How one tweet from Pakistan army sent the country's media into a frenzy

NEW DELHI: One tweet from the public relations arm of Pakistan's armed forces was enough to send the country and its media into a frenzy.

A hint: The tweet yesterday was about Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif and his impending retirement on November 29. It answered all the 'Will he? Won't he?' questions.

Yes, Inter Services Public Relations pretty much confirmed General Sharif is retiring. And for a country that has seen military coups galore, this announcement came, if not as a shock, then as a pleasant surprise to many.

#COAS kicks off his farewell visits beginning from Lhr today.Meets,addresses,thanks huge gathering of soldiers of Army&Rangers at Garrison-1

— Gen Asim Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) November 21, 2016

As The Express Tribune editorial put it: "A tweet from the Director General ISPR set the media ablaze but settled a raging debate."

This editorial and many others in the Pakistani press today lauded General Sharif for his decision, one that in most other countries would likely go unremarked upon.

Referring to the fact that Pakistan has seen just three army chiefs in as long as 18 years, the Tribune's editorial elaborated on why there was such a "raging debate" to begin with.

"It is a reflection of the perennial civil-military tug-of-war in Pakistan that the retirement - or possible extension for that matter - of an army chief becomes one of the most pressing political issues of the time. This is not surprising in a country that has seen numerous army chiefs extend their terms in office either through an extension or via an outright military takeover. Pakistanis are justified in being nervous, more so when the civil-military relationship boils over into thinly-disguised tensions," the Tribune's editorial said.

Another newspaper, The Nation, expressed similar sentiments.

"The announcement of his retirement came way back in January ... yet, come November, the COAS (chief of army staff) has surprised many by sticking to his word and not seeking an extension to his tenure at the head of the armed forces," said The Nation's editorial.

Both The Nation and other newspapers mentioned that the army chief had plenty of opportunities to reconsider and plenty of people, too, telling him to reconsider. Among the opportunities, were the unrest over Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif being implicated in the Panama Papers, former cricketer Imran Khan's party threatening to lock down Islamabad and heightened tensions with India.

"Urged by friends, allies, politicians and activists to reconsider his decision, the army chief did appear to waver...opportunity after opportunity came for public pressure to be put on the government to consider requesting Gen Sharif to continue his command. But good sense has prevailed in the end and a good officer can be given a fond and formal farewell this week," said Dawn's editorial today.

Most of the newspaper editorials also talked about how Sharif's decision to retire on time restores to Pakistan's army a modicum of "integrity."

"By moving forward with his retirement plans, General Raheel Sharif has given further credence to the institutional integrity of the army, at a time when other institutions, including the government, have no such moral high-ground," the Nation's editorial said.

Others, too, talked about how Sharif has redeemed the Pakistani army's reputation.

"As important as individual leadership is, it must always be in service of the institution. That is what Raheel Sharif, both in his role as army chief for the last three years and in his decision not to seek a second term, has done right by the institution,"said The News International's editorial.
Dawn concurred on this point.

"Now, a fourth general will assume command next week and hopefully he will build on the commendable example set by Gen Sharif and will abide by the institutional norm of a single three-year term for an army chief. Certainly, Gen Sharif will be a hard act to follow," says Dawn in an editorial.

For his decision to retire and for other reasons, the various editorials said that Sharif will arguably have been the most popular army chief and therefore "a hard act to follow".

"Sharif will leave as one of the country's most popular army chiefs ever, both among the civilian population and within the military. Part of this has to do with the way he has prosecuted the war against militancy," The News International said.

Almost all the editorial actually praised Sharif for his "fight against terror", especialy against groups like the Pakistani Taliban, and for the Zarb-i-Azb and the Karachi operations -"the two counter-insurgency and counterterrorism legacies respectively that Gen Sharif will be remembered for."