is trying to turn the pendulum in favour of the civilians.

The most circulated question in the power corridors is that who would be the new COAS? Whereas this is actually linked to the question how Nawaz Sharif selects his COAS, as he has become the person who has worked with eight out of 15 different army chiefs starting from Gen Zia down to Gen Raheel Sharif.

Out of these seven, Gen Pervez Musharraf, Gen Ziauddin Khawaja (was appointed by the PM but later was court expelled from the army) and Gen Raheel Sharif were directly appointed by him. In the appointment of two army chiefs – Gen Asif Nawaz and Gen Abdul Waheed Kakar – Nawaz Sharif had key but a limited role due to the powerful President Ishaq Khan at that time.

Out of these 15, he has directly chosen Gen Musharraf, Gen Raheel whereas his selection of Gen Ziauddin on October 11, 1999 could not see implementation.

“In case of my appointment, it was all of a sudden. I had requested for a retirement as I wanted to join Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC) which was vacant. I did not know that the PM would appoint me. In my case, I guess it was a sudden decision and I guess only Lt-Gen Iftikhar Hussain, the then secretary defence, and Saeed Mehdi, the principle secretary to the PM, was consulted by the PM,” recalls Gen (retired) Ziauddin, while talking to this correspondent.

Gen Ziauddin following the military coup of 1999 was expelled from the military on administration grounds under the Army Act. He approached higher courts and is still waiting for justice. So it is established that the PM does take advice from only few whom he trusts. At yet, the PM has selected generals with or without family back grounds but in each case experience was not as sweet as was calculated.

Does the PM listens to his spy chiefs? In case of Gen Raheel Sharif’s appointment which PM announced on November 27th at the last minute giving surprise even to Gen Kayani, the then army chief, who had not recommended the officer or even guessed.

What happened last time, everyone was guessing about Lt-Gen Haroon, the senior most, and Lt-Gen Rashad. Few would know that not only Gen Kayani wanted Rashad but Lt-Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam, the then chief of powerful spy agency ISI, had also recommended Rashad, sources claim.

The prime minister at that point of time was advised for Lt-Gen Tariq Khan by IB chief Aftab Sultan who later thwarted the 2014 dharna through his in-time intelligence reports.

The sources claim that the IB was putting forward the name of Lt-Gen Tariq because he was hard against militants and, according to the civilian intelligence agency, could have been the best choice for fighting the militants. Don’t forget Musharraf whom intelligence had not cleared but even the then PM selected him reportedly on the recommendation of Chaudhry Nisar, the petroleum minister in 1999, whose brother Lt-Gen Iftikhar was the defence secretary.

So the PM not necessarily listens to his spy chiefs. But they matter and this time they would matter too as their reports are reportedly sent to the prime minister.

Nisar is yet again among the trusted cabinet members, apparently because of thwarting the Islamabad lockdown. He is probably the only strong bridge between the government and the military. He is undoubtedly a secret man of the cabinet.

“Process of such appointments in the world is very sensitive. I cannot discuss this with you or media,” said Nisar, when asked about the way PM appoints the army chief. Who else gave an input in 2013? A key source claims that it was Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and “Sialkoti munda” Khawaja Asif, the defence minister.

This time round, just like 2013, no one even from the power palace is sure about the prime minister’s choice. Close aides claim that there is a consultative group within the government. which comprises important party leaders. Among them are Senator Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Dar, Nisar, Khawaja Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Ahsan Iqbal, Pervaiz Rashid, Senator Mushahidullah Khan and others.

In case of selecting Mamnoon Hussain as president, the same group was consulted but not for the appointment of army chief.

“Yes I recall the PM did not seek advice from this group for the appointment of Gen Raheel Sharif,” recalls Mushahidullah. However, he added that the PM has his own independent thinking regarding this issue.

An important thing is this that the PM does not like to be approached for this slot. Lt-Gen Haroon is yet another example who was superseded for two reasons: (a) he was using his contacts to approach PM and (b) He was one of the players of Oct 12, 1999. Besides these two reasons, Gen Kayani had also not forwarded his case with good introduction.

Reliable sources claim that the prime minister did consult a close associate, who is not on the forefront any more, last time round. The sources claim that a key advice in appointment of army chief was given by that associate.