On Cyril Almeida’s Dawn article, and the battle between Nawaz Sharif and the Army High Command.
Cyril’s article and reports of changes in ISI are classic trial balloons by NS to test waters.
He’s up to something very dirty and nasty. Raheel is currently lame duck with a month to go. 4 General officers eyeing the COAS and CJSC posts. NS has everyone guessing his next moves. Totally Machavellian.
Army High Command at its weakest and most vulnerable and in my opinion, Nawaz Sharif checkmated, Raheel.
He had it all planned to start this anti Army thing when Raheel was lame duck just before his retirement.
All this time he took Raheel for a ride, by his sweet talk. And then the sudden lunge to attack and catch the Army, off guard. And the timing!
NS and Co have survived because of such tactics. They waited and then baited when Raheel has just over a month to go to unleash their tactics.
I don’t doubt the veracity of Cyril’s article. And I’m pretty certain Shahbaz said what he said. And then to use Cyril to release it.
Cyril reported what was shared with him by someone who was present there, and likely very senior and credible enough to get his attention because Cyril does not lie. Perhaps SS himself or Pervez Rashid.
For Cyril this was a major scoop. The issue is not the meeting but what took place in the meeting. Shahbaz Sharif, who from barely two months ago carrying a message to Raheel that Nawaz will resign, to now openly confronting the ISI Chief is quite a dramatic change in spine. This was NOT about Army’s support of Jihadi groups BUT to stop the Army and Rangers from taking action in Punjab, which was the ASK from Gen. Rizwan. And then craftily, turning the tables on him and telling him that only the Punjab police and civilian intelligence apparatuses would do so.
Brilliant tactics to achieve two goals.
Off balance the Army high command, give them a backander, and most importantly got them off his back in Punjab. Simply beautiful. I think GHQ must still be reeling from this broadside.
The article was very unlike Cyril. For him to write a news report vs an oped type piece was, for me at least, a very surprising first. So he was used, either unwittingly and or willingly, going by his tweets.
It was sad to see the death of another so called liberal warrior, who thought he was fighting the war for democracy, but actually fell for the shenanigans of these crooks and plunderers, masking as democrats.
Cyril and his lot, with their paper rattling pretentions of shrieking from the peaks of hypocritical righteousness are no different than their sabre rattling equally pretentious hypocrites of the right wing Jihadi brigades.
In a way it’s good that Cyril’s holier than though pretentious facade has been uncovered.
Cyril my friend. You’re just another hack for hire, is all I can say.
Ultimately, Raheel was ambushed by a wily politician who’s been a master at this game of cut and thrust and deception and cunning and conning tactics, all his life.
How else can he be, where he is.
The Generals were sitting ducks in this game of brinkmanship, with just two options.
Lump it or Dump them. And from what one can see, its pretty much, lump it.
And honestly no one to blame but those who let NS remain in power and didn’t exert the boot. When it was the time and the opportunity the good General didn’t make any moves.
Will he now? I doubt it. And ML or anything close is also not the answer. These guys had and have to be defeated through the courts and the streets.
Both are silent. In fact everybody. Except us folks on social media.
But RS had his opportunity and he thought he would prevail without intervening. He couldn’t. So he lost. Nawaz won.
Now, Raheel and or whoever takes over has very limited options, including the crackdown in Punjab.
For now NS has won this game of chess.
For the future. Don’t know. Unless something extraordinary happens to upend the situation so dramatically that the inevitable becomes the only option.
Otherwise. This round to NS. But a
dangerous game Nawaz is playing