ISLAMABAD: The main point man of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is trying to stretch the schedule of parliamentary approval of the legislation, aimed at giving three-year extension to Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa as the chief of army staff, to the timeline specified by his supreme leader Nawaz Sharif.
He is sure that a middle way-- the time of passage of the proposed law close to the deadline of January 15 fixed by the deposed prime minister--will be found so that the Parliament is not seen to rubber-stamp such an important bill. “I think the bill will sail through the parliament sometime before the end of next week, not far away from the date stipulated by Nawaz Sharif,” the point man told The News on condition of anonymity. “For this specific reason, the sessions of the National Assembly and Senate scheduled to be held on Saturday were postponed as we made it clear that time should be given to the exercise, and we should not rush through the legislature. It should be done in a respectable manner.”
Meanwhile, during discussions with PML-N leaders of different viewpoints with The News, a lot of insight came to fore. There are umpteen questions and as many answers to the distressing turmoil that has beset the party for the first time since its inception. Why did Maryam decide to quit her party office and why did she withhold her resignation? What transpired in the discussion between the PML-N parliamentary advisory group and Nawaz Sharif in London? Is pressure being piled up on Khawaja Asif for the prevailing fiasco to bow out? Where does the PML-N’s narrative stand now? Why were some PML-N leaders allowed to meet Nawaz Sharif even when the government had imposed a ban on such sessions during his incarceration in the Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore? Will PML-N be able to come out of the present tailspin caused by what has been described as the “mother of all U-turns”? What a senior party “hawk” has up his sleeve that he will burst out in parliament during the consideration of the bill?
“I don’t want to be a PML-N office holder because of the decision of ‘unconditional support’ to the legislation in question,” Maryam Nawaz is said to have conveyed to her father, according to an insider. But he did not agree and asked her to change her mind even when she said she will not give reasons for quitting as the PML-N vice president. The matter apparently ended, but she continues to be irate over what has befallen the party.
When on Dec 6 (after the handing of the short order by the Supreme Court on Nov 28 with the detailed judgement having been released on Dec 16) nearly 10 members of the advisory group met Nawaz Sharif in London and the discussion diverted to the judicial direction to make law in connection with reappointment/extension of the army chief, it was decided to support the proposed legislation. Nawaz Sharif, according to a participant, told his colleagues that it would not be “graceful” to attach conditions and dismissed seeking any advantage in return for such support. Khawaja Asif realises that some elements are trying to put the entire responsibility of the “debacle” on him. But he thinks that he religiously obeyed the decision of the party and order of his leader although he may have reservations about a certain policy that he expresses only in internal closed-door debates and not publicly. He feels that the time frame of rushing the bill through parliament by two to three hours has been significantly extended as per Nawaz Sharif’s direction.
As far as the damage to the PML-N’s “narrative” is concerned, active members of both the camps of doves and hawks are unanimous that it has been monumentally harmed. In the words of a hardliner, it is an outright suicide attack on the party. In his view, the PML-N will now be a traditional party and like another “Q” League. With just one stroke, it has lost its identity and will be at the mercy of others, he goes on. It is no less than a torture to defend the decision, he says.
But the other view propounded by those who wholeheartedly support the crucial “transformation” say that the impairment to the PML-N is temporary and will be recouped with the passage of time. “The harm is just a bubble that will burst very soon,” one of them argues.
The “adaptation” of the strategy is not instant, according to another Leaguer. It started several months back. Those who opposed the “reconciliation mantra” were steadily driven away from Nawaz Sharif and a set of other leaders was allowed meetings with him. He recalled that when the government imposed ban on meetings with incarcerated stalwart, the embargo did not apply to the members of this group that was vigorously advancing “patch-up”. A hawkish PML-N MP is poised to open his heart releasing his pent up feelings in parliament during the passage of the critical bill.
Despite insistence, he was reticent not to give an idea as to what is he going to vent out. “I have kept it close to my chest and will not reveal before the appropriate time,” he said. The “reconciliation elements” have been making concerted efforts to keep him away from Nawaz Sharif long time ago but he continues to have his communication channels open with him.
About the decision, he opined that a time comes in one’s life when one breaks down not because of the pressure of hardships of imprisonment and other factors but due to the constant swaying of a specific cabal. “When a particular set of people keep meeting the top leader, and he is not allowed to listen to the other view, he becomes prone to agreeing with them. One can imagine the impact of adversities that a brave man like Rana Sanaullah too has unreservedly endorsed the ‘unconditional support’ to the bill. This is more than enough to gauge the situation in the PML-N.”
Those in approval of the party decision argue that it is already an established fact that the prime minister has the “unwritten” powers to give extension to the army chief for as many times as he likes, but now a bar is being imposed on his authority.
The restriction of age-limit of 64 years is being placed, which was earlier non-existent. A lieutenant general normally retires at the age of 57/58 and gets three years’ service if he is promoted to the rank of general, they say. But now the upper age limit of the army chief will be 64.
The question related to opening the window for future extensions and why not the present one be made specific in the law. This cropped up in view of the stance taken by imprisoned Shahid Khakan Abbasi, who advanced the view that there should be one-time extension in the present case and the possibility of exercise of this practice in future be closed. Generally, Abbasi is “pragmatic”, but this time he has taken a hard line stand, in view of a source close to Khawaja Asif, who shared the draft of the bill with Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and Abbasi immediately after he received it. After that, he feels, there was no room for confusion or anger.
Another argument in the PML-N refers to the precedents when Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf gave themselves repeated extensions, legally or illegally, such a chance is now being ruled out by fixing the maximum age limit, 64, in case of extension.
They say a vacancy on the recent Indian pattern may also be created to accommodate a retiring army chief instead of giving him extension in service. On Dec 30, a day before his retirement, India appointed Army Chief General Bipin Rawat as the first Chief of Defence Staff, a recently created position, with a mandate to bring in convergence in functioning of the military, navy and air force and bolster the military prowess.
