Devil Soul
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 22,931
- Reaction score
- 45
- Country
- Location
Dawn Leaks: A tweet that underscored the state within a state
No institution should have hegemony over “national interest” and “patriotism”
May 01, 2017, 10:57 pm/ 4 Comments
SHARE :
http://nation.com.pk/Blogger/imad-zafar
Imad Zafar
Follow
Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor
✔@OfficialDGISPR
Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected.
12:52 PM - 29 Apr 2017
As per the Constitution of Pakistan, the Army is a subordinate institution of the Government of Pakistan and works under the supervision of the Prime Minister. Article 243 (1) of the Constitution of Pakistan states that: “The Federal Government shall have control and command of the Armed Forces.” Contrary to this, an officer of the subordinate institution tweeted that “Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected.” This tweet actually shows a glimpse as to how weak and inferior civil governments are and that the real master running the show is the defence establishment. It also proves the bitter fact that no matter how heavy the mandate the people give to politicians to rule the country, the weight of the guns and boots is always heavier than the weight of the mandate given by the voters.
As expected this tweet from ISPR shook the government, news and media outlets giving special coverage to this tweet, considering it a message from the Pakistani mighty establishment to the Prime Minister. Opposition political parties commended and lauded the tweet and demanded the Dawn Leaks report. The masses generally bought that Sharif is a security risk for the country.
This habit of declaring someone a traitor or a risk to a national security, actually shows our collective psychology of liking dictatorship in every domain of life and believing in a self created paradox. As individuals we love to dictate the decisions in our family lives, our jobs, business, etc; we hate criticism and this individual authoritarianism gives birth to a collective mindset of worshipping dictatorship, resulting in a mindset that can easily be influenced by the propaganda based on self-created nationalist euphoria and love for the defence establishment.
This matter of the Dawn Leaks could have been handed smoothly, had there been any intention from the defence establishment, as the chief of Army staff could have conveyed a personal message to the defence minister or even Prime Minister that his colleagues are having objections on the notification issued by Nawaz Sharif, hence, the PM should address their concerns. But instead of doing that, a tweet was chosen to show dissent that was not only rejecting the notification issued by the Prime Minister but was actually, in a sense, challenging his authority to govern.
The timing of this message is also important as the current government is already confronted with a hostile opposition and an establishment backed movement. In this pre placed situation watching the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) taking sides with the establishment and calling Sharif a threat to national security is agonising. Both Zulfikar Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto were declared security risks by the establishment at the time, so it was expected that at least the People’s Party should stand against this self created delusional “threat” to national security propaganda of the defence establishment.
Coming back to the issue, if one buys this agreement that the “Dawn Leaks” was a national security breach then the question arises with regard to the invasion of US troops in Abbottabad and the killing of Osama bin Laden. If there was not a security breach on the part of defence institutions, what was Osama bin Laden doing there? And how come US troops breached all security layers? Was not the massacre of Army Public School children in Peshawar the negligence of security agencies? The Kargil misadventure that almost led to a nuclear war between Pakistan and India was not a blunder on the part of the defence institutions? Musharraf‘s safe exit to a foreign land was not a breach of national interest? Not even a single tweet was posted on these matters by ISPR, nor a single core commander conference held to settle these issues and fix the responsibility on the culprits.
The Dawn Leaks is just an ordinary issue of leaking news to a journalist and it happens everywhere on a regular basis. But the debacle of the 1971 East Pakistan separation was a matter of national interest, the Hamoodur Rahman Commission’s report on the tragedy was never made public, nor even a single General was held accountable for the tragedy. In fact Yahya Khan, the then Army Chief who was responsible for the Fall of Dhaka, was buried in the national flag with full protocol.
American soldiers’ operation in Abbottabad was a real national security breach, but not even a single General offered to resign nor was the inquiry report on the incident made public. In the case of the Dawn Leaks, Pervaiz Rashid the ex information minister, Tariq Fatemi the advisor to the PM on foreign affairs and Rao Tehseen, the Prime Minister’s principal secretary have been fired, just because they were civilians and tried to challenge the defence establishment status quo. Not to forget Mushahid Ullah Khan, a close aid of Sharif and a senior politician who was forced to resign from his ministry when he gave a statement to the BBC that the government has proof that Imran Khan‘s sit-in protest of Islamabad was sponsored by a few Generals from the Pakistani Army.
When the people involved in the Kargil mishap, in the Abbottabad incident and in imposing martial law in Pakistan will be brought to justice, is a question that will always remain unanswered. Defining “national interest” and “patriotism and treason” authority, can never be given to a single institution nor can it be accepted. The defence establishment needs to understand that by creating a State within a State they are actually weakening the civil institutions. Countries always progress on the back of strong civilian institutions not on the back of weapons or mighty military force. The process of hijacking the mandate of the electorates with the might of Guns and Boots needs to be stopped.
http://nation.com.pk/blogs/01-May-2017/dawn-leaks-a-tweet-that-underscored-the-state-within-a-state
No institution should have hegemony over “national interest” and “patriotism”
May 01, 2017, 10:57 pm/ 4 Comments
SHARE :
http://nation.com.pk/Blogger/imad-zafar
Imad Zafar
Follow
Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor ✔@OfficialDGISPR
Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected.
12:52 PM - 29 Apr 2017
- https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?in_reply_to=858257576210952192
10,55410,554 Retweets
23,11723,117 likes
As per the Constitution of Pakistan, the Army is a subordinate institution of the Government of Pakistan and works under the supervision of the Prime Minister. Article 243 (1) of the Constitution of Pakistan states that: “The Federal Government shall have control and command of the Armed Forces.” Contrary to this, an officer of the subordinate institution tweeted that “Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected.” This tweet actually shows a glimpse as to how weak and inferior civil governments are and that the real master running the show is the defence establishment. It also proves the bitter fact that no matter how heavy the mandate the people give to politicians to rule the country, the weight of the guns and boots is always heavier than the weight of the mandate given by the voters.
As expected this tweet from ISPR shook the government, news and media outlets giving special coverage to this tweet, considering it a message from the Pakistani mighty establishment to the Prime Minister. Opposition political parties commended and lauded the tweet and demanded the Dawn Leaks report. The masses generally bought that Sharif is a security risk for the country.
This habit of declaring someone a traitor or a risk to a national security, actually shows our collective psychology of liking dictatorship in every domain of life and believing in a self created paradox. As individuals we love to dictate the decisions in our family lives, our jobs, business, etc; we hate criticism and this individual authoritarianism gives birth to a collective mindset of worshipping dictatorship, resulting in a mindset that can easily be influenced by the propaganda based on self-created nationalist euphoria and love for the defence establishment.
This matter of the Dawn Leaks could have been handed smoothly, had there been any intention from the defence establishment, as the chief of Army staff could have conveyed a personal message to the defence minister or even Prime Minister that his colleagues are having objections on the notification issued by Nawaz Sharif, hence, the PM should address their concerns. But instead of doing that, a tweet was chosen to show dissent that was not only rejecting the notification issued by the Prime Minister but was actually, in a sense, challenging his authority to govern.
The timing of this message is also important as the current government is already confronted with a hostile opposition and an establishment backed movement. In this pre placed situation watching the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) taking sides with the establishment and calling Sharif a threat to national security is agonising. Both Zulfikar Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto were declared security risks by the establishment at the time, so it was expected that at least the People’s Party should stand against this self created delusional “threat” to national security propaganda of the defence establishment.
Coming back to the issue, if one buys this agreement that the “Dawn Leaks” was a national security breach then the question arises with regard to the invasion of US troops in Abbottabad and the killing of Osama bin Laden. If there was not a security breach on the part of defence institutions, what was Osama bin Laden doing there? And how come US troops breached all security layers? Was not the massacre of Army Public School children in Peshawar the negligence of security agencies? The Kargil misadventure that almost led to a nuclear war between Pakistan and India was not a blunder on the part of the defence institutions? Musharraf‘s safe exit to a foreign land was not a breach of national interest? Not even a single tweet was posted on these matters by ISPR, nor a single core commander conference held to settle these issues and fix the responsibility on the culprits.
The Dawn Leaks is just an ordinary issue of leaking news to a journalist and it happens everywhere on a regular basis. But the debacle of the 1971 East Pakistan separation was a matter of national interest, the Hamoodur Rahman Commission’s report on the tragedy was never made public, nor even a single General was held accountable for the tragedy. In fact Yahya Khan, the then Army Chief who was responsible for the Fall of Dhaka, was buried in the national flag with full protocol.
American soldiers’ operation in Abbottabad was a real national security breach, but not even a single General offered to resign nor was the inquiry report on the incident made public. In the case of the Dawn Leaks, Pervaiz Rashid the ex information minister, Tariq Fatemi the advisor to the PM on foreign affairs and Rao Tehseen, the Prime Minister’s principal secretary have been fired, just because they were civilians and tried to challenge the defence establishment status quo. Not to forget Mushahid Ullah Khan, a close aid of Sharif and a senior politician who was forced to resign from his ministry when he gave a statement to the BBC that the government has proof that Imran Khan‘s sit-in protest of Islamabad was sponsored by a few Generals from the Pakistani Army.
When the people involved in the Kargil mishap, in the Abbottabad incident and in imposing martial law in Pakistan will be brought to justice, is a question that will always remain unanswered. Defining “national interest” and “patriotism and treason” authority, can never be given to a single institution nor can it be accepted. The defence establishment needs to understand that by creating a State within a State they are actually weakening the civil institutions. Countries always progress on the back of strong civilian institutions not on the back of weapons or mighty military force. The process of hijacking the mandate of the electorates with the might of Guns and Boots needs to be stopped.
http://nation.com.pk/blogs/01-May-2017/dawn-leaks-a-tweet-that-underscored-the-state-within-a-state
