The recent arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption charges has revealed significant rifts within the Pakistani Army. On May 9, 2023, Khan was taken into custody from the Islamabad High Court premises, where he had sought bail for one of over 140 corruption cases against him by the current government through the Army-run National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The use of force by a large security forces contingent, believed to be Pakistani Army personnel disguised as a paramilitary Rangers unit, came as a shock to the public. It may be noted that Khan’s supporters had often labeled arresting him as a Rubicon line never to be trespassed by the establishment. Reports suggest that Lt Gen Faisal Naseer, who was named by Imran Khan in his renewed criticism of the military establishment, led the operation and monitored it from the air.
But what came afterward shocked the Army establishment to the core. Following Imran Khan's arrest, a massive wave of protests erupted throughout Pakistan, surprising the Army establishment. The populist politician had tapped into the grievances of the middle-class and conservative religious groups alike, leading to an unprecedented show of public opposition to his arrest. Despite the Army's attempts to delegitimize and contain the protests, which have included the use of deadly force, a leaderless mass movement has emerged in the face of the arrest of nearly all of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party leadership in the massive crackdown. So far, nearly a dozen people have been killed in the violence.
At the same time, what is prominent are the cracks in the senior Army leadership on the issue that have become public. These divisions are believed to have contributed to the public's ability to trespass into and damage dozens of military installations across Pakistan. It is widely known that a significant number of senior Army officials, both active and retired, have expressed support for Khan in the past. This support was reportedly a factor in the appointment of Gen. Asim Muneer as Army chief over officers like Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, who was seen as more sympathetic to Imran Khan. Given this strong division within the Army's leadership, it is difficult to understand why Gen. Asim Munir authorized the operation to arrest and remove Khan from the political scene.
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The aftermath of this shock remains evident now. As has been reported, the senior Army commanders, prominently including Lt Gen Salman Fayyaz Ghanni (IV Corps Lahore), Lt Gen Sardar Hassan Azhar Hayat (XI Corps Peshawar), and Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor (XII Corps Quetta), have voiced their reservations against this operation and as such refused to take orders to use suppressive measures against the protestors. This division is apparently a vertical one wherein from the low-ranking officers to Brigadiers have backed down and refused to take orders. It is significant to note that Gen Asim Munir was commissioned into the Pakistan Army through Officer's Training School Mangla, which is different from where most senior Army officials come from, the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul. As a result, Munir lacks the camaraderie and support of those senior officials. Interestingly, the manner protesters barged in and damaged military installations, particularly in the Army Cantonments of Lahore and Peshawar, points to the refusal of these corps commanders to act on Gen Munir’s orders to suppress people.
This division within the senior Army leadership has been further exacerbated by the support of Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar and Admiral M Amjad Khan Niazi. These high-ranking officials have openly opposed Gen. Asim Munir and have called on General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the only other four-star General at the same level as the Army Chief and the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), to urge President Arif Alvi to intervene and restore order. This adds a new level of complexity to the situation and highlights the seriousness of the cracks within the Army's leadership.
The reported cracks in the Army leadership over Imran Khan's arrest have brought to the fore the ongoing tensions and power struggles within Pakistan's political and military establishment. The uncertain outcome of the current situation in Pakistan highlights the significant implications it could have on the country's future stability and direction, particularly in the face of ongoing economic and security challenges. The deep divisions within the army and their involvement in a complex power struggle also suggest that the military remains vertically divided.
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