ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader Senator Sherry Rehman has said that the briefing of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa in Senate was a historic day for democracy and civil-military relations in Pakistan.
On Tuesday, the COAS along with Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lt General Naveed Mukhtar, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Major General Sahir Shamshad Mirza and Director General Military Intelligence (MI) Major General Asim Munir briefed the Senate Committee of the Whole for nearly four hours on the national security paradigm.
Talking to BBC, Sherry Rehman said that everyone was very satisfied with the COAS briefing.
Sherry Rehman said that this was a very good thing for civil-military relations and the confusion created by the current situation has been cleared.
She said that all Senators presented questions which were answered by the Army Chief in detail. She said that the director general ISI had accompanied the COAS and he intelligently interacted wherever there was a need. She said he felt the discussion was held in a pleasant atmosphere and a lot of things were cleared.
The PPP leader said that the best part about the Senate briefing was that a state institution believes it is answerable to the public’s elected representatives. She said this was a good precedent in Pakistan, and it will reaffirm the public’s belief in democracy.
Senator Sherry Rehman said that it will portray Pakistan’s image as a civil society and a democratic country where all leaders of state institutions hold themselves accountable to public representatives.
