Islamabad, Nov 16 (IANS) The 27th Constitutional Amendment recently passed by Pakistan Parliament accords sweeping powers to the Pakistani military and effectively reduces the legal authority of the country’s Supreme Court. The move ends Supreme Court’s powers to carry out whatever checks it previously had on Pakistani politicians and the leadership of the armed forces, a report claimed.
“It is often said about our western neighbour that while most countries have an army, in the case of Pakistan its military has a country attached to it. This cliché has once again acquired new traction as the all-powerful Pakistan military, under its self-appointed Field Marshal Asim Munir, Chief of the Army Staff, has ensured that the civilian government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif steered the Pakistan Parliament into passing the controversial 27th Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment accords sweeping powers to the Pakistan military and effectively reduces the legal authority of the country’s Supreme Court,” Kamal Davar, a retired lieutenant-general and a strategic analyst, wrote in an opinion piece in Deccan Chronicle.
“The neutering of the Supreme Court removes whatever checks it previously had on Pakistani politicians and the leadership of the armed forces. Amazingly, barring a few eminent lawyers, opposition to this draconian move has so far been muted, perhaps due to the prevailing fear psychosis within Pakistan’s civil society, which has prevented any vociferous protests. What could earlier have been legally struck down by the Supreme Court is now history. Field Marshal Asim Munir, already the most powerful functionary in Pakistan, has now effectively graduated from de facto authority to de jure power,” he added.
Notably, Asim Munir is Pakistan’s second Field Marshal after Ayub Khan, who led a coup in 1959. Pakistan’s fragile democracy has seen four coups, yet the Army has maintained total control over defence and foreign policy issues in every civilian government, particularly concerning India and the neighbourhood, including the launch of terrorist activities in India and Afghanistan. It is important to note the changes introduced by the 27th Amendment with regards to Article 243 of Pakistan’s Constitution, which defines the relationship between country’s civil government and its military.
First, Article 243 states that the “federal government shall have control and command of the armed forces”, and that the “supreme command of the armed forces shall rest in the President”. However, Asim Munir in his new role as Chief of the Defence Forces will have full control of the armed forces, including the Army, Navy and Air Force, according to strategic analyst Kamal Davar’s opinion piece in Deccan Chronicle. Second, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff post has been removed and replaced with the Chief of Defence Forces, who now will have absolute powers, including control over nuclear arsenal of Pakistan. Third, Supreme Court’s earlier power to hear cases regarding leaders and the armed forces have been taken away. Instead, a Federal Constitutional Court will hear all constitutional matters, while the Supreme Court will be able to address cases related to civil and other limited issues.
In an opinion piece in Deccan Chronicle, strategic analyst Kamal Davar wrote, “One of the most draconian insertions via the 27th Amendment has been the granting of legal immunity to serving and retired military officers for actions taken “in the line of duty”. This means corruption, human rights abuses and other misconduct by the senior military hierarchy will not even be addressed, let alone punished. Even earlier dictators like Gen. Zia-ul Haq and Gen. Pervez Musharraf never enjoyed such privileges; and had legal cover only under martial law. Gen. Musharraf, it may be recalled, was impeached when the Nawaz Sharif government came to power, and was eventually exiled.”
“Overall, all civil institutions of governance in Pakistan have now been subsumed under the Amy’s legal architecture. Pakistan today has unabashedly become a ‘constitutional dictatorship in uniform’. Field Marshal Asim Munir has drifted further into giving his military reforms a religious touch, with the Army becoming more a guardian of faith than of their restive nation. This is a dangerous development, with religion now weaponised. Terror outfits in Pakistan will only be further emboldened, for the Army is no longer keeping them in check but is instead becoming an instrument of radicalism and terror itself,” he added.
–IANS
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