Although the military remains a popular institution among the Pakistani people – with polls putting their approval ratings at around 75% – it has begun to lose some public support over the years due to various reasons. Concerns over the military range from overspending to unnecessary, but are they just?
The Pakistani military budget accounts for around 19% to 20% of the yearly federal budget which is the government’s greatest expenditure after interest payments. Although, the proportion of federal budget that goes towards the military seems massive in absolute terms, it is mild in comparison to other countries. Military expenditure in Pakistan makes up 4% of Pakistan’s GDP which is the highest in the region and one of the highest in the world. Many critics of the military often state the fact that Pakistan’s GDP expenditure on military is greater than that on education. The Pakistani military’s budget continues to expand each other although the budget expansion for the year 2020 was cut to 4.8% due to Pakistan’s critical financial condition.
Policymakers and political parties, for long, have been trying to reduce the military’s influence and power over politics and the way the country has been ruled. Both the Pakistan’s People Party (PPP) and Pakistan’s Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have tried to curb the military’s control and role in national politics, and to some extent have succeeded. The PPP pushed for the hotly debated 18th amendment in 2009-10 which was eventually approved by the National Assembly. The 18th amendment reduced the military’s dominance over the country’s rule to some extent.
Despite efforts of some policymakers in trying to reduce the military’s control over Pakistani politics, the military continues to enjoy an expanding budget year by year. Political parties routinely look towards the military to fix their issues and outcompete other parties, while the military’s large influence over business in Pakistan through various real estate projects and its ownership of Fauji Foundations (a megacorporation in Pakistan) makes it an important ally to retain. Moreover, the military’s backing for an incumbent government can signal greater chances of re-election. Current Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has realized that having the military on his side is a blessing but having the military on the opposing side is a death sentence. Many other politicians would be feeling the same way, hence policymakers in the National Assembly continue to appease the military.
Critics of Imran Khan cite that Khan has stabbed the Pakistani people in the back by making a complete U-turn on his views on the military. During Imran Khan’s early days as a politician, he would regularly criticise the military and the power it holds but once Khan started gaining steam as a politician and leader, he slowly transitioned his views to pro-military. Many Pakistani experts and citizens argue that the military continues to control the country and needs a puppet like Imran Khan to show an image of democracy. These Pakistanis also offer the reasoning that PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif has always had rifts with the military during his three terms, and thus has never been able to complete a term in office. Nawaz Sharif’s ousting as the Pakistani Prime Minister came after increasing differences between the military and Sharif’s views, thus leading to conspiracies that the military had planned Sharif’s downfall.
The 18th amendment is of great importance to Pakistani politics and the military, as it gives provinces more freedom and autonomy by granting them a greater chunk of the federal budget and other roles. This reduces the reliance on the federal government in managing provinces, increases political stability, democratises Pakistani politics and has implications on the military’s budget. Pakistani politics for a long while has seen the military overthrowing governments and political parties destabilising the country, but the 18th amendment aims to break this cycle. The amendment protects the Pakistani republic from letting another military dictatorship take over by removing the President’s powers to declare an emergency rule.
The provincial governments receiving more proportion of the federal budget reduces the military’s stake in the federal budget and potentially limits their budgetary expansions. Furthermore, even though the military has declared that they support the 18th amendment, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa has criticised it in the past. The military seemingly supports the amendment to give an outlook view of promoting democracy but in fact, may want it to be repealed as it diminishes their power. Critics of Imran Khan have stated that Khan’s statements of the need to ‘fix’ the amendment could result in it being changed to the extent that the military regains its power. Proponents of the 18th amendment express that marginalised provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are now heavily involved in mainstream politics which could help combat terrorism in the regions and promote development throughout Pakistan.
Though, the military continues to be popular with the Pakistani people, many have begun to show dislike towards it, especially the youth. Many Pakistanis now believe that the military robs Pakistani people of their freedom by occasionally disrupting democracy; others even go as far as saying everything goes to through the military and that the military is the one making all the big decisions. Some Pakistanis feel that the military unnecessarily starts conflicts or wars to maintain its relevance and keep public support high, while many continue to persist that Pakistan overspends on the military. Even those Pakistanis who are pro-military feel that Pakistan may be spending a bit too much on our military. Still, these concerns are only gaining popularity now and it cannot be denied that the military continues to be largely popular among Pakistani people.
The military has done plenty to maintain its solid public image and eliminate negative stigmas surrounding it. It has opened museums in various locations around Pakistan with the Lahore Army Museum becoming a popular attraction for both working and upper classes to visit. In addition, the military continues to perform lavish parades on special occasions, and it has recently begun to send military officials to schools and universities to talk about the military’s achievements and its role. Sending military officials to universities for talks apparently did not sit well with students of various universities and in fact, could have lowered the image of the military. A student from Lahore School of Economics who sat through one of these talks spoke on the situation, “An official came to have a talk with us. Students did not like it as they felt it was propagandic; most us asked tough questions to him regarding how the military is too involved in internal affairs and its failed roles in Balochistan. The official recognised that the military is unpopular among students hence he came to have a talk to improve its image, but the hostility of students towards military increased after the talk. We voiced our disapprovals about military’s excessive control and made jokes about how (General) Bajwa controls everything”. Additionally, the military supplies film or television makers with equipment or contributes to the production budget in some way if the content in the film or television is pro-military. This relationship between the movie/television industry and military has been termed as ‘military-entertainment complex’ and it is a common phenomenon which has been observed in many countries including the USA.
Despite all the complaints against the military which have been emerging for years, it cannot be refuted that Pakistan needs a stronger military now than ever. India has been attempting to modernise its military lately by purchasing new military equipment from the US, but the COVID-19 outbreak has put a halt to their plans for now. With tensions running high between Pakistan and India, and conflicts such as the recent Pulwama incident escalating to dangerous heights, military conflict between the countries may be an impending danger. India’s intentions to modernise its military indicates that it is preparing itself for a similar situation and the Pakistani military needs to up to their mark to outbalance India in military power. Besides that, Pakistani military continues playing a crucial role in dealing with terrorist organisations in some regions of Pakistan, so support for the military is essential now. For these reasons, the Pakistani military continues to be popular among the people and politicians. The need for the military is massive for the country and so we must continue giving it the budgetary support it deserves.
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