Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa retired today after six years in office and a particularly tumultuous year for Pakistani politics. In his final speech as head of Pakistan’s powerful military, the beleaguered army chief publicly called for an end to the institution’s political meddling.

A future in which the army confines itself to its constitutional role is difficult to imagine. Over the past seven decades, when generals haven’t been ruling Pakistan directly, they have exerted their influence through a series of puppet politicians whom they nurture and later discard. So constant has been their hegemony, that they are euphemistically referred to as the country’s “establishment.”

It is because of this history, that for all the hope elicited by General Bajwa’s address, there are many in Pakistan who remain unconvinced about its sincerity. Others say the civilian government is simply too weak to stand alone and the cycle of military involvement too deeply entrenched to break. Former Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz, who was part of the government deposed in the military coup of 1999, is more optimistic.

“General Bajwa’s farewell speech was bold, candid, and open,” he says. “I think they have learnt that meddling only makes them controversial and are committed to remain apolitical if allowed to do so.”

In his final speech as head of Pakistan’s powerful military, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa publicly called for an end to the army’s seven decades of political meddling. 

Following a particularly tumultuous year for Pakistani politics, the beleaguered army chief, who retired earlier today after six years in office, made a point of assuring the public that the army had learned its lesson and would henceforth refrain from trying to influence the democratic process. “The army has started its catharsis,” he said in a farewell address last week, “and I hope our political parties will also take this opportunity to reflect on their behavior, because it’s a fact that every institution in Pakistan … has made mistakes.”

On the surface, any future in which the army confines itself to its constitutional role is so strange a proposition as to be almost unbelievable. In the 75 years since Pakistan gained its independence, the country has suffered through three periods of extended military rule. When the generals haven’t been in power directly, they have exerted their influence through a series of puppet politicians whom they have nurtured at great cost and ultimately discarded. So constant has been their hegemony, in fact, that they are euphemistically referred to as the country’s “establishment.”

It is because of this history, no doubt, that for all the hope elicited by General Bajwa’s address, there are many in Pakistan who remain unconvinced about its sincerity. 

“I for one welcome their statement … but similar statements have been made in the past and, to the nation’s dismay, not honored,” says Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, a former senator. “One can only hope that they’ve also come to the conclusion like many others that Pakistan’s continuation as a security state is no longer viable.”