Cover Story 
 

Cover Story

Rocky Relationships

The supremacy of civilian leadership over the military needs to be reasserted through the work of the Cabinet Committee on National Security and the National Security Division.

By Ger. (R) Talat Masood | March 2024


The General Elections 2024 turned out to be highly controversial, creating a general sense of despair and hopelessness amongst the people. Evidently, the outcome did not reflect the true expression of their leanings towards the political parties. This is not the first time that we have witnessed a contrived election. Still, over the years, with the overwhelming influence of electronic and written media, with Twitter and Facebook dominating and feeding instant news, it has not been easy to manipulate as people are well-informed and cannot be swayed that easily.

With these transformational changes, the future of civil-military relations will depend mainly on how the political parties, military leadership, and other state institutions function within the constitutional framework and promote democratic values. It seems that this realization is fully not there so far. The Election Commission’s refusal to register PTI as a political party and state institution’s efforts to weaken and break them up did not succeed as they, in the guise of another name, secured a significant mandate from the people. What obviously is being overlooked is that manipulating election results and breaking up a major political party does not augur well for the future of democracy and the country.

More significantly, when political parties in power disregard democratic values, there is political chaos, a steep economic downturn, and a lowering of the country’s international standing. So, the central question is: how and when will the civil-military leadership come to realize the fundamental reality that the future stability and well-being of its people are directly related to abiding by the dictates of the Constitution and well-accepted norms of democratic conduct?

Evidently, the youth, who constitute the bulk of the population, are disillusioned and impatient for change. If their genuine expectations are thwarted by the ruling elite and the elections too cannot bring about any change for the better, social upheaval and mass protests are likely to increase. These could adversely affect civil-military relations.

The economy has been continuously underperforming. Economists have repeatedly pointed out that the low tax-to-GDP ratio is a significant reason for the multifaceted crisis that the country is facing. Low salaries that are not keeping up with inflation are resulting in increasing corruption levels. Low-paid police and government employees are disgruntled, and their work ethic is suffering.

Mismanagement of the energy sector has increased energy costs and slowed down growth. Although blackouts and load shedding have considerably decreased compared to the past, the energy costs are far higher compared to those in the neighboring countries. This makes our products more costly and challenging to compete in the regional or international markets. Low economic growth and galloping inflation are increasing the people’s miseries—the remote chances of the incoming government taking corrective solid measures to improve the economic future look uncertain.


In the past, to cover the gap of inadequate taxes, the country has been relying on the IMF, the World Bank, and other international monetary agencies for economic assistance. With the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel’s invasion of Gaza, the focus of the international community has shifted, and it has become difficult for Pakistan to get financial assistance easily.

If the military leadership stays within its constitutional limits, it would further cement the civil-military relationship.

Despite a weak economy, successive governments have ensured that the requirements of the defense forces are met. However, India’s consistent fast economic growth and widening income gaps in the region have adverse security and strategic consequences. The Indian Ministry of Defense has been allocated a total Budget of Rs 5,93,537.64 crore for the financial year 2023-24. Apparently, the high defense allocation by the BJP government is meant to cater to a military that faces a two-front situation. The general elections in India are expected to be held between April and May 2024 to elect 543 members of the Lok Sabha. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely be elected PM for the third term. It is possible that in his third term, he may be more amenable to engaging with Pakistan, which could affect the internal dynamics of both countries.

Meanwhile, if the military leadership stays within its constitutional limits, it would further cement the civil-military relationship. When it gets involved in governance or activities outside its core functions and responsibilities, its image generally suffers, and the accountability of leaders becomes more complex. The political leaders look up to the army for support in gaining and retaining power. This takes the focus away from serving the interests of the broad masses, which ought to be their foremost priority.

The less divisive and people-oriented political parties there are, the better the chances of army leadership staying away from politics. Apart from other motivations, a genuine concern of the army leadership is that political leaders are too involved in petty politics, and their handling of the economy is pushing the country to the brink. However, as past records indicate, the economy during the military rule has not improved, and the transition from army to civilian rule has not been orderly or smooth.

The supremacy of civilian leadership over the military needs to be reasserted through the work of the Cabinet Committee on National Security and the National Security Division. It is presently not clear to what extent these important institutions are involved in formulating and implementing national security. Ensuring that this institution is well-staffed with the personnel, leadership, and resources to address security threats is necessary.

The degree of parliamentary supervision over defense matters should be a regular feature, as is in other democracies. And decisions involving the use of military power should be made by an accountable prime minister.

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