Abolishing NSC

THE good news is that the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani intends to abolish the National Security Council. So far as disentangling military from politics goes. it is a significant development. One would hardly disagree with the PM who, while talking to media at Lahore airport, said that his government did not want to recognise institutions that strengthen individuals. Thus, by doing away with the NSC, the government would be making a symbolic departure from the Musharraf legacy. The PM said that the President had also been taken on board regarding the decision, but hopefully he would be knowing that in order to disband the august body he would have to go through a certain process. It will only be premature to assume that with two leaders agreeing, the NSC will be automatically dissolved. Since it was created by an Act of Parliament, any decision would have to be corroborated by it. However, what would be making things easier is the fact that the dissolution does not require a two-thirds majority.
The intention on the part of the government should be welcomed. The announcement would also earn the government a pat on the back from the PML(N) that had, for obvious reasons, been vehemently opposed to the body. It is moreover significant as it pertains to chalking out the role of the military as defined in the Constitution. The NSC, that mainly comprised the military top brass apart from a representation from the civilian government, was perceived by many to be a super Cabinet, with some elements viewing it as a super Parliament, dominated by a star-studded elite. For a country that had for half its existence been under khaki shadows, the formation of the NSC was another source of legalizing the role of military in the political life of the country. On the one side it was a device to pressurize the PM, ensuring the superiority of Musharraf's writ and on the other, it had allowed the Army to continue its political ways. One hopes that the government would go ahead with its plans to disband the body.