By Agha Iqrar Haroon
All is said and said again and again ——-Pakistan Army has nothing to do with politics.
Director-General of Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) Maj General Babar Iftikhar again on May 12, 2022, requested politicians and media not drag Army into politics. I believe his “requested” should be read as “suggested” and all who are instigating Army for the unconstitutional move would soon listen to “warned” because Army cannot wait to see the further mockery of it.
Maj General Babar Iftikhar while talking on a private television channel said that there can be no rift in the role of the Armed Forces and the people. He added that the leadership of all political parties have made statements against the leadership of the Armed Forces and requested to keep the armed forces out of political talks.
“If anyone thinks that there may be division within the army then they do not know about the army and the Army looks to its Army Chief, said DG ISPR.
He was of the view that the decision of early elections is to be made by the politicians, and the army has no role in it. He believes politicians are capable of sitting down and making better decisions. I believe he was referring to the demand of PTI leadership to the Army for holding early elections. Moreover, ISPR also responded to a statement of former President Asif Ali Zardari about Peshawar Corps Commander Lt General Faiz Hameed. The former President and Co-Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari had remarked that “Faiz Hameed has been sidelined.”
Prior to that on May 6, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz while addressing a rally in Fateh Jang had also criticized Lt General Faiz Hameed.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that imprudent comments made by important senior politicians recently about Corps Commander Peshawar are very inappropriate.
I personally consider the comments of Asif Ali Zardari and Maryum Nawaz Sharif totally uncalled for and inappropriate. However, the recent statement of former Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding the change of Lt Gen Faiz Hameed as inappropriate as of Asif Ali Zardari and Maryum Nawaz Sharif rather more dangerous because Imran Khan’s statement created an ambiance of discussion that Lt Gen Faiz Hameed was managing political and domestic affairs of Imran Khan.
I have been writing again and again that politicians, particularly from PMLN and PTI are saying too much without connotation and denotation, and of course, this is not fair and positive. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his team have gone too far and I even did not repeat and cite their allegations and statements as every word of so is derogatory. Former Federal Minister Shireen Mazari had been categorically saying that a conspiracy was hatched and was hatched with the support of the state institutions against the PTI government. Even she taunted on the visit of DG ISI to Washington where DG ISI Lt-Gen Nadeem Anjum held meetings with senior security officials, including US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William J. Burns.
DGIکےبراستہ لندن DC پہنچنےکی اطلاعات پرمبنی چند صحافیوں کےٹویٹس جبراًحذف کروانےکےبعدخبر اب🇺🇸سےجاری ہوئی۔سوال پیداہوتاہےکہ(🇺🇸کامنتخب کردہ) وزیرِخارجہ توغذائی تحفظ پرایک کثیرالفریقی اجلاس کیلئےجارہا ہےمگرDGIکےدورےکاتویقیناًغذائی تحفظ سےکوئی تعلق نہیں https://t.co/5kWrNsZCaN
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) May 12, 2022
Instead of going into detail about the PTI conspiracy theory that is known as “Lettergate”, I believe there must be a full stop now and fanning hatred against state institutions must be avoided because it is neither in their favor of political parties nor of Pakistan.
I know PTI is in the hurry for fresh elections because Imran Khan knows he cannot manage the crowd he is pulling for too long and every passing day is increasing the chance of a decision of the Foreign Funding Case, Al-Qadir University Case, Tosha Khana Case, and any in-depth interrogation of Farrah Khan can generate serious difficulties to Imran Khan and to his reputation of “Mr. Clean”. Moreover, Imran Khan wants to come back in power to announce a new Chief of Army of his own choice before September—the excepted date of announcement of the new COAS. Whatsoever fears Imran Khan has, he should talk to a multiparty government for early elections instead of demanding the Pakistan Army push government for holding early elections.
I strongly believe that no political party except PTI is ready to hold elections without electoral reforms and with the EVM system. Another important issue is voting rights for overseas Pakistanis. Their voting rights are a controversial issue. A number of politicians of multiparty government believe that we should not give voting rights to those Pakistanis who have dual nationalities. They believe that Pakistanis who have no interest in this country got citizenship from foreign countries under the oath to the Queen and to the US Constitution. If they send remittances, they do not send them to the state but to their families for their bread and butter. We do not have any industry installed by overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan. Do we have any big businesses or services providing run by overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan? Yes, they have lands, businesses, and industries in the countries of their residence, not in Pakistan.
I request all political parties to fix their issues through political discourses instead of making the Pakistan Army controversial. They must stand with their Army instead of making it a mockery.
“Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons”
― Sun Tzu
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article/Opinion/Comment are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk (DND). Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk News Agency.
