News
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Imran vows to bring army, ISI under civilian control* Says his government will brook no interference from army
* Electronic media raised level of political awareness
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan said that he would insist on civilian supremacy over Pakistan’s powerful military if his party came to power and would rather resign if the army and the ISI did not function under civilian authority.
Days after his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party stunned its opponents by drawing a mammoth crowd during a rally in Lahore, Khan said that if he became the prime minister after the next election, he would press for civilian supremacy over the army and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency so that he could implement his agenda.
“Unless I can implement my agenda - which means I take responsibility for everything that’s happening in Pakistan, it means that the army is under me, it means the ISI can do nothing unless it reports to me, it means that the army’s budget is audited by a civilian setup, it means I take responsibility for anything that’s happening outside my country, it means I take responsibility that no terrorism will take place from Pakistani soil - otherwise, I would resign,” he said in an interview to Karan Thapar for CNN-IBN’s Devil’s Advocate programme.
Khan was responding to a question on whether he would challenge army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the Corps Commanders and insist on civilian supremacy. Asked specifically if he would be General Kayani’s boss if he became the premier, Khan replied: “One hundred percent. I have never, ever been controlled by anyone. (If) the people give me the mandate to be the prime minister and I’ll be someone’s puppet - people know me for 35 years. I’ve never been controlled by anyone.”
Khan is widely expected to get the support of certain segments such as the youth and women disenchanted by widespread corruption and a perceived lack of governance under the Pakistan People’s Party-led government. The army has played a key role in shaping the government’s foreign and security policy, especially policies related to the US and India. But Khan said all that would change under any government formed by his party. He noted that powerful leaders like Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and PPP founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had never brooked interference by the army.
“When Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was prime minister, he sacked the army chief and the air chief ...when the great Jinnah was in charge, you could never imagine the army asserting itself. We have non-leaders in Pakistan. These people are here to make money. They are not interested in governance,” he said in the interview.
The army was controlling the situation in Balochistan province, the Tribal Areas and the erstwhile Taliban stronghold of Swat with “no civilian input”, while the country’s largest city of Karachi was controlled by the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers, Khan said.
Asked about media reports that his party had the backing of the military and questioned about his lack of criticism of the military, Khan contended that he had never been controlled by anyone in his public life of 35 years. “Have I got a price? Can anyone buy me?” he asked.
“Why should I criticise (the army chief) when in a parliamentary democracy, the prime minister is the head of state? He has all the authority, he has all the responsibility,” he said. He claimed the premier was responsible for tackling any corruption in the army. “This is supposed to be a democratic setup, either they should say that they are not in charge (or) they should resign. If they cannot be responsible for what is going on in Pakistan, they should resign,” he said.
“To blame the army when you have (President) Asif Zardari and (Prime Minister Yousaf Raza) Gilani, having all the perks and privileges of power, what are they doing there then?” Khan pointed out that he had criticised corruption during the regime of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf when all other politicians were afraid of taking on the army.
He said he had confidence that his party would perform well in the next elections because the electronic media had revolutionised Pakistan by raising the level of political awareness and because President Zardari had “exposed the true face of Pakistani politics”. He claimed that Zardari had “bought everyone, co-opted the entire political class and he’s taken them down with him”.
Khan contended that he had been predicting for the past year that he would emerge as the prime minister after the next election. The recent rally in Lahore was the culmination of a series of events that showed a change among the people and the politicisation of the youth and women, he said. He listed economic problems and terrorism as the two major challenges facing Pakistan. Khan said he proposed to tackle the economy by increasing the collection of taxes, without which the country would be “unviable”.
None of the political leaders pay taxes and they conceal their wealth, he claimed. Khan said his party would lead by example and members of the cabinet would declare their assets. No one would be allowed to contest elections unless they declared their assets, he added.
Khan explained his proposal to stop taking aid from the US, saying foreign assistance only “props up crooks like our president”. Aid comes with strings attached, stops a country from making reforms needed to structure government and helps “crooked and incompetent” governments, he contended. He reiterated his position that terrorism could be tackled if the US stopped drone strikes and the Pakistan Army withdrew from the tribal areas. He claimed tribal elders had told him they could “get rid of the terrorists” in a month once the army pulled out. Khan said General Kayani had told a recent meeting of Pakistan’s political parties that the army is “stuck” in the Tribal Areas. He quoted the army chief as saying, “We are struck in the Tribal Areas. He said we are only holding our positions. We need a political process now because we are stuck. The moment we withdraw, the militants come back.” Instead of negotiating with any Taliban group, Khan said his party would try to “win the people of the Tribal Areas to our side”.
Asked if he was the answer to Pakistan’s problems, Khan replied: “Not because I’m something brilliant, it’s just because everyone else has failed.”
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk