Shah asks govt to uphold seniority rule in COAS appointment

Criticises PM Nawaz and PTI chief Imran Khan, says both pose a threat to democracy

ISLAMABAD: The government should follow the seniority rule while appointing the new army chief, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah said on Wednesday.

Talking to media persons at the Parliament House, he suggested that the government should appoint the senior-most general as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) and second most senior as the new army chief.

“We wonder why the government is reluctant to follow the seniority (rule),” he said.



Criticising Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and PTI chief Imran Khan, he said both posed a threat to democracy. “Nawaz because of his (style of) governance and Imran because of his actions,” he remarked.

Commenting on the Prime Minister’s remarks in which he said that the government was not afraid of ‘jugglers’, Shah maintained that the prime minister was referring to ‘non-political’ forces.

“In the current situation, the Prime Minister is fueling the fire by airing such statements, he said.

Shah said that PTI’s plan to lock down the federal capital was not a protest. “It (the plan) must be treated as a crime,” he said.

“This is not a march to seal (off) Islamabad … it is an effort to shut the country which is a crime,” he said.

He also wondered how sensitive information regarding an important meeting was leaked out to the media. “It is a big question mark.”

“How can you expect things to improve when (the country’s) army is maligned in this manner?” he remarked.

He said civilian leadership and the military command should be on the same page on important matters.



“I will never want the dissolution of government. Certainly, this is one of the weakest governments. They have not yet appointed a foreign minister. We are ready to support any move if the government made foreign policy (decisions) through parliament,” he said.

He warned that if the government did not resolve the issue of Panama Leaks by the end of December, his party would also be left with no other option but to stage a protest march.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2016.