A few days ago COAS Javed Qamar Bajwa was speaking in Abbottabad. He said that no gang would be allowed to destabilize Pakistan. If you have been following the news so far, you would not be wrong in assuming he was referring to the PTI that is planning to march on to the capital in a bid to topple the government.
What the army chief did not say, stressed his spokesman, the ISPR’s Gen Babar Iftikhar, was that anyone would be stopped from heading to Islamabad. If this sounded a little confusing because of the double negatives, allow us to provide a little subtext:
The PTI has said it will kick off its long march from Lahore on Friday. Just two days before this, however, on Wednesday and Thursday, television newsroom staff scrambled to cope with a deluge of press conferences, starting with a rather explosive one by the PTI’s Faisal Vawda. He went on to make several astounding assertions about the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.
By Thursday morning, the unheard of happened: the head of Pakistan’s spy agency, the ISI, was holding his own press conference (with the DG ISPR). Gens Babar Iftikhar and Nadeem Anjum were asked a question by one of the journalists in the audience. The DG ISI replied that Islamabad was not in danger from the long march. No one should be worried about people gathering and going anywhere. This is perfectly within the law.The army would assist the government while staying within the limits of its constitutionally granted powers.
When asked about a plan to incite bloodshed, DG ISPR Gen Babar Iftikhar replied that no one would be allowed to destabilise Pakistan. The ISI chief added that protesting was the legal right of every Pakistani which is why they had no opposition to the long march.
DG ISI Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum added, however, that no one had the right to create trouble. The law that gives you rights also gives you responsibilities. It says where you can go and where you cannot go. What discussion you can have and what institutions you can not discuss. All of this is enshrined in Article 19 of the Constitution. And this matter is before the Supreme Court as well. He hoped that the country’s top court would issue a clear instruction on the matter.
To the fear that with so many people gathered in one place, terrorists may take advantage of their vulnerability, Gen Nadeem Anjum said, God forbid if the government calls the army under Article 245, it would come forward to help. Article 245 refers to a function of the armed forces according to which it can be called upon to help a civilian government. This can, for example, be done during a natural disaster like the earthquake, or in an extreme hypothetical example, during civil unrest when violence is breaking out.
So to answer your question: the long march will go ahead. But if the government asks the army to intervene or step in, under Article 245, it would comply.
