High Court decision regarding defense analysts: Will it be implemented or not?

 Friday, December 20, 2024

Islamabad (UrduPoint News Today / Pakistan Point News - 20th December, 2024 ) The Islamabad High Court has suspended the notification issued by Pemra in 2019, under which clearance from ISPR was imposed for defense analysts. The court ordered that it will remain suspended until a detailed decision is made.

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The efforts of the military establishment to control political and other matters in Pakistan are often under discussion.

Various circles argue that the military not only wants complete control over matters but also that people have the same opinion on all matters as this institution wants.

Experts believe that this was the thinking behind the PEMRA notification issued in 2019. The notification stipulated that defense analysts could only be people with experience working in the armed forces.

Defense analysts joining the government or private television channels were required to obtain clearance from the ISPR to express their opinions.

Legal and defense experts disagree with this thinking. Lieutenant General (retd) Naeem Lodhi says that the defense of the country is not just a military matter but has more political aspects. He says, “There are political objectives behind every war and many wars are fought on the political front.

So how can only military circles be considered credible to give opinions on defense matters?”

Talking to DW Urdu, Naeem Lodhi says that since the PEMRA order, he has never been called to give opinions on TV. He further says, “It is not possible for me to speak rote, so my name is also not included in the list that is provided to TV channels and which is called the positive list.

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What is the legal status of the notification?

According to legal experts, PEMRA’s notification was fundamentally wrong but no one paid attention to it for so long. Supreme Court lawyer Omar Ijaz Gilani says, “The ISPR is a subsidiary of the military and legally it has no authority to decide about defense analysts who are capable of speaking on these matters.

‘’ He also says that if this case goes ahead, the legal status of the ISPR may also come into question regarding these matters.

Who can speak on defense matters?

Journalist Ambar Shamsi says, “Who will decide who can be a defense analyst? This cannot be the authority of the state nor can anyone make a self-made claim.

Defence analysts can be people from civil, military and academic lines who have a basic knowledge of such matters and who can speak meaningfully. However, analysis cannot be based only on the state narrative. A neutral critique is essential for democracy.”

“Since defence is not just a military matter, it is not only the military who is qualified to speak on it, but also ambassadors of countries and journalists who have reported on such matters for a long time are also qualified to speak on such topics,” says Naeem Khalid Lodhi.

“People from the armed forces may often be less qualified to speak on such matters because they are not aware of all the aspects of the matter. Fighting alone is not defence, some wars are won only by fighting politically.”

Will the High Court’s decision make a difference?

Experts believe that the establishment has complete control over the media and it cannot be said for sure how much the decision will be implemented. Naeem Lodhi says that there is no process to apply to the ISPR and get approval, rather the ISPR prepares a list on its own and sends it to TV stations.