General Bajwa’s withdrawal from politics

During the past year, the political and journalistic circles have been suffering from severe confusion. The main reason for this confusion was that after the end of the PTI government, the army had formally declared that it was detached from politics. But some things continued to happen which indicated that the army was not indifferent to politics. Now if the establishment of that time is seen as a unit, no unit can have two conflicting positions on the same issue. Thus, the question arose as to whether this unit is giving any deception. For example, in early May this year, it became very clear that the establishment was putting pressure on the PDM government for early elections. So the question arises that if the establishment had become indifferent to politics, then how was it putting pressure on PDM for early elections? It was a direct political intervention.

So PDM adopted a strategy to remove this ambiguity by constantly repeating that “Ladla” is still “Ladla”. If you compare this position of PDM with the position of Imran Khan, who has told his special journalists many times off the record that there are four or five generals who are doing the same problem, then the matter will become completely clear. It was as if the establishment was no longer a single unit but had split into two factions. And the situation was that no single faction was in complete control. So it was clear that the army as an institution has decided to be detached from politics but there are some elements who are still engaged in political activities. So, as a result of this, a very logical question arose if some people are deviating from the collective decision of the army, then why is there no action against them on behalf of General Bajwa?

The answer is in the DG ISPR’s press conference which was held after the end of the PTI government. But no one could understand this answer because it was more in body language than words. DG ISPR was asked whether General Bajwa will take the extension. His reply was that he would neither seek nor take an extension. No matter what happens. The “no matter what” in this sentence is very significant.

Such a phrase is used when someone is challenging him. But more importantly, DG ISPR’s tone was bitter while uttering these words. The question is, what was this phrase and bitterness telling? Was anyone giving a forced extension to General Bajwa? Obviously not. 

Now if we keep the recent statement of Chaudhry Moonis Elahi in front of us, the picture becomes very clear that the root cause of the end of PTI government was not only General Faiz Hameed but also General Bajwa was still with PTI. . And it was he who asked Pervaiz Elahi to support PTI? In other words, General Bajwa was the leader of this weak faction who was not only a supporter of the political role of the army but was also running a hybrid system for six years. This fact is reinforced by three more facts.

However, the army decided to be detached from politics in February 2021. But neither it was announced nor there were any activities that would suggest that the army is withdrawing from politics. On the contrary, General Bajwa and General Faiz Hameed’s meetings with their puppet Prime Minister were also going on “normally”. Acquaintances say that this was the situation that caused General Bajwa to become helpless. And it started with the military command asking General Bajwa to remove General Faiz from ISI. But a surprising thing happened Imran Khan refused to remove General Faiz from ISI. And what is more surprising is that General Bajwa accepted it silently. So in mid-October General Bajwa and the then Chief of General Staff General Azhar Abbas visited the ISI headquarters. A photo of the meeting held there was also released. If you see that picture, General Azhar Abbas has an aggressive expression on his face, while General Faiz Hameed was sitting infront of him confused, while General Bajwa was sitting disappointed. Put yourself in the place of General Bajwa and General Faiz Hameed for a moment and think whether you can allow such a picture of you to be released. It should be remembered that it is the Chief of General Staff who is actually running the entire army.

Secondly, DGISI had to hold a press conference for the first time in history. And this happened because for the first time in the history of Pakistan, a critical situation was faced. If General Bajwa had not pressed the file of the decision to remove the army from politics in February 2021, but had taken steps in the light of this decision, then he would not have been helpless. The third thing is that when the DG ISPR made it clear in the April 2021 press conference that the army has become indifferent to politics. But even after that, some accounts active on social media were still running on the line of General Faiz, about which there is no doubt that these accounts belong to the Fifth Generation Brigade, which stood with the personal agendas of General Bajwa and General Faiz. 

The last three basic questions remain. The first is that when General Bajwa and the current military leadership had parted ways during the past one year, then why has Chaudhry Moonis Elahi come forward as General Bajwa’s lawyer? This will make the new leadership angry. This question can arise only in those minds who think that Moonis Elahi has presented the cleanup of General Bajwa. Moonis is not offering divine sanity but in fact he is making it clear that there was no fault at their side, General Bajwa himself was going against the decision of the army and we were in his circle. Just think, it is Moonis Elahi who has exposed the hypocrisy of General Bajwa to everyone. And from here it also becomes clear why the Chaudhry family, which has supported the establishment for fifty years, split into two factions. 

The second question is that if General Bajwa was supporting Imran Khan, then why was Imran Khan using abusive language against him? So let’s state that Khan’s anger was on the same thing that when he is with us from the heart, why doesn’t he take steps openly? It was an attempt to provoke them, but what can a person do by provoking them, whose hands and feet have already been tied?

Third and the last question is, can the head of the army be removed? This is not possible under normal circumstances. But in the case of General Bajwa, it happened when the military command started to emphasize that the army was being discredited as a result of the interference in politics and especially the incompetence of the Imran government, so this policy should be reviewed. Thus, when there was a debate on it for six months and each side presented its position and arguments openly, then the decision had to be taken by the Army Chief.

When General Bajwa saw that the majority was against political interference, he decided to follow the position of the majority. It is the rule of the army that the decision is taken by the army chief, but his position is not only the decision of the army chief. Every decision is declared as Pakistan Army’s decision. So this decision also became the property of the Pakistan Army. Now whoever went against this decision had to bear the consequences.

So it wasn’t difficult to get them out of hand. He had become a victim of moral bankruptcy. And the discipline of the army is that the organization is everything, the individual is nothing. If you have heard the recent interview given by former President Asif Ali Zardari to Asma Shirazi, he has given a big hint in it. Mr. Zardari said, he (General Bajwa) had the skin of a tiger, whether he gives a child or an egg.