Civil military relations

Article Command of Armed Forces

243 (1) The Federal Government shall have control and command of the Armed Forces.
 
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, the Supreme
Command of the Armed Forces shall vest in the President.
 
(3) The President shall subject to law, have power-
(a) to raise and maintain the Military, Naval and Air Forces of Pakistan; and the
Reserves of such Forces; and
(b) to grant Commissions in such Forces.
 
(3) The President shall, on advice of the Prime Minister, appoint-
(a) the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee;
(b) the Chief of the Army Staff;
(c) the Chief of the Naval Staff; and
(d) the Chief of the Air Staff,
and shall also determine their salaries and allowances.

Article Functions of Armed Forces.

245  
[(1)]  The Armed Forces shall, under the directions of the Federal Government, defend
Pakistan against external aggression or threat of war, and, subject to law, act in
aid of civil power when called upon to do so.
 

(2) The validity of any direction issued by the Federal Government under clause (1)
shall not be called in question in any court.
 
(3) A High Court shall not exercise any jurisdiction under Article 199 in relation to any
area in which the Armed Forces of Pakistan are, for the time being, acting in aid of
civil power in pursuance of Article 245:
Provided that this clause shall not be deemed to affect the jurisdiction of the High
Court in respect of any proceeding pending immediately before the day on which
the Armed Forces start acting in aid of civil power.
 
(4) Any proceeding in relation to an area referred to in clause (3) instituted on or after
the day the Armed Forces start acting in aid of civil power and pending in any High
Court shall remain suspended for the period during which the Armed Forces are so
acting.
Allegation of state within the state:

In violation of its constitutional mandate, it has repeatedly overthrown elected civilian

governments overreaching its protected constitutional mandate to "act in the aid of civilian
federal governments when called upon to do so". The army has been involved in enforcing
martial law against the federal government with the claim of restoring law and order in the
country by dismissing the legislative branch and parliament on multiple occasions in past
decades—while maintaining a wider commercial, foreign and political interest in the country.
This has led it facing allegations of acting as state within a state.

Historical background:

Reasons of imbalance:

Huntington defines professionalism as a “balance among expertise, responsibility, and

corporateness.” If any element of above trinity is disturbed, the result would be a distortion in the
civil-military relations.

1: incompetence of politician eased the way for a military intrusion in the political arena of the
country. Civilian leaders have not done their job in providing security, economic development,
and arguably, even social cohesion. They remain unable to maintain a solid political system
inside where it could play a vital role in uplifting public lives by meeting their needs. Within a
year after independence, Pakistan fell prey to leadership which lacked vision and political insight
that caused many issues sprung, which created a lot of disturbance in internal as well as external
policies of the state. The leadership after the death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah remained at the
mercy of division and confusion. That unsettled scenario of political structure encouraged
military and intelligence apparatus to surface and declared themselves as the real protectors of
the country.

2: failure to produce acceptable constitution: Following independence, it took three Governor

Generals, four Prime Ministers, two constituent assemblies (1947-1954 & 1955-1956), and nine
years of protracted constitution making process to produce the first constitution of Pakistan in
1956. It was rejected on the final day of its adoption (29 February 1956) by all Hindu minority
parties and the largest Muslim political party (the Awami League) from East Pakistan –
demographically the largest province. Due to lack of consensus among ethnonational groups, the
1956 constitution failed to arrest the political instability that engulfed the entire country
following its promulgation, ultimately leading to its abrogation and imposition of the first martial
law in the country on 7 October 1958. Between its promulgation and abrogation, four federal
ministries changed. The military dictator General Ayub Khan, who had taken over the reins of
power, enacted the 1962 constitution to the country through an executive order.

1973 constitution and its abrogation:

The current constitution, enacted by the third constituent assembly in 1973, was twice suspended
by military coups of General Zia-ul-Haq (1977-1985) and General Musharraf (1999-2002), and
at the time of its ‘restoration’, both in 1985 and 2002, the military regimes amended it in ways
that fundamentally changed its Islamic and federal character. One such amendment on both
occasions was the grant of power to the president to dissolve the lower house of the federal
legislature. With this power in the hands of presidents – which office was usurped by both
dictators at the time of restoring the constitution – the ensuing parliaments on both occasions
were forced to give constitutional cover via the 8th and 17th Amendments to the acts of
suspensions of the constitution, and all other acts of the military dictators during the period
between the suspension and restoration of the constitution.

2: Primacy of the military at the cost of civilian institutions due to peculiar security environment
right at the beginning of the country’s journey as an independent state. According to Hasan
Askari a noted Pakistani scholar on civil-military relations, “Pakistan’s troubled relations with
India and Afghanistan’s irredentist territorial claims presented a serious threat to national identity
and territorial integrity which led to allocation of substantial portion of national resources to the
military.”

3: weak political institutions. JUDICIARY, doctrine of necessity

4: LACK OF existence of a developed civil society, with a clear understanding of democratic

institutions and values, and, as a part of the political culture, a nationwide consensus on the role
and mission of their military.

Pros and cons of military intervention:

Pros:

 Political stability
 Steady economic growth
  Local government establishment

Cons:

 Destruction of democratic system

 Two wars
 Debacle of East Pakistan
 Militarization of society

Why first time 3 consecutive 3 democratic governments occurred in Pakistan?

 Strengthening of judiciary, media and civil society

 Learning of army from India and Siri lanka cases
 Need of legitimacy in international sphere

Covertly intervention of military:

In Pakistan, when military is not involved in direct rule, it interferes in domestic politics through its
informal means more than the form alone.

1: The intelligence agency, which have acquired huge capabilities, resources and operational
independence initially during the cold war era and then during the recent war on terror have often
used its apparatus in domestic politics.

A parliamentary committee under prime minister should be set up as a legal body on the lines of US
congressional committee on intelligence, to monitor, control and regulate the operations of ISI. The
induction of civil officers in ISI should be increased giving them opportunities for promotions to
senior positions.

2: The paramilitary forces (rangers, frontier corps and frontier constabulary) responsible for border
protection and internal security come under the interior ministry and provincial governments in
Pakistan. These forces are controlled by officers sent from army giving it an extra layer to indulge in
domestic security matters. Federal or provincial governments have customary command over these
forces and they are directed, controlled and operated by military command. In some instances, the
ranger forces in the province of Sind were accused by the provincial ruling party for exceeding their
mandate and making some politically motivated arrests of corruption cases.

3: military personnel posting in civil departments and special quota in civil services is the indicator
of influence in civil departments. These military officers in civil services maintain close contact with
their colleagues in military and intelligence agencies, and act as a tool of military influence in civil
administration. The induction of military officers to civil departments to be made equally
competitive to that of candidates applying from civil for maintaining transparency. Moreover, civil
departments should be de-militarized to reduce the imperious military influence over civil
institutions.

Role in decision making:

The concept of modern statehood and governance has two consecutive levels of agency. The first
is accorded by the people, presumably through free and fair elections, to elected leaders. This is a
very broad appointment of agency, that is, the people empower the elected leaders to make
decisions on their behalf. The second act of agency is accorded by elected representatives to
specialized bureaucratic institutions such as the military. This is a narrow agency, what is called
an “administrative agency,” and requires the agent to follow the directions of the principal, in
this case the civilian leadership, to good and bad decisions.

 There is a great difference between the civilian and military worlds. Military personnel
are best in their own way.
 Internal affairs of public dealing must be resolved by democratic leaders that are
appointed by public according to essence of democracy. Defense related matters and
affairs of foreign policy must be decided with advice of military.
 The army must be kept away from the politicize their good image.

How to achieve balanced relation:

 Civil government must deliver

 Turkey model
1. Improvement in service delivery
2. Improved social security
3. Role in promotion of military personnel

Transgender:

Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from the sex that they
were assigned at birth. it may include people who are not exclusively masculine or feminine also called
third gender.
Legislation in Pakistan:

No civil rights legislation exists to prohibit public or private sector discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation. However, since 2018, discrimination on the basis of gender identity is prohibited in a wide
range of areas, including employment, education, health care, access to goods and services, housing and
public office. Earlier, in a historic 2009 ruling, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in favour of civil
rights for transgender citizens, and further court rulings upheld and increased these rights.

Pakistan's parliament passed a landmark bill in 2018 that gives the country's transgender citizens
fundamental rights.

The Act provided transgenders definition and recognition. It provided them with recognition of
the inviolable and fundamental rights already available to other citizens of Pakistan. It was a true
victory for them.

Section 3 of the Act gives transgenders an opportunity to select a gender of their choice. The Act
also provides them an opportunity to get themselves registered with the National Database and
Registration Authority (NADRA).

Chapter III of the Act prohibits eight acts of discrimination against the trans community.
Harassment, both within and outside of the home, has been prohibited and penalized. The
Government of Pakistan is responsible for ensuring non-discrimination and prevention of
harassment for the trans community. The Act even requires the government to build separate
cells for trans prisoners.

Inheritance rights of transgender had been under debate before the Act as there were no
comprehensive procedures within personal laws for a transgender’s share in a deceased’s estate.
The Act now provides a definite share for transgenders in inheritance.

The Act also guarantees fundamental rights of transgenders already provided to them under the
Constitution of Pakistan. Article 25A of the Constitution ensures the right of education for all
citizens of Pakistan. The Act ensures this right for transgender, as well as nine other rights
including the right to vote and hold public office.

The best part of the Act is that it also provides for enforcement mechanisms and penalties.

Transgender are human beings and are not born to beg and the Act upholds this notion. The Act
stipulates a prison sentence of up to six months, or a fine of up to PKR 50,000, or both, for
anyone who forces transgender to beg.