Pak Army chief resigns

ISLAMABAD, Oct 7 (PTI) — Pakistan Army chief Gen Jehangir Karamat today resigned amidst a growing political storm over his remarks that the Army should play an active role in the country’s turbulent politics.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who held several meetings with his top aides and Cabinet colleagues on the issue today, accepted the resignation and immediately replaced him with Lt Gen Pervais Musharaf, Pakistan Television (PTV) said.

General Karamat, who was to retire within four months, in his resignation letter to Mr Sharif said "unnecessary controversy" had been created over his remarks at a naval function in Lahore on Monday that a national security council should be set up to institutionalise decision-making to avoid any political instability in the country.

His remarks assumed significance as the Pakistan Army is seen as a major power after several periods of martial law in the country.

Mr Sharif had an "urgent" meeting with President Mohammed Rafiq Tarar yesterday in the wake of startling remarks of Karamat.

General Karamat, whose exit took place within 48 hours of his remarks, in the resignation letter said he considered it appropriate to quit in the larger interest of the country and to set a healthy tradition for the future.

Mr Sharif, who promoted Lt Gen Pervez to the rank of general, while accepting the resignation also lauded General Karamat’s services to the armed forces and his professional capabilities. Gen Pervez was number three in seniority in the Pakistan Army till now.

General Karamat, who was the chief of the Pakistani Army for nearly three years and also the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of the Staff Committee, had said in his controversial speech that "unlike countries with economic potential, we could not afford the destabilising effects of polarisation vendettas and insecurity-driven expedient policies."

"The political debate needed to be translated into institutional strength, otherwise we would have a permanent election campaign environment in the country", he said.

His speech coincided with the worst financial crisis Pakistan is facing in the wake of severe economic sanction following the May nuclear tests.

Pak papers justify Karamat's remarks

ISLAMABAD, Oct 7 (PTI) — Pakistani media today came down heavily on the 19-month old Nawaz Sharif government for leading the country to the brink of, "multiple crises of unprecedented magnitude" which prompted Army Chief General Jehangir Karamat to propose the setting up of a national security council for power sharing between civilian government and armed forces.

Leading Pakistani newspapers in their editorial comments on the remarks from the Army chief were almost unanimous that the failure of the Sharif government in tackling various crises facing the country has led to the Army chief coming out in open with his proposal.

"Extraordinary times warrant extraordinary responses, Extra Ordinary challenges require extraordinary remedies", declared 'The News' in its edit orial as it went on to add that, "Pakistan today faces multiple crises of unprecedented magnitude."

The daily points out the various problems facing the country by saying that the federation is fractured, economy is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, there is national despondency and demoralisation and serious law and order problem.

It further said that under these circumstances there were two things evident in Army chief’s statement. First that his remarks were not of an individual but a collective voice of the military as an institution and secondly, "in the face of the complex and unaddressed challenges at hand, which have fuelled so much public anxiety and political uncertainty, the general is suggesting a road map and mechanism to steer the country out of the morass."

The largest circulated English daily, Dawn, commented, "if the performance of Nawaz Sharif’s government had been good, no Army chief would have been reading political lectures to him. But since this has not been the case, he is listening to the orchestral score which civilian governments in Pakistan have to listen to when they start making serious mistakes."

Incidentally Pakistan has been a country which spent almost half of its 50 years of existence under Army rule and the last Army rule of General Zia Ul Haq had ended in 1988. But since then none of the civilian government had proved stable and had been able to complete its full term as the country has witnessed four elections during past one decade.

The Dawn further said that the Prime Minister and his colleagues, instead of being upset by the Army chief’s remarks, should see them as "warning coming from a friendly rather than a hostile quarter."

'The Muslim' described the Army chief’s proposal as a "wake up call for the beleaguered government of Nawaz Sharif" and went on to add that, "General Karamat would not have commented on prohibited area with such lucidity and frankness had he not been convinced that emergency steps were needed to save the sinking ship."

The Muslim also termed General Karamat’s statement as the point of view of the whole armed forces as it had been released through the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and added that it is a "sort of no-confidence in the government and its policies."

The Frontier Post in its editorial was more aggressive in its comments while appreciating the Army chief’s proposals saying, "Let’s accept the fact that most people in this country have the sinking feeling that all will be lost if the state institutions remain subservient to the politicians" and went on to add, "yes it is time to apply brakes to madness, to plunder and whimsical planning. If the National Security Council can help restore some balance and accountability, we are all for it. The Prime Minister has lost his moral authority because of some stunning recent developments."

The Post also said, "forget about unalloyed democracy that cannot tolerate the watering down of the people’s mandate. If democracy has obvious shortcomings in Pakistan, these must be made good by innovating and adding an overreaching super entity", while adding that this is precisely what the Army chief must have in mind when he made those statement.

The largest circulated Urdu daily, Jang, also pointed out the innumerable failures of the Nawaz Sharif government during the past 19 months and said that the proposals of General Karamat should be given some serious thought while describing the statement as a "charge-sheet" against the government.