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Pakistan
THE ARMED SERVICES
Constitutional Basis
and Missions
Article 243 of the 1973 constitution states that the federal
government controls the armed forces and gives the president power
to raise and maintain active and reserve forces, grant commissions,
and appoint the chiefs of staff of the three services (see President
, ch. 4). Under Article 242, the president is commander in chief
of the armed forces. The original intent was that the president
act according to the guidance of the prime minister. However,
the Eighth Amendment to the nominally "revived" but fundamentally
altered 1973 constitution, promulgated in 1985 by President Zia,
specifies in Article 90 that national executive power is vested
in the president.
Article 245 prescribes the functions of the armed forces as defense
of the nation against external aggression or threat of war and,
subject to law, aid-to-the-civil power when called upon. This
article is intended to keep the military from acting independently
of the elected political leadership in domestic affairs. It was
notably unsuccessful in protecting Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto from Zia's
demand for "accountability," culminating in Bhutto's trial, conviction,
and eventual execution on a charge of conspiring to murder one
of his political opponents. Article 244 prescribes the oath taken
by the armed forces, including the pledge "not to engage myself
in any political activities whatsoever." This requirement is not,
however, meant to restrict members of the armed forces from voting.
Article 39 enjoins the state to enable people from all parts
of Pakistan to join the armed forces. It does not, however, require
proportional representation of provinces, and only modest progress
has been made in making the military more geographically representative.
In addition to the constitutionally prescribed missions of defending
the country (including protecting the borders and coastline) and
continuing the traditional aid-to-the-civil power, the army has
an unstated, self-appointed mission of guarding the domestic order--"guardian
of the family silver," as Pakistani journalist Mushahid Hussain
puts it. It is this concept of its mission that has led the military
to assume power on three separate occasions.
The military engages in a broad range of public service and economic
activities and plays a leading role in dealing with natural disasters.
The army services do not, however, have a record of participating
in foreign disaster relief. The army engaged in civic action work
in strategically sensitive areas, especially Balochistan, but
did not see itself as having a generalized role in civic action
and economic development matters that were not directly of its
concern. General Waheed even resisted an army role in antinarcotics
work, probably fearing its temptation as well as its distraction
from the army's primary role as the defender of the country.
Data as of April 1994
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