At this time, everyone in my beloved country is impatiently waiting for the appointment of the army chief. Be it a cartman or a shopkeeper, young or old, YouTuber or anchor, from every walk of life, everyone, special and ordinary, has the same thing in their speech: “Who will be the next army chief?”
Why does the appointment of a twenty-second-grade officer become so important? In every country, this appointment is important but not so important that the same resonation is heard everywhere. Grade 22 is the highest attainable rank for a civil servant (equivalent to a 4-star rank in the armed forces) in Pakistan. Be it bureaucracy or judiciary or some other field or department, officers are promoted in 22nd grade. There are many important appointments, but never have the people associated with the government, opposition, or other sectors been so anxious for any appointment as they are for the appointment of the army chief now. But why?
Pakistan is currently suffering from the worst financial, economic, and political crisis. Pakistan is currently at risk of default, but the focus of the entire nation is on the “appointment of the Army Chief.”
Some experts in Pakistan are once again expressing trepidation that Pakistan may default due to its failure to receive two tranches from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
However, the government says that the risk of Pakistan’s bankruptcy is now over. There are several reasons why the risk of bankruptcy in Pakistan has increased once again. There are multitudinous reasons behind it. First, the country’s foreign exchange reserves are declining.
Second, Pakistan has to receive new tranches of loans, the matter is still pending approval by the IMF. According to the experts, the ongoing political crisis and chaos in the country and the resulting political and economic uncertainty are major reasons for the increase in this threat.
It is also true that at present the global economic slowdown and global conditions are quite hard for Pakistan because Pakistan is in dire need of debt rescheduling on the one hand and on the other hand it has to reduce the current account deficit. According to some experts, in the current situation, the government needs to create an immediate economic emergency plan. Unfortunately, even in these unfavourable circumstances, our tragedy is that our priority and focus is “the appointment of the army chief.”
According to Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, the names of senior officers forwarded to the Ministry of Defense will be passed on to the Prime Minister, and he will take a decision.
According to the Constitution of Pakistan, the appointment of the army chief is the prerogative of the prime minister.
If we look at the traditions of the past, as soon as the series of farewell meetings of the current army chief started, the name of the new army chief was announced. This time, despite the delay in the announcement of the name and the government repeatedly saying that the announcement of the new army chief will be made soon, no announcement was made in this regard, which is considered to be a lack of agreement on the name in Islamabad and Pindi.
The public is eagerly waiting to know the name of the new army chief while the three major political parties of Pakistan want to bring their army chief. In the recent past, the current government, which was PDM at that time, kept trying and now Imran Khan wants to increase pressure on the government through a long march.
In the end, I will come to the main point: why is the new army chief the focus of every Pakistani? It should be taken into account by everyone and the institution, but what is the impression that has always been given as a result of which everyone has narrowed their focus to one appointment?
The vision of developed countries is bigger and different. They believe in such a creation through which their country and people benefit. They believe in STEWARDSHIP, where a nation’s properties, resources, and environment would be looked after for the enjoyment of future generations. Their truthfulness, high morals, graciousness, and justice make their great nation, and they work on such things.
Lastly, I am writing about an important event from history. There is a true story about the late Walt Disney’s vision for Disney World, the mega theme park in Florida. By the time the theme park opened in 1971, Walt Disney had already passed away five years earlier. At the opening ceremony, a guest remarked to one of Disney’s directors that it was a shame that Walt himself was not able to be there to witness the realization of his vision.
To that, the director replied that Walt indeed saw Disney World; otherwise, we would not see it.
We need to have a vision of what Pakistan will look like even before we start building it. As a nation, let us begin to see it and start working towards it instead of being so concerned about this appointment.
