Pakistan: SC tells ‘govt’ to commit that the Army runs no businesses!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Pakistan’s all-powerful Army, which has run the troubled country unchecked for most of the years since 1947 and has lost all wars it fought and won all the elections it did not contest, is passing through bure din (bad days) or a rough patch.
After its friend-turned-foe Imran Khan gave it a bloody nose in the February 8 election outcome, even the Supreme Court has questioned its ‘activities.’
It is well-known that the Pakistani Army, the South Asian nation’s biggest business conglomerate, runs businesses in every conceivable sector, including poultry and sandwich bread.
Now, even the apex court has noted that the Army runs marriage halls on its lands, which is a commercial activity.
Although a new government is yet to take charge in Islamabad, the apex court on Wednesday called for a commitment from it to ensure the armed forces exclusively focus on defense-related matters rather than engaging in commercial activities, the media reported on Thursday.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, who was heading a three-judge bench in a case scrutinizing the use of military lands for business purposes, sought this assurance, Geo News reported.
The matter was initiated by former CJP Gulzar Ahmed in 2021 when the court’s attention was drawn to the alleged illegal use of cantonment board lands in Karachi, which were acquired for strategic purposes but used for commercial gains.
On Wednesday, Justice Isa regretted that the army had set up marriage halls on military lands and sought assurance from Attorney-General Mansoor Usman Awan that the military would not engage in running business.
“Can you get this assurance?” Justice Isa asked Usman, adding that every institution should remain within its domain and work according to its mandate.
The A-G conceded that the principle demanded that everyone should do their job.
CJP Isa sought assurance that the army would remain the “protector” and not do any business. He also insisted that if the A-G had the directives, he should give the assurance to the court.
He observed that the army’s commercial activity on its land would not have been possible without the involvement of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA). The assets of officers above the rank of inspector at the SBCA should be checked, he directed.
