Monday, May 16, 2011

DG ISI In The Eye Of The Storm

The Friday’s in-camera joint sitting of Parliament was memorable. The military top brass presented themselves before public representatives for questioning, and DG ISI Lt General Ahmed Shuja Pasha who had to answer for the intelligence failure in the bin Laden incident accepted, in unqualified terms, his accountability at their hands. This unprecedented gesture, in the context of Pakistan’s history, marred by prolonged rules of the army and the assertion of its power even during civilian governments, was an unmixed victory for democracy in the country. One must say that General Pasha showed grace enough to tender apology for the lapse and declared his readiness to clear himself before any forum and, if found guilty, to resign. He decided to resign soon after the Abbottabad incident but COAS General Kayani had stopped him from doing so. Prime Minister Gilani also deserves a word of praise for making four successful attempts to persuade leader of the opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to get back to the session every time he had left for his chambers, unhappy at the draft of the resolution. Later, its text was agreed upon and so was the constitution of an independent commission to go into the failure.
The briefing of over 400 MPs could not keep to its mandate of remaining in-camera, as a plethora of details leaked out, though hardly much to add to what the public already knew. Notwithstanding the sharp and awkward questions by the parliamentarians, who blew hot and cold at times, General Pasha kept his cool and kept answering them. His words, “It was due to the technological superiority that they managed to get in undetected…The failure was not intentional, but I admit that it was a mistake…The Parliament is supreme and I feel relieved after presenting myself before it,” must have sounded disarming. Chaudhry Nisar, though, was unsparing in his trenchant, critical questions. General Pasha’s most reassuring remark was that there was no threat to our nuclear assets; they were under foolproof control and command.

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