In Pakistan’s ‘saas bhi kabhi bahu thi’ equivalent real-life political soap opera, the Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence, Lt. General Nadeem Anjum and Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations, Lt. General Babar Iftikhar appeared together in a press briefing on 27 October to clarify the army’s position regarding Imran Khan’s politics and to deny the army and its chief’s involvement in politics.
Going against his policy, the head of the ISI came to speak with a select number of journalists for the first time since getting appointed to the position in November 2021. The press briefing was carefully choreographed with questions from the audience that were only critical of Imran Khan. Even though a large group of journalists were invited, as pointed out by Baqir Sajjad, Dawn’s Foreign and National Security correspondent, major media outlets like Dawn, The News and The Express Tribune were excluded.
Madam do you expect such questions in a meeting with a select group, even though a large one. Where were correspondents from The News, Express Tribune & Dawn? Why weren't they invited?
— Baqir Sajjad (@baqirsajjad) October 27, 2022
Though meant to communicate unity within the armed forces and defend the army and its outgoing chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the crisis that stares the military in its face was obvious at the press conference.
Also read: Journalist Arshad Sharif’s death has got Pakistan talking but it’s still blame game that’s on
Journalist Arshad Sharif’s death
There were three inter-related goals of the press conference that both the ISI and ISPR heads may have failed to achieve. The more immediate concern and perhaps a tactical objective was to dispel the rumours that the army had anything to do with the recent killing of journalist Arshad Sharif, who was allegedly shot dead by the Kenyan police in a case of mistaken identity. A large part of the press briefing was dedicated to piecing together and presenting information that pointed a finger away from the Army General Headquarters (GHQ) to other people such as the head of the media channel ARY, the deceased’s former employer. General Anjum contradicted the circulating rumour that the Pakistan security agencies had asked the UAE government to extradite Arshad Sharif to Pakistan, which is why he moved to Kenya.
The government in Islamabad has formed a committee to investigate the journalist’s death but there is generally little hope that the truth will ever be found. Ironically, the generals professed sympathy for Arshad Sharif and claimed to be innocent of scaring media or dissidents in general when this is exactly what they were known for doing. I am reminded of an intelligence agency tout within my extended family circle advising my husband to encourage me to return to Pakistan—his argument being, “if they want to kill her, they would have done so as they can kill anywhere in the world.” In an interview in 2017, retired General Pervez Musharraf called assassinations abroad ‘proactive diplomacy.’
In interview with Wajahat sometime back Musharraf was asked about assassination of Pakistani dissidents abroad. “Everyone is doing it”, the Gen said calling it proactive diplomacy. When anchor said that it wasn’t diplomacy but proactive assassination Mush gave a big laugh
— Farhatullah Babar (@FarhatullahB) October 24, 2022
Early 2022, a British-Pakistani in London was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to kill a Pakistani blogger based in Rotterdam allegedly at the behest of the ISI.
Contrary to what General Anjum would have his audience believe, the power to harm people or propagating the myth of doing so is not alien to Pakistan, especially in the last decade, to discipline dissidents or manage activism. So, why this panic on Arshad Sharif’s death? The deceased journalist was certainly not any ordinary dissident or a dissident at all but part of the extended military fraternity who felt sufficiently confident to break away from the pack over the Imran Khan affair. He was more than just a military officer’s son and brother but someone close to the army and its agencies. Anjum’s organisation never forgives its own if they go astray.
Clearly, like a few other journalists, who were trained and fed stories by the military and transformed into prominent media personalities, Sharif was a victim of the internal organisational chasm created around Imran Khan’s politics. Many had begun to believe that Imran Khan and his party were the answer to their search for a new Pakistan where traditional politics and politicians will have little role to play.
Also read: Fighting to heal fractures in Pakistan Army, ISI chief assails Imran in 1st ever press meet
Imran Khan vs Pakistan military
This brings me to the second goal of the press conference, which was to de-popularise Imran Khan. The PTI leader was accused by the DG ISI of lying and doublespeak—meeting General Bajwa in the dark of the night and asking for help but criticising him during the light of the day. But this objective can’t be achieved either. Unless the cricketer-turned-politician publicly admits to his mistakes and begs for forgiveness, his many supporters and those sitting on the fence will continue to believe in his narrative. What may impress many is the fact that while Nawaz Sharif withdrew from his criticism of the army’s top brass and began to negotiate with them, Khan seems to have stuck to his guns in pointing all his fingers towards the echelons. The average PTI supporter may not have the zeal of an average Myanmar political activist to pick up a physical fight but he/she is politically charged enough to continue supporting Khan.
This is certainly not to argue that Imran Khan is some big democrat but driven by his hunger for personal power, he seems to be pushing in a direction where others have given up. Or both the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) have begun to see the moment as an opportunity where they could both eat their cake and have it too. This means that getting gentle support from the military to push back Imran Khan, a potent political threat to which an alternative narrative has not been created by the political parties. But in exchange hoping that the Army high command cedes greater political space in the future.
Indeed, the Director Generals of ISI and ISPR offered an unbelievable commitment to remain apolitical. The presser itself is an example of how deep politics runs in the GHQ’s veins. The claims could have been more believable had the two generals not packed in more inaccuracies such as claiming that they do not harm journalists or have not interfered with media freedom. Interestingly, within hours of the press briefing, another journalist from the ARY channel, Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain, was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Although it is claimed that the arrest was made due to his involvement in an older case, people are just not ready to believe that the law is made to work only when desired.
Surely, the Khan versus military battle is not over as yet. Thus far, the only tool used against him is a disqualification in the Toshakhana case. He and his cabal don’t look ready to give up as yet, which makes many wonder as to what extent the army may go against him. The Arshad Sharif case, as political commentator Mohammad Taqi suggested , has the potential of being used against Khan just like Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was accused of and later convicted in the Nawab Muhammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri murder case.
The way the DG ISI and DG ISPR spoke about the Arshad Sharif murder case and Imran Khan in one breath, one wonders if lays the groundwork for another Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan Kasuri case, in which the former prime minister ZA Bhutto was ultimately hanged#Pakistan
— Mohammad Taqi (@mazdaki) October 27, 2022
The army is certainly conscious of the need for not turning Imran Khan into more of a hero than they have already made him to be. I think that the generals will limit their vengeance to legal measures and propaganda rather than anything drastic. Surely, a lot will depend on how hard Khan resists. The press briefing gave an impression of, as stated by journalist Khurram Hussain, uglier than an ugly divorce.
I've seen people go thru messy divorces but this is something else!
— Khurram Husain (@KhurramHusain) October 27, 2022
But whether the briefing decisively convinces the men in the Army’s ranks and Khan supporters that the military is innocent and its Khan to blame remains an unresolved question.
Ayesha Siddiqa is Senior Fellow at the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London. She is the author of Military Inc. She tweets @iamthedrifter. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)