The dismissal of the Pakistan Navy Chief Admiral Mansur-ul-Haque comes close on the heels of the renewed allegations that several military equipment deals in the recent past have been tainted with kickbacks. It follows the recent busting of a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) gang of drug peddlers in the United States. These incidents, taken together, have led to a serious image crisis for the Pakistani armed forces.

The drug scandal erupted after the arrest of Squadron Leader Farooq Khan, who was visiting the US as part of an official PAF crew, which was to bring back spare parts of F-16 aircraft. The sting operation carried out by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) revealed that Khan was not acting alone and a subsequent operation involving Pakistan's Anti-Narcotic Force (ANF) led to the arrest of another Squadron Leader, Qasim Bhatti, in Rawalpindi. Bhatti was reportedly the mastermind. Subsequent investigations by Pakistani journalists reveal that the arrest of Bhatti and Khan is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Reports of drug chains reaching the highest offices in Pakistan are nothing new. In a well documented study by Ikramul Haq, Pakistan from Hash to Heroin, there have been credible reports that Major Hamid from the personal crew of General Zia's helicopter was part of an international drug cartel. Similarly, Zia's banker Hamid Hasnain was also implicated in drug trafficking. Other important military personnel implicated for drug smuggling included the former Governor of NWFP, General Fazle Haq, and Lt. General Hamid Gul, who is alleged to have allowed trucks belonging to his National Logistic Cell (NLC) to ferry drugs across the Pak-Afghan border.

Curiously, the drug scandal is not the only one to break out in recent times. The renewal of negotiations with the French for the supply of 32 Mirage 2000-5 aircraft in a $ 2 billion deal has brought the kickback issue to the fore. In an unprecedented move to defuse the crisis, the PAF chief Abbas Khattak gave a widely reported interview in which he claimed that the Mirage deal was being negotiated with complete transparency.

The Pakistan Navy too has been facing charges that the $ 950 million Agosta submarine deal was also tainted with kickbacks. In a quick rebuttal, clearly aimed at damage limitation, the Navy issued a denial, exonerating the Benazir Bhutto government as well. But the sacking of Admiral Haque which apparently had the tacit backing of the other service chiefs, should be seen as a one-off decision. Admiral Haque was appointed by Benazir Bhutto and was supposed to have played handmaiden to Asif Ali Zardari and his trusted lieutenants in the submarine deal.

With the armed forces steeped in controversies, the media is arguing that Sharif, who has the power of appointments in the armed forces, should re-assert his authority. Shireen Mazari of the Pulse magazine writes: ``The arrest of a Pakistan Air Force Officer in the US for heroin smuggling has brought into focus once again the question of reining in the military within the government's accountability sphere. The military's constant effort to deal with its own behind closed doors is simply not acceptable within our democratic milieu, specially since the military is so heavily involved in terms of personnel both in service and retired in the civilian sector as well.''

But it is unlikely that Nawaz Sharif will heed the advice of the media in the drug smuggling case. The media has wanted the Air Chief to be sacked for the shameful scandal. Since Pakistan's return to democracy in 1988, the military has ensured that its own turf is protected from the politicians at all costs.

With an unassailable parliamentary majority and in the absence of Article 58(2) which was repealed by the 13th Amendment, Sharif will hardly be expected to ruffle feathers in the uniformed guard. Instead he will be expected to rely on the praetorian guards's collective leadership body, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), to make appropriate efforts to defuse the crisis. Till then, the uniformed men's reputation will continue to be sullied.

The writer is a research associate at the Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses, New Delhi

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.